JANUARY NOTES

BBC Good Food’s Miriam Nice shares top tips to shop, cook and eat the best of the season

Miriam Nice shares tips for getting the best of this month’s produce

If January was a place, I think it would be the Hamburg Fish Market. That might sound odd, but hear me out. The German market starts early in the morning (we’re talking 5am on a Sunday kind of early) and closes for the day by 9:30am. Because of its opening hours, it has a fascinating juxtaposition of customers. Side by side you get the early birds – starting their Sunday by stocking up on fish for the week ahead, perhaps selecting a bunch of fresh flowers – and the all-nighters; party animals in search of coffee, food and some live music on their way home from a Saturday night on the town. January is much the same: it’s a month of resolutions, fresh starts and campaigns such as Veganuary (see page 13 for our food editor’s picks), but at the same time, it has the dregs of festive cheer, fridges are full of leftover brandy butter and there are still celebrations like Burns Night to look forward to. Whether you’re keeping to resolutions or embracing the revelry, I hope these seasonal ideas – each with a lighter or more indulgent twist – inspire you this month.

And no, I won’t tell you which type of customer I was at the Hamburg Fish Market. You’ll just have to guess.