Autumn is a wonderful time of year to visit the farmers’ market. You can still catch some of summer’s greatest hits, and those late-breaking tomatoes and zucchini are now rubbing shoulders with fall faves like kale, squash and apples.

But there’s no need to stick with tried-and-true produce – why not try something new this season? Here, we’ve highlighted four less common – but still delicious – fruits and vegetables and how to enjoy them.

Kohlrabi
This bulbous little guy might look like a turnip, but kohlrabi is actually a brassica, not a root vegetable. Similarly to its cousins, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, kohlrabi can be enjoyed raw or cooked. To prepare it, peel it and slice it raw as a crisp snack or in a salad, or cook it – kohlrabi is good used in a soup or stew, mashed into mashed potatoes or in an Indian vegetable dish.

Kohlrabi leaves are also edible – prepare them the same way you’d cook kale or Swiss chard. This crisp kohlrabi and cabbage slaw would be a nice bright accompaniment to Thanksgiving dinner.

Ground cherries
Ground cherries (also known as cape gooseberries) are small, round, yellow or orange fruits from the nightshade family, like tomatoes and tomatillos. Each fruit is surrounded by a papery husk that turns brown when it is ripe; peel back the husk to enjoy the sweet-tart fruit, either raw (they’re often used as a dessert garnish) or as an ingredient in a preserve or dessert. Ground cherries are relatively easy to grow, even for a novice gardener, and make for a fun and unusual harvest.

Arctic kiwi
Growing kiwi fruit isn’t reserved for New Zealand. The hardy kiwi vine, also known as the arctic kiwi, is a cold-hardy relative of the kiwi that can flourish in gardening zones 3 to 8 (Nova Scotia is in hardiness zone 6, which means homegrown kiwis could be yours!). The fruit of the arctic kiwi is slightly different – smaller, and smooth and green compared to its furry brown cousin, but the inside of the fruit and its taste will be familiar.

If you’re growing your own arctic kiwi, you’ll need to play the long game, as plants take three years or more to mature; if you’re lucky enough to find some at the farmers’ market, you can enjoy them just as you would their cousins from down under. Pavlova, anyone?

Celeriac
Celeriac (also known as celery root) is a root vegetable that looks a bit like a turnip gone wild: bulbous, often dirty, and covered in scraggly rootlets. Doesn’t sound appealing – but once you’ve cleaned it up and trimmed the tough exterior, you’ll discover the crisp, creamy white interior, which is good eaten raw or cooked.

Try adding it to a slaw with crisp apple and fennel slices, or sauté it with leeks and potatoes and then purée it with stock and some heavy cream for a luxurious soup. Note: celery and celeriac are related, but they aren’t interchangeable in recipes.

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