Veg, Fruit and Foraged Foods in Season in August

What is seasonal food? 

If you grow your own vegetables the packet will tell you when you can expect to harvest the crop and this is when it is in season.  If you see vegetables for sale outside of this time then they are not in season and may well have been imported or grown under heat in a greenhouse.

Why eat seasonal food?

Food that is in season has many advantages over imported food or that grown under cover:

• It will have the best and freshest taste.
• It will have a higher nutritional value.
• It is good for the environment as it will have low food low miles and less energy will have been used than glass-grown plants to produce it.
• As a result it will be cheaper.
• Finally, as a consumer, you will get seasonal variety and the excitement of the first taste of a just in-season food is hard to beat.  A strawberry in winter may look appetising but it has minimal taste compared to a summer one.

What is is Season in August? 

Please note I have based this list on UK and Northern France.  It is also still worth confirming that the fruit and veg you are buying is locally produced as many shops will still import their supplies, often from far away and even of local farmers are growing the same things.

Veg

• Aubergines 
• Onions - main and spring
• Radishes
• Beetroot
• Summer cabbage
• Potatoes - new and maincrop
• Broccoli
• Salad leaves and lettuces
• Carrots
• Tomatoes
• French and Runner beans
• Chard
• Spinach
• Courgettes 
• Pak choi
• Cucumbers 
• Chard
• Sweetcorn

Herbs

• Fresh herbs are all in season now - if you grow your own you can dry them for later use.  Keep picking them to stop them going to flower too. 

Fruit

• Blueberries
• Raspberries 
• Hybrid berries such as jostaberries, loganberries and tayberries
• Currants - red, white and black 
• Blackberries
• Apricots
• Nectarines 
• Plums

Foraging

Many of the leaves that can be forged are not at their best in high summer but if you can find new growth these will be much more tender.  Fruits are however starting to make an appearance now with early blackberries and rowan berries available.

• Watercress
• Nettles - new young nettles only
• Rowan berries 
• Watermint
• Blackberries
• Early green walnuts

With so much fresh local produce there are unlimited recipes to choose from  - here are just a couple of my favourites:  Pickled Runner Beans and Roasted Tomato Passata.

Do you have any favourite recipes using August produce?