Welcome to our August crop report.
Summer is in full swing and despite the cold weather giving our fabulous UK growers some additional stress, we are now settling back down and have an array of wonderful produce coming through our doors.
So let’s get straight into it.
Fruit
European stone fruit is still in full flow with bright and tasty apricots from France.
And nectarines, peaches and flat peaches are a must on any desert!
The English berry season continues with plenty of regional choices to be had, and now with the addition of blackberries. You’d be foolish to miss out!
Gooseberries will come to an end this month so please make the most of them whilst they are around.
English plums are now arriving with Opel’s gracing the markets, this will be followed by plenty of other varieties, including the Victoria beauties. There will also be a small amount of damsons and greengages available but be quick, as these will only be around for a short time.
UK Cherries will sadly come to an end this month before we move over to the North American season. Although they look the part, they will be expensive and not as tasty.
This month we will see the end of the Egyptian grape varieties as we move onto the new season of the Spanish varieties.
August traditionally sees the first of the early English apple varieties hitting the markets.
Discovery and new season Bramley are quickly followed by Worcester’s & Cox’s.
Citrus is now all from the southern hemisphere with the quality excellent. We will see a change in the easy peelers, moving from satsumas & nova varieties changing over to nadorcotts later in the month.
The recent hot weather across Europe will have affected melons more than most, so expect availability and pricing to be more difficult to predict than usual at this time of year.
How about something a little different – there are some superb French figs available now but these will only be around for a short time.
Vegetables
Fresh UK Sweetcorn and corn on the cob are now in season. Not only do they taste great but they’re also excellent value.
That said, these beauties are only around for 6-8 weeks so get them on the menu now!
English runner beans, Bobby beans, sugar snaps and green beans are available and will be great value for money.
Broad beans and English peas in the pod are just about still available.
UK Leeks from Lancashire are excellent quality and great value for money.
UK grown courgettes should be available from all local farms. This is something that we’re very proud of here at Four Seasons, our ability to use local and regional growers whenever we can.
New season swede will soon be available. UK Broccoli has been a challenge during July but we should have better availability during August and pricing should reflect that.
We start on new season potato varieties now so if you wish to try some, new-season red potatoes will be in by the middle of August.
Talking of spuds, why not try a heritage mix of potatoes? It would add some real colour and uniqueness to your plates. Varieties such as violetta, ratte and pink fur are all perfect around this time of year.
Spanish onions continue to get better and cheaper as we go into the season with the skins still getting flaky.
Salad
English salad leaves are still all very good with the addition of English radicchio further adding colour to the plate.
The world renowned Isle of Wight heritage tomato mix continues to be a real favourite. So many menus incorporate these beauties, and it’s no surprise as they are without doubt the best!
See one of our recent episodes of ‘Cooking with Chef Galmiche’ to create a simple yet beautiful heritage tomato salad.
We continue with excellent English spring onions from Evesham and some local bunched radish as well.
And finally, Egyptian red onions are now in season and perfect on salads as they’re sweeter and not as powerful as normal cooking onions.
At their best
Blackberries, Isle of Wight heritage tomatoes, sweetcorn, green beans, sugar snaps, spring onions, swede
Our monthly crop reports, like our August crop report, is sent by email every month – you can subscribe to our mailing list here.
You can also take a look at our recent blog posts here.
To start a new order, or to add to an existing order, call us: 01793 683299 or email orders@fsfruit.co.uk
