Summer offers a wide variety of produce from sun-ripened juicy fruits to crisp peas and fragrant herbs.
All over the country, look for summer berries, stone fruits, and summer squash. The best way to gauge what’s freshest is to follow your nose and eyes at the farmer’s market. See what local farmers are harvesting, and test out some new recipes with your market finds.
Since so many fruits and vegetables are full of flavor at this time of year, use simple recipes to showcase the produce itself. Cook up vegetables with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and sprinkle herbs for a fresh and healthy side dish. This time of year, there’s generally no need for any sugar on a juicy fruit salad.
Here’s a quick guide to what your region has in season right now:
- Pacific Northwest: Berries, broccoli, and cherries.
- West: apricots, plums, nectarines, avocadoes (CA), and tomatoes.
- Midwest (OH, IN,IL, MI, MS, KS, NE): green beans, peaches, plums and pluots.
- Upper Midwest (IO, MN, ND, SD, WI): corn, beets, asparagus, and raspberries.
- Northeast: blueberries, peas, summer squash, and peaches.
- South: melons, raspberries, blackberries, corn, tomatoes.
- Southwest: grapes, cucumbers, nectarines, figs, eggplant, and chilies.
Hungry for more? Check out this interactive “Peak-Season” map from Epicurious.com for more information about what's in season where you are.
