July is the peak of summer. The temperature is at it’s hottest, the days are still long and the garden is in full-bloom. And the produce on offer for those who want to eat seasonally is sensational!
I’m on a quest to live and eat more seasonally. Part of that means eating fresh fruit and vegetables that are in season. They’re ready for harvest and growing to their natural rhythms.
July Seasonal Food Guide
5 Reasons to Eat Seasonally:
- Supporting local producers and businesses. So important!
- Having fun in your own garden. Reap the rewards of successful gardening.
- Eating produce at it’s best as opposed to picking up a punnet of strawberries in November and finding them unripe.
- Not relying wholly on imported food.
- Education-learning how and where your food is grown.
- Getting in touch with the months, nature and environment.
Im not against imported food, or even un-organic. In my opinion there’s a time and place for everything, but at the moment I think there is an imbalance in favour of exported produce, in supermarkets especially.
It would be a sorry thing if we completely forgot what our own local produce was, and when to make the most of it. And also how to cook it and store it so it’s worth while. These are skills that are so important and can also be enjoyable!
July Seasonal Food Guide
What’s in season in July?
Vegetables: Globe Artichokes, Beetroot, Broad Beans, Carrots, Cauliflower, Courgettes, French Beans, Aubergine, Garlic, Kohlrabi, Lamb’s lettuce, Cucumber,Onions, Pak Choi, Peas, Spring Onion, Swiss Chard. Potatoes, Purslane, Radishes, Rocket, Samphire, Sorrel, Spinach, Tomatoes, Watercress, Fennel, Runner beans.
Fruit: Blackcurrants, Blueberries, Apricots, Cherries, gooseberries, Redcurrants, Rhubarb, Strawberries, Whitecurrants, Raspberries, Worcesterberries, Elderflowers, Wild Strawberries
Fungi and nuts: Chanterelles, Laetiporus (aka chicken of the woods-note always have a foraging expert with you when picking mushrooms), Tuber aestivum (aka Summer Truffle)
Fish and shellfish: Crab, Lobster, Mackerel, Pollack, Scallops, Sea Trout, Sea Bass, Trout, Brown & Rainbow Trout, Crayfish, Black Bream.
Wild greens and herbs: Horseradish root, Marsh Samphire.
Game: Wood Pigeon & Rabbit.
Seasonal Living
Ideas to make the most of July.
- Picnic season is upon us. Gather some sandwiches together and get outside!
- Lavender Picking. Don’t forget to cut and dry any lavender now!
- Make some Elderflower cordial or champagne. Much easier than it sounds!
- Attend some festivals to make the most of the peak of summer, come rain or shine!
- Long walks in the countryside-I love noticing the changing landscape as the hay gets cut and crops ripen.
- Pick some garden bouquets to place inside (or if you have no garden then buy local flowers). Roses should be in full bloom at the moment!
For a full seasonal eating guide then sign up below for my Seasonal Eating Guide below to receive a printable PDF!
