This week's market report from Wild Harvest features girolles, gooseberries and wood sorrel and as well as a whole host of other fruit and vegetables currently in season which you can see below:
Wild Mushrooms & Truffles
Girolles
Whilst we have a fine selection of fresh cultivated exotic mushrooms & throughout the summer we will see little flashes of cep, mousseron, trompette etc it’s predominately all about girolles until autumn now.
Bulgaria currently owns girolle supply, but their crop is now mature and therefore small sizes are hard to come by.
Pretty soon we will see the travelling girolle show move from the Balkans to the Baltics, and finally to Russia and Belarus.
It’s these shifts which provide the smaller mushrooms.
We traditionally see (my favourite) Scottish girolles mid July.
Summer truffles are in glorious abundance. Prices are so keen you can grate truffle onto things as you would parmesan now.
Fruits
Gooseberries
If preserving is your thing now is the time to reach for the cherry vodka recipe.
Whilst France are still producing some lovely premium fruits such as the elegant two tone rainier variety, Greece and Turkey have hit cherry abundance driving prices down.
Gooseberries are now readily available.
The acidity of these berries provide a perfect foil to fats
in both sweet and savoury dishes. Whether it be a sweet fool or savoury mackerel treat.
The French enjoy them with mackerel so much that they are known as groseille à maquereau the other side of the channel.
Without further spiel here are some other fruits in amazing shape right now:-
Flat peaches
White & yellow peaches
Nectarines
Strawberries in various forms
Apricots
Charentais melons have now peaked
Raspberries
Tomatoes in a dizzying array of shapes and colours including the ready made “Inca” mix
Vegetables
Pineapple Weed
Our foraging contacts from the extremes of the British Isles are now picking some fascinating specimens such as pineapple weed.
A camomile relative that takes well to infusions. I’ve heard tell of a knockout pineapple weed panna cotta recipe. I won’t insult people by describing it’s flavour and scent profile.
As with fruits here are the current good guys:-
Jersey royal spuds
Peas & broad beans
Sea aster
Sweet cicely
Wood sorrel – Elegant, wild and lemon flavoured
Adult and baby artichokes
Round and yellow courgettes
Multicoloured radishes
A wide range of Europe’s favourite and less well known salad leaves
Call in on 020 7498 5397 to speak to the team about what other treats we have in store for you today. Visit the website here.
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