What a month for fruit! Strawberries starting coming in a month ago, and now they are joined by cherries, apricots, and blueberries. It’s the season for tropical fruit as well—pineapples, mangoes, and papaya. For veggies, we may still find remnants of spring—local asparagus, morels, favas, and sweet peas. The first zucchini of the season arrive, as well as cucumbers, peppers, and even corn. Lettuces abound, along with radishes, carrots, and cauliflower. What’s your favorite early summer fruit or vegetable? For me, June is all about the cherries and apricots. Cherries ripen here in Sacramento in late May early June, and usually all at once. If you have a cherry tree, you’ll need buckets! Just get to the cherries before the birds do. Sweet bing cherries and Rainier cherries start arriving from Washington state in mid June. If you have a generous friend with a Bleinheim apricot tree, you’re in luck! Bleinheims are the sweetest, most flavorful variety of apricots. But they are delicate, so usually what we get at the market is a sturdier variety. If the fruit is hard, it won’t be pleasant to eat. Wait until the apricot gives a little before cutting into one. Scroll down for the recipes!
