This Month

If you want to find out more about growing your own fruit and vegetables, keeping hens or bees or making your own cheese and bread and much more, visit Our Little Green Book of Home Grown Harvests

As it comes into season in early June, the British strawberry has long been a sign that summer has arrived. Modern farming techniques - namely polytunnels - mean you can find British strawberries on supermarket shelves from as early as March to as late as November. They just don't taste the same, though. For the richest, sweetest flavour you want to eat them during their brief natural season - from June to August.

Visit your local pick-your-own farm for the freshest strawberries possible. And do your picking in the sun. Not only will it be more enjoyable, but the strawberries will have a better flavour, too - really.

Short of growing your own, pick-your-own farms and farmers markets are also your best chance of finding some really interesting and diverse varieties such as Florence, Rhapsody or Honeoye, - a change from the bouncy, flavourless Elsanta which makes up 80% of strawberries grown in this country.

Cook In Season
Roasted Fruits

Find FoodLoversBritain.com Approved places to buy & eat British strawberries

If you want help planning your veg plot or allotment virtually, visit www.growveg.com - they'll show you how to plan and plant whatever you want to grow.

Sometimes called green beans, runner beans are one of the most rewarding vegetables to grow. Put in a little ground-work and you'll have a glut on your hands in less than three months.

June sees the arrival of the youngest, finest runner beans. These early beans are tender enough to be eaten raw in salads or with a dip. If you catch them in time, you may not even have to top or tail them or remove the stringy seams which run down each side - though this is essential in later crops.

Steam or boil larger beans until al-dente and serve as a simple acompaniment to fish, chicken or lamb - perhaps tossed in a mustard-y light vinaigrette.

If not growing your own, then definitely pick-your-own and look out for some striking less common varieties which come in shades of yellow, pink, purple and blue - clearly a runner bean is not just a green bean...

Cook In Season
Piccalilli

Our website editor Jo is growing her own and blogging about it - see what she has to say...

If you want help planning your veg plot or allotment virtually, visit www.growveg.com - they'll show you how to plan and plant whatever you want to grow.

The gentleness of the British climate is perfect for gooseberries. Flavour-wise, though, there's nothing gentle about the gooseberry. Sharp and tangy, the early summer berries are a powerful hit to the palate. The earliest, greenest gooseberries - abundant in June - are the sharpest. With a little sugar added, these make the best fools, pies and preserves.

Nature knows the foods which go well with gooseberries - they're in season at the same time. Try poaching them with a head or two of elderflower for a subtle floral flavour or make a traditional gooseberry sauce to cut through the richness of some summery oily fish such as mackerel or sardines.

If you're planning to eat your gooseberries straight from the bush, you'll want to wait a few weeks for the dessert varieties to fully ripen to a golden-yellow or ruby-red colour. These will be sweeter and softer and much less mouth-puckering.

Cook In Season
Mackerel with Gooseberry Puree

Find FoodLoversBritain.com Approved places to buy & eat British gooseberries

If you want help planning your veg plot or allotment virtually, visit www.growveg.com - they'll show you how to plan and plant whatever you want to grow.

There is no more summery a smell than that of sardines cooking on a barbecue. Sadly, all too many people confine this treat to hot Mediterranean holidays.

We should all be eating sardines more often. Not only because they're so rich in omega 3 and calcium, but also because they're one of the most sustainable around - a recommended choice on the MCS's Fish to Eat list. Another plus side is their cost - in season, they really can be as cheap as chips.

They can be bought tinned or frozen but fresh is definitely best. If you can get to the coast, buy them straight from the boat and eat on the day for the sprightliest flavour. If you come across pilchards along the way, remember that they're exactly the same thing.

Try dressing your sardines with a vinaigrette or maybe serving with a rich tomato sauce or peperonata. Really, though, a wedge of lemon and some crusty bread is all you need.

Cook In Season
Sardines with Parsley Vinaigrette

Read more about fish & sustainability in Mitch Tonks' Fish

The Month of Taste, created by FARMA, from 13 June - 19 July celebrates the best of seasonal British produce direct from the farm.