This week's market report from Wild Harvest features chicken of the wood, borlotti beans and the deep red strasberry as well as a whole host of other fruit and vegetables currently in season which you can see below:
Wild Mushrooms
Morel crops in Turkey have thinned pushing up prices but thankfully the quality is still excellent. It will be interesting to see if the bumper North American crop forecasted at the start of the year comes to fruition prolonging the season.
St Georges have now matured and are therefore larger in size.
The late mousseron season is kicking in now in Bulgaria, driving down the price of the delicate “fairy ring” fungus as it's known in the UK.
The rare chicken of the wood fungus is normally a hit and miss treat from UK foragers, but Hungary are exporting in decent quantities at the moment.
After the traditional gap in decent girolle supply we have high hopes for the Balkans next week. A true early taste of summer.
Truffles
An abundance of summer truffles in Italy is providing a steady flow of tubers. The price is now keen enough to allow generous use, with some way to go still in terms of best price and optimum nose/marbling.
This peak phase of the season normally begins mid June and lasts until the end of August.
Fruits
To sit alongside the fascinating pineberry or white strawberry we are buying into Holland’s strasberry stocks. You can understand the common names use, as they look like a raspberry/strawberry cross. In fact the deep red spherical berry is a strawberry hybrid developed in the 20’s.
We have a full range of stone fruit, but further sunshine is needed until these are useful raw.
India have sorted out a fruit fly problem and as a result the EU have lifted an import ban on the adorable Alfonso mango a year earlier than expected. I like them wrinkly and on the point of being over ripe. At this point they enter my top five fruit list.
We are now awash with tomato options including the fun tomberry in red and yellow forms, and great looking pineapple tomato.
Vegetables
UK green asparagus prices are now super keen as we hit peak season. So called wild asparagus is in good flow.
Baby beets in purple, golden and candy form are back on the culinary map and we have circa two weeks before baby coloured carrots join the party.
Fresh borlotti beans have started and are excellent from the off.
Wild garlic is now in flower providing the nice bonus of a floral garnish option. Other fun and flavoursome foraged items include wild leek bobbles (seed pods), lovely wild fennel and spruce shoots.
You have to be careful with spruce shoots that you don’t end up with a plate tasting and smelling like air freshener. As a starting point you could do worse than check out the Noma Cookbook.
As usual, this is just a small selection of what we have on offer. 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
