what's in season: june - bring out the bunting!

up close and personal
with strawberries

June is probably may favourite month, for no better reason than it is my birthday month, the days are getting longer and as a child I was firmly convinced of June’s magical properties; Mid Summer Day was full of faeries, enchantment and stories of future loves and I had no reason to disbelieve this. On my sixteenth birthday,  I was given a bottle of homemade wine as a present, with a beautifully designed label entitled “Rachel’s Midsummer Magic” and I have been trying to maintain this feeling of enchantment ever since!

The elderflower comes into season – a plant that was once thought to have mystical qualities and the ability to protect us from witches. I shall be making some wine (which will protect me from most things, although probably not an overwhelming desire to sing karaoke after a couple of glasses or two!)

2012 is a big year for us Brits, particularly for those of us that live in London. From the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June, to a little thing called the Olympics next month, it is going to be a very busy time. I do like a good parade! (Not quite so happy that London 2012 means you won't actually be able to travel anywhere as they are closing most of the routes!) But food is going to be important from street parties (God save our gracious queen!) to barbecue season, it is time to bring out the bunting!

But more importantly in June, home-grown food really is coming into season. My favourite English asparagus has a couple more weeks to go and my beloved broad beans and peas are here to stay for a while. Thank god! Tomatoes make their first appearance too and the lettuces are raring to go too.

Look out for Jersey Royals, the king of new potatoes, where the specific growing environment (island slopes, sea breezes and seaweed mulch) gives them an intense potato flavour.

vegetables, herbs and wild greens:
artichokes (globe), asparagus, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli (calabrese), broom buds, cabbages (various varieties), carrots, cauliflower, chard, horseradish, lettuce, marrow, peas, peppers, sea spinach, tomatoes, turnips, wild fennel

fruit and nuts:
apples, cherries (European), elderflowers, gooseberries, pears, raspberries, redcurrants, rhubarb, strawberries, tayberries

meat and game:
chicken, lamb (welsh), mutton, pork, turkey, wood pigeon

fish and shellfish:
black bream, crab (spider), freshwater crayfish, cuttlefish, grey mullet, herring, mackerel, pilchards, pollack, prawns, river trout (brown and rainbow), salmon (wild), sardines, sea bass, sea trout, shrimp