Celebrate Summer Sweetness With a Basket Full of These Fruits
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Ah, summertime… some might consider it the sweetest season of all—and it’s not just because of the warm weather! There are also tons of sweet summer fruits (along with summer vegetables) that start to pop up at farmers' markets or even in your own backyard garden right around this time of the year. Of course, many of these fruits are available year-round in most supermarkets. But there's just something about fresh, juicy watermelon during the warm weather months. Or how about a pint of cherries for snacking on during a picnic in the park. You can even cook or bake with these summer fruits to make your favorite summer desserts.
Ahead, we've rounded up some seasonal fruits to look out for the next time you take a trip to the farmers' market this summer. The colorful options are perfect for a summery fruit salad, but you can also use them for peach recipes, berry-filled treats, and more! Whether you're looking for fun tips on strawberries or new ways to put juicy melons to good use, this list has all the info you need to know. You can even find out when these summer fruits will hit a farmers' market near you. So, read on and get ready to make a summery fruit cocktail that's perfectly refreshing on a summer day.
Put all those summer fruits to good use:
Watermelon
Nothing screams summer quite like watermelon! The juicy, sweet fruit is one of our favorite ways to celebrate the season. Starting as early as June or July, you'll see the big, seeded melons pop up everywhere. Cut them into wedges for a summery snack or dice them up to toss in a fruit salad. You can even use them for making sweet watermelon cocktails.
Blueberries
During the summer months, you'll find plenty of pick-your-own farms with blueberry bushes across the country. (Yes, in case you didn't know, blueberries do grow on bushes!) If the idea of grabbing a handful of blueberries sounds right up your alley, you might want to even try growing your own blueberries at home. But no matter where you get them, you'll want to use them for making blueberry pie, blueberry lemon cake, or blueberry buckle.
Cherries
By the time June and July roll around, we're in peak cherry season. You can get your fix with different types of cherries, like Bing and Rainier. Aside from just snacking on these bite-sized fruits, you can also use them to make a cherry crisp or cherry sorbet. Just be sure to pit the cherry before cooking them.
Peaches
Fuzzy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and one of the best parts about summer—fresh peaches will begin hitting stands as early as May in the South. Other parts of the country will see them come June or July. One of Ree Drummond's favorite ways to enjoy peaches is simple sliced and grilled. It helps bring out the natural sweetness and makes for a delicious pairing with vanilla ice cream.
Blackberries
When blackberries are in season, they're bursting with juiciness, which is why Ree uses them for her blackberry cobbler. You can also pair them up with blueberries and strawberries for a three-berry dessert, like this mixed berry shortcake.
Raspberries
Ruby red raspberries are sweet and delicate. To prevent them from turning mushy, be sure to wash raspberries by placing them in a colander and dunking it in a bowl filled with cold water. You never want to run them under the faucet. They'll be wonderful in a no-bake raspberry cream pie or savor the season throughout the year by making homemade raspberry jam.
Plums
A relative of peaches and other stone fruits, plums have a smooth skin that can range in colors from deep purple to blue to red. Starting in July, you'll find juicy plums that can simply be sliced or diced and added to yogurt parfaits or even summer salads. They pair well with savory ingredients like goat cheese as well as sweet recipes like a homemade tart.
Honeydew
Mildly sweet green-colored honeydew are most abundant in the late summer months. You can dice them up or use a melon baller to create cute rounds out of the juicy flesh. The fruit is also a refreshing addition to Ree's melon spritzer. Just be sure to look for honeydew that has a creamy yellow rind and a gentle give when pressed to ensure that it's ripe.
Strawberries
In some places around the country, you'll see strawberries in season during the late spring months, but early summer is when they're best! The juicy red berries are perfect for using in strawberry desserts, sliced and added to a summer cocktail, or even used in a savory grilled chicken and strawberry wrap. When summer comes to an end, you can preserve your ripe strawberries simply by freezing them.
Apricots
Here's another stone fruit to try this summer! Though you might recognize dried apricots in stores year-round, the fresh variety are best from June to August. You can roast them to enjoy with a scoop of ice cream or bake them in apricot cakes, tarts, or crisps.
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