With juicy berries, leafy greens, and crunchy vegetables overflowing at farmers’ markets and grocery stores, May might just be the best time of year for produce. You get the best of both worlds—the late trickle of spring greens with the arrival of some of summer’s brightest beauties. Some produce is only available for a short time, so it’s important to know what to take advantage of for the best flavor. And even when you do stock up, you’ll then need to decide what to cook or bake first. Read on to learn about what fruits and vegetables are at their peak in May and how to prepare them.
Apricots
Before peaches are at their peak, there’s another variety of stone fruit that you should be on the lookout for—apricots. There are so many sweet and savory applications for this vibrant orange-yellow fruit, including pies and galettes, dessert bars, and really, almost any recipe that calls for peaches. When shopping for apricots, look for ones that are ripe or slightly underripe for the best texture and flavor and avoid grabbing fruit with soft or brown spots.
Asparagus
Whether you serve it as a simple roasted or grilled side dish or chop it up and fold it into a quiche or pasta dish, asparagus should be at the top of your must-eat list for May. Although it’s a vegetable that you can generally find year-round in most grocery stores, the best stalks are in season in the springtime. Need ideas for how to cook with asparagus? You can find 20 delicious asparagus recipes here.
Artichokes
Canned, marinated artichokes are a great pantry staple to keep on hand whenever you want to work some veggies into a pasta dish or salad—but you can’t beat fresh artichokes. They’re in season for a short time during spring and May is typically the last month when you’ll be able to get your hands on them. If there’s one recipe that you make, be sure that it’s these stuffed artichokes.
Beets
Towards the end of May, you should be on the lookout for beets, which will just be entering their prime season. The two most common ways to prepare beets are either by roasting them or poaching them until they’re tender. From here, you can eat them as is, fold them into a salad, blend them into a smoothie, or try any number of these beet recipes.
Cherries
You may have to wait a little while longer for sour cherries to pop up, but you can get your hands on sweet cherries right now. Look for firm, plump cherries that are shiny and bright red, which is a sign that they’re prime for snacking, cooking, and baking.
Peas
This isn’t the time of year to fill your freezer with frozen peas. English garden peas, sugar snap peas, and snow peas are all at their peak in May and you can’t go wrong with any. When shopping for fresh peas, look for ones that are firm, bright green, and don’t have any brown spots. Let them shine in Ree’s lemon-herb chicken thighs with snap pea salad, her spring pea pesto pasta salad, or this elegant spring pea and goat cheese puff pastry tart.
Radishes
May is typically the last month when locally grown radishes will be available, so don’t sleep on them! That’s because there is so much more to do with them rather than just slicing and tossing them in a salad. Follow these radish recipes to make the most of their peppery flavor.
Rhubarb
Rhubarb is one of the few vegetables (yes, vegetables!) that you can really only find fresh during spring, so it’s worth taking advantage of when you can. The pink-green stalks are incredibly tart on their own, which is why they’re often paired with sugar and sweeter berries to balance out their flavor. Strawberry rhubarb pie is arguably the most iconic dessert that uses this spring veggie, but try other variations like these strawberry rhubarb bars, rhubarb crisp, or this rhubarb upside-down cake.
Spring Onions
Although they look similar, spring onions are not the same thing as scallions or green onions. This mild allium isn’t as sharp as regular onions but has more flavor and heat than scallions. Available for a short period during April and May, spring onions are great for roasting or slicing raw and tossing into a salad.
Strawberries
You know them and love them. While you can easily find strawberries year-round in the grocery store, locally grown ones start showing up in May in many parts of the country. When shopping for strawberries, look for berries that are plump, firm, and bright red with no visible soft spots or signs of mold growth. Once you bring them home, the world is your oyster (er, berry!) when it comes to all the ways you can enjoy them.
