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Blue mayonnaise and gooseberries (there might be a comma missing somewhere...)
Well, it's finally June. And as our season officially changes, the Well Seasoned livery switches to red hot. Thinking back to those bitterly cold days of December and January you'd think we were living in a different country, even another continent. Seasonality is so marked in the UK which is what gives us such a diverse and ever-changing variety of food to choose from.
So, the rich gamey flavours of Winter and Spring have passed but we've got a while to go before the Summer's full, fruity bounties are on offer. What do we eat? One food group that really come into its own in early Summer is our herbs. By definition, herbs are just the leaves and shoots (rather than fruit or berries) of plants, so they are ready to use much earlier in the year that other ingredients. If you take a look at our seasonality charts you see that borage, chervil, lemon thyme, lovage, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, tarragon, thyme are all in season from late May through to the end of Summer. That's eleven culinary geniuses, all bursting with flavour and at your disposal right now so it's definitely thyme (sorry) to get cooking. If you want to try something really simple, just chop up a few leaves and mix them into some free range mayonnaise for an added dimension to your Summer BBQ.
Did you know...? June is named after the Roman goddess Junno and was traditionally seen as the best month to get married. An old English proverb says "married in the month of June means life will be one long honeymoon."
June is probably the first month when you can reliably (as far as that word ever applies to British weather) plan trips in the great outdoors without waterproofs. The Well Seasoned team have a host of outdoor activities planned including mackerel fishing, scallop diving, bike riding, hiking and just lounging around in the garden. Of course "the Season" also kicks off around now with loads of well-known events such as Wimbledon and Royal Ascot taking place. Keep up to date with all the latest seasonal action on Twitter and Facebook.
Well Seasoned News in Brief
Patrick didn't win the sailing competition (but came pretty close). The Twig did win the pirate-themed crazy golf competition. Alex didn't enter any competitions but did eat lots.
So hot right now...
Top tips for a juicy June:
Aubergines
Berlotti beans
Black bream
Broad beans
Courgettes
Cuttlefish
Herring
Lettuce
Mackerel
Pigeon
As usual, you can find more in-season goodies with our Seasonality Charts.
A fool's paradise
Gooseberries have slightly fallen out of favour in recent times but in the 1800s they were all the rage. Gooseberry clubs were formed by growers throughout the North and annual fairs took place all over the country for competitors to show their prized fruits.
Gooseberries usually ripen in June, so are one of the first summer fruits available, and they are hugely versatile; they lend themselves to a wide range of dishes, both sweet and savoury (including, incidentally, as an accompaniment to our other Summer favourite, mackerel.) However, it’s Summer, the weather is great and England haven't been trounced in the cricket so we thought we should have a celebratory drink.
Gooseberry bellini (2 glasses)
- 100g ripe, plump gooseberries
- 3 dessert spoons of caster sugar (gooseberries are quite tart so this is rather than more than needed for more traditional fruits)
- Chilled cava or other sparkling wine (if you’d like to use a British wine try Denbies Whitedowns Cuvee NV)
Using a sharp knife, remove the stalks and stems from the gooseberries (this will take a little time but is worth doing to avoid woody bits in your drink). Place into a bowl and add the sugar. Using a hand blender, blend the fruit and sugar into a smooth puree. Strain the puree through a sieve. Take your champagne glass, pour in some of the puree up to about 1/3 and top up with the sparkling wine. Give a gentle stir and enjoy. You’ll have a refreshing, light drink perfect for a summer afternoon’s barbecue or a more sophisticated evening party. Cheers!
Events
23rd June: Midsummer Bonfires, Cornwall
In Cornwall on Midsummer's night a chain of bonfires is lit all along the coast starting at Land's End. Arsonists' heaven. The ceremony is spoken in Cornish and bundles of herbs are thrown onto the fires (we think 'to give new strength to the sun' but, quite frankly, since it's all in Cornish, it could be anything.)
25th June: Pembrokeshire Fish Week
A wonderful week long festival celebrating the finest of British fish from mackerel to mussels and sea bass to sole – it's all here. Just don’t expect to find any crab sticks. Find out more at www.pembrokeshirefishweek.co.uk
Producer of the Month
Our producer of the month for June is Guy Springett at BLUE - growers of blueberries and makers of fine blueberry sauces. BLUE, based in Wales, came about out of necessity rather than design. In the summer of 2009 the price of fresh blueberries hit an all time low and harvesting the fruit cost Guy more than he could sell it for. So he began to experiment, creating sauces and syrups with blueberries as the main ingredient, drawing on his knowledge of Asian cuisine (he grew up in Borneo). The BLUE range now includes salad dressings, syrups and savoury sauces. Find more about Guy and his little blue friends on the BLUE website.
To win a trio of BLUE sauces Spicy (marinade), Lightning (sugar free salad dressing) and Summer (for chilled red wine punch) click HERE.
Competition news
We had a whole host of competitions throughout the Spring months:
Neill F won our main Spring competition and wins a place for two people on a Living off the Land course at Jimmy's Farm.
Joanne S won our samphire competition and a bunch of Cornish Rock Samphire is on its way to you courtesy of Cornish Samphire.
Jules N won a bumper pack of colourful and unusual seeds from our Facebook page.
Finally, Michael-John P from Suffolk won our window-sill herb kit for correctly guessing the mystery ingredients also on our Facebook page.
Congratulations to you all. We'll be uploading details of our Summer competitions very soon including an amazing oportunity to win life membership of the guest room network Bed&Fed and a chance to get your hands on a DVD of the award-winning film The End of the Line, so make sure you keep an eye on the website and blog.
Enjoy getting out and about in June. We'll certainly be making the most of it and we'll be in touch again in July. We won't go predicting a "barbecue Summer" just yet, but it's looking pretty good so far.
Until then, keep it seasonal!
Patrick, Alex and the Twig
Well Seasoned
  
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Broad beans: Welcome summer in with one of the nation's most versatile vegetables. Salads, stews, casseroles and pasta all love to cosy up to these plump green beauties.
Pigeon: Abundant and tasty. This easy to obtain rich red meat is ideal for making marinaded summer barbecue kebabs. Get them from your game dealer or ask the local farmer.
Cuttlefish: Harder to get hold of than its cephalopod brother, the squid, but just as tasty and in season a couple of months earlier. Cook and prepare in the same way.
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