Bearing fruit

WHETHER IT'S FRESH STRAWBERRIES OR JUICY PLUMS, SUMMER FRUITS ARE A TRUE HIGHLIGHT OF THE SEASON, GRACING PIES, PASTRIES, DRINKS, DESSERTS AND EVEN STEWS.

- CHRISTIE DIETZ

RECIPE JOURNAL

Rhubarb and strawberries are versatile summer ingredients

As spring unfolds into summer, so a bountiful supply of seasonal fruits appears in gardens and hedgerows across the UK. From soft fruits such as gooseberries, raspberries and redcurrants, to stone fruits - think cherries and juicy plums - there's an abundance of summer fruit available throughout the country, with several regions laying claim to their own specialities.

Head to Scotland, for example, for the reddish-purple tayberry, a raspberry-blackberry hybrid that's named after the River Tay. Wales, with its lengthy fruit-growing history, is home to the unique Vale of Clwyd Denbigh Plum. For the best strawberries and cherries, head to England's milder southern counties, in particular Kent, long known as the Garden of England. Kent is also - along with Yorkshire - the place for rhubarb, which, though technically a vegetable, has surely earned an honorary place as a summer fruit, due to its gloriously tangy role in crumbles and fools.

While these versatile fruits are harvested here in summer, many are also grown and enjoyed around the globe and can be found elsewhere at other times of the year. In general, berries and stone fruits are ideal for pies and pastries, drinks and desserts as well as salads and stews. They preserve beautifully, too: as fruit leathers, brandies, pickles and jams, they can be enjoyed long after their season's end. You find them in sweet dishes such as French strawberry tart and Maine's wild blueberry pie. But they're used in savoury dishes, too, from Aleppo's kebab karaz (lamb meatballs in a cherry sauce) to Japan's umeboshi (pickled ume plums).