The meteorological summer begins on June 1st: the heat is felt, the desire for fresh food is enormous. What are the fruit and vegetables of the month dedicated to the summer?
Do you know that eating fresh and especially seasonal fruit is good for the body and mind? So arm yourself with pen and paper because we're going to give you many tips on fruit and vegetables for the month of June !
Seasonal fruit and vegetable table
|
Season |
Fruits and vegetables |
|
Winter |
Oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, pomegranates, pears, kiwis, lemons, kumquats, citrons, apples, persimmons, clementines, medlars, rowanberries, bergamot, lychee (Chinese cherry), radicchio, onions, fennel, cauliflower, carrots, artichoke, broccoli, cabbage, celery, chard, soncino, garlic, peas, spinach, parsnips, broad beans, catalonia, rocket, radishes, shallots, celeriac, Mizuna brassica, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, turnip greens, chicory, leek, thistle, kohlrabi, beets, horseradish (Cren), rhubarb, white endive, Brussels sprouts, chicory. |
|
Spring |
strawberries, early cherries, lemons, medlars, plums, artichokes, asparagus and radishes, chard, green beans, broad beans, fennel, lettuce, leeks, peas, celery and spinach. |
|
Summer |
apricots, melons, figs, cherries, peaches, plums, all varieties of watermelon including the Pontine watermelon, yellow watermelon, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, Sicilian bananas, figs, black cherries, chard, chicory, cucumbers, spring onions, peas , green beans, lettuce, broad beans, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, leeks, rocket, courgettes, aubergines, radishes, pumpkins, spinach, carrots, cabbage, leeks, red chicory, lamb's lettuce and cabbage |
|
Fall |
pears, pomegranates, persimmons, dates, jujubes, chestnuts, citrons, grapes, pistachios, pink apples, kiwis, lemons, limequats, avocados (winter varieties), pine nuts, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage and savoy cabbage, pumpkin, red chicory, artichoke , fennel. |
Fruits and vegetables of the month of June: what do we find?
In this month the fruit and vegetables that will accompany us throughout the summer begin to arrive. Tomatoes, the undisputed summer vegetable: after admiring them on supermarket counters throughout the year, we can finally taste a tomato that really tastes like a tomato . This is not something to take for granted! Other vegetables that will color our tables will be: parsley (rich in mineral salts, vitamins A, C and K, fibres, proteins and carbohydrates, it has hypotensive, diuretic, laxative and curative properties), peas (you can make soups, enrich baked pasta and seasoning meat dishes), green beans (the pods are rich in fibre, mineral salts and vitamin A), artichokes (with a unique, slightly sweet and slightly bitter taste that gives an identity to all dishes), basil (gives an incredible freshness to dishes), zucchini (rich in potassium and useful for the health of the urinary tract and intestines), aubergines (a thousand ways to cook them from the grill to fried in the oven and in sauces. Have you ever tasted a sandwich with caponata surprise?) and peppers (raw or cooked? They are the vegetables with the highest vitamin C content, even more than citrus fruits). Are you already dreaming of stuffed courgettes and aubergines seasoned with just a little oil? June is also the month of cucumbers (to be eaten raw, in salads or transformed into sauces): are you ready for delicious and fresh salads?
As far as fruit is concerned, this is the right season to start savoring plums (rich in vitamins and mineral salts, an excellent remedy for tiredness), figs (sweet, rich in vitamins and anti-inflammatory properties, have a lower caloric intake than one might think), watermelons (sugar, light and low in calories, helps prevent heart disease and fight cholesterol), melons , peaches (sugary fruit rich in vitamin A, beneficial during exposure to the sun, and vitamin C) , apricots (useful for the skin and against cholesterol and free radicals), strawberries (if eaten fresh and at room temperature they retain all their properties and enhance their antioxidant function) and cherries (they are natural painkillers and anti-inflammatories and also contain vitamins A and C ). Green light to colorful fruit salads!
Ideas in the kitchen: what to prepare with these ingredients?
You may be wondering what you can cook with all these June fruit and vegetables. Don't worry, there will be plenty of ideas and we'll give you some.
- Cold pasta with grilled aubergines, olives and almond pesto;
- Quinoa salad with apricots and walnuts with miso dressing;
- Tofumino for salads;
- Summer vegetable flan;
- Easy cheesecake with cherry jam.
Sicilian fruits and vegetables to taste: many varieties, one better than the other!
Sicily offers many varieties of fruit and vegetables and almost all provinces grow and produce the following products during this period:
- Scillato apricot, grown in the municipality of Scillato, in the province of Palermo;
- Syracuse watermelon, grown in Syracuse;
- bastarduna (prickly pears) from Calatafimi Segesta, in the province of Trapani;
- mastrantoni cherry, grown in the Catania municipalities of Pedara, Trecastagni, Nicolosi, Viagrande, Aci Sant'Antonio and San Giovanni La Punta;
- prickly pears from Etna, grown precisely on the hills of the municipalities of Etna;
- prickly pears of San Cono, grown in the municipality of the same name in the province of Catania;
- prickly pears from the Belice Valley, grown in the territory of the same name;
- prickly pears from the Val di Catania, grown in the high hill towns of the Val di Catania in medium-textured soils;
- Maletto strawberry, typical of the towns of Maletto and Bronte, in the province of Catania;
- strawberry from Ribera, municipality of Agrigento;
- strawberry from Sciacca, municipality of Agrigento;
- Yellow melon;
- Pepper;
- Romaine lettuce;
- Canastra lettuce;
- Cherry tomato;
- Purple Aubergine (Silk);
- Black Eggplant;
- Cucumber;
- Iceberg lettuce;
- Missouri tomato.
June fish: what do the sea, lakes and rivers offer us?
Often too mistreated, not everyone knows that we can't always find some varieties of fish. There are times when certain species should not be disturbed as they are mating and reproducing. In this period what types of fish can we find?
Anchovies : poor but very tasty oily fish, with a high Omega 3 content, they are excellent fried or marinated, but also in pasta sauces, with fennel.
Red snapper : similar in shape to sea bream, good grilled, baked, cooked in mad water, baked or with raw oil and parsley.
Swordfish : excellent grilled or baked, it is also used to prepare sauces such as fish sauce.
Breed : cartilaginous white fish, it is recommended to keep it in the freezer to make its meat more tender.
Amberjack : its tasty meat is suitable for steaming or baking, but it is also excellent in sauces or raw.
Scampi : excellent boiled, grilled, fried or even raw and in sauces for first courses.
Cuttlefish : this white mollusk is excellent stuffed, grilled and in sauces, for which its black can also be used, i.e. the liquid expelled by the animal in dangerous situations.
Mackerel : recommended for its omega-3 fat content, it has soft and tasty meat and can replace tuna.
Squid : often confused with squid, it has much larger dimensions and different fins, which start at the end of the body and are short. For its tender and delicate meat it is much loved in the kitchen and can be used in many recipes.
Other seasonal fish in June are: anchovies, mullet, grouper, crab, monkfish, San Pietro, bream, redfish, sole, bluefin tuna, red mullet, clam.
