Produce availability of seasonal foods in July across the UK will vary. Overseas supply of produce identified with a country and region of Britain as its origin may focus on certain key foods in season in Britain's summer month of July.
Great British Menu, as seen on BBC Television, released the Great British Menu Cookbook (Dorling Kindersley, 2007) with its list of what food's in season in fruits & nuts, meat, game & poultry, vegetables, cheese, fish & shellfish, an inspiration for 'what foods are in season in July'.
Seasonal Fish & Seafood in July
The Great British Menu Cookbook (Dorling Kindersley, 2007) lists eight fish & seafood as what's in season when for July:
- clams
- crab
- lobster
- pike
- pilchards
- prawns
- Scottish squid
- trout
Scottish squid has a short summer season and fresh squid will be available to buy in October. Pike is in season only in July. Each of the other fish & seafood are available in other months:
- Clams are in season in July, September
- Crab is coming to the end of its three month season from May to July
- Lobster is popular and available for buying across the year, in season in July, November, January, March, April,June
- Pilchards, caught off the East Anglian coast and Cornish coasts, start their seasonal availability in July. British season for buying fresh pilchards runs through July, August and September.
- Prawns and langoustines from Scotland are in season in July, September, May
- British or Scottish trout can be bought in season in July and August. Sea trout is available earlier in May and June from the UK. British brown trout has a short season in September.
Seasonal Fruits & Vegetables in July
Quality and quantity of fruits and vegetables can change across the month of July. Berry fruits become abundant with a selection of blueberries, gooseberries, loganberries, blackcurrants, raspberries and strawberries plus top fruit cherries and elderflowers.
Vegetables used in Italian dishes, sage, fennel, garlic, aubergines, outdoor-grown plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, shallots, will be in season in July. Samphire, from the British coastline, cauliflower, globe artichokes and legumes French beans (also know as snake beans or fine beans), runner beans, broad beans and peas are considered as in seasonal foods for July.
July's vegetables includes choices for making summer salads:
- cucumber
- radishes
- sweetcorn
- tomatoes
- watercress
- lettuce
Simone Seekers in her book Celebrations (National Trust 1995) suggests "nasturtium, marigold, borage, small pansies, chives, rose petals." for her 'Festive Summer Salad'. These can bring yellow, orange, red and blue to green and red salad leaves. Edible flowers can be interesting companions to salad vegetables.
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