From foraging to shopping at farmers' markets: Easy ways to take advantage of fresh summer produce

'The best restaurants in the world (Nordic, NOMA, Geranium, etc.) have made foraging a big part of their cooking in getting back to their roots': head chef

Summer is here, so you have a multitude of produce options to add flavour to your meals as well as the opportunity to preserve and enjoy even when the foods are not in-season.

Start off by heading to a local farmers' market to see what's available in your area right now. It's an opportunity to pick up food straight from the field, at peak freshness.

So what should you be looking for?

Berries are picked fresh, so seize this time to make short cakes, crumbles, fruit salads and preserves.

Melons of different kinds can be part of a salad, used to make summery drinks or served wrapped in prosciutto.

All sorts of peppers – along with cucumbers, beans, peas, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, eggplant and celery – as well as fresh garlic to season your dishes will be found at local markets, some even in to September.

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“The best restaurants in the world (Nordic, NOMA, Geranium, etc.) have made foraging a big part of their cooking in getting back to their roots."
— Skyler Milner

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Preserving food

Buying local and in-season will save you money year-round if you take the time to preserve both fruits and vegetables to be used in the fall, winter and spring, when store prices are considerably higher for these items and they are unlikely to be locally grown. Your family and guests will surely appreciate the taste of frozen-fresh strawberries in the middle of January!

Getty Stewart, a Prairie-based professional home economist has a website that shows five ways to preserve summer produce.

Here are some of her tips:

• Fruit is easily frozen – simply wash and dry it before putting it in an air-tight freezer bag. If you will want individual pieces of fruit to use later, perhaps as a cheesecake topping, first freeze the fruit separated on a cookie sheet before transferring it to a Ziploc bag.
• Vegetables can also be frozen, but you have to add a blanching step first. Blanching means putting the vegetables, such as carrots, in a pot of boiling water before freezing. Vegetables of different types will require different blanching times before transferring them to the freezer.
• Fresh herbs, mushrooms, peppers and even apple rings can be dried, or dehydrated.
• Canning, a method used since 1795, remains an excellent way to preserve produce. An online search will provide methods for both pressure and hot water bath canning.
• Making a variety of jams and jellies will bring freshness to your breakfast table and pickling gives some extra flavour for dinner times.

Try foraging

Skyler Milner, who was born and grew up in the Maritimes, is now the head chef at Bro restaurant in Norway. He suggests that people take be aware of an under-used resource – foraging.

“My team and I at Bro pick 40-plus different types of wild growing plants and use them to flavour our dishes," Milner says.

"Some species of note include fiddleheads (uniquely Maritime), pineapple weed, cattails, chickweed, chicory and mustard.”

Check out online resource lists for wild edible plants and in what provinces they can be found before getting started, he recommends.

“The best restaurants in the world (Nordic, NOMA, Geranium, etc.) have made foraging a big part of their cooking in getting back to their roots, and there’s no reason why a person couldn’t harness the skills needed, simply knowing what is safe and what isn’t, and end up with a plethora of wild-growing free food," Milner adds.

— Julia Zolotova photo/Unsplash

 

New ways to enjoy fresh fruit

Chef Brian Dugas of Le Bistro By Liz in Halifax, N.S., offers a “fun and interesting recipe that is easily made at home – a fresh fruit panna cotta.”

Take your favourite seasonal fruit and cut it into bite-size pieces (avoid high acid fruit such as pineapple and kiwi).

Fill muffin tin cups with the chopped fruit

In a pot, put 1.89 liters of Welch’s grape fruit juice

Sprinkle over the top of the juice five tablespoons of Knox gelatin and wait until the powder is absorbed into the juice over medium heat.

Warm juice until gelatin dissolves completely

Let cool to room temperature, pour over the fruit and let stand in the frig overnight

The next day, fill your kitchen sink about three to four inches deep with hot water, gently place the muffin tin into the water. This will release the gelatin from the sides of the tin in about 60 seconds.

Turn muffin tin upside down on baking sheet to release each petit panna cotta (they should release with ease)

This dish is great for dinner parties, kid’s birthdays or as a light snack on a hot summer day, he says. An added bonus? you can also freeze them for use later.

“This dessert is restaurant-style and is gluten and dairy free. It can be vegan by using agar agar powder," Dugas says.

Health perks

Utilizing seasonal produce also comes with less obvious health perks.

A study published in the Journal of Food Science found that in packaged spinach, only 53 per cent of folate was retained after eight days.

Folate (also known as vitamin B9) is essential for healthy cell growth and function as well as in the formation of red blood cells. This example alone shows how consuming fresh produce can be more beneficial for maintaining good health.

Buying locally in-season foods also has a positive impact on your carbon footprint by reducing the distance food has to travel before reaching your plate, as well as giving you the chance to know your farmer and meet new people in the community.