Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown share their pick of the leanest season’s finest.

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spots as the sun fades and feeling certain once again that the season will never end. And the flavours? Fleeting harvests of fruits that might be available year-round but only taste this good in season.

Blueberries

Blueberries are becoming a significant British crop: around 3,000 tonnes (up to 6,000 in peak years). That accounts for about 10% of annual consumption, though domestic farms are currently expanding. While the south – Dorset, Surrey, Kent and Essex – leads the way, blueberries have proven a hardy plant and are now being grown in Scotland as well.

Blueberries aren’t cheap – using frozen blueberries to make blueberry syrup is by far the most economical approach to using them behind the bar and saving a few fresh (or whole frozen) berries for garnish. A surprising truth about freshness in the shops: frozen berries are often fresher than the fresh ones. They are frozen immediately after harvest, preserving that freshness. Plus, due to the cellular breakdown from freezing, frozen berries will give a syrup or a drink much more colour.

We have tried making blueberry syrup with lacto-fermented berries, and the result was a step up. However, we quickly discovered that adding a pinch of salt when making a classic blueberry simple syrup yields a nearly identical result.

Greengage

Last summer’s greengage glut prompted us to run off 15 litres of umeshu – Japanese plum liqueur. Well, we called it umeshu, but the ume is a bitter green cousin to the apricot despite its plummy visage. Ume’s flavour is more in line with British sloes than greengage, but we compensated for this by using a barrel-aged satsuma shochu.

Note: satsuma shochu has no citrus component. This shochu is named after the region in the Kagoshima Prefecture at the southern tip of Honshu, Japan’s main island. Distilled from sweet potatoes and koji-inoculated rice (typically bottled at 25% ABV), this shochu is perfect for making umeshu. While Japanese recipes call for sweetening at the start with rock sugar to slow its release and give the spirit a chance to extract some of the fruit sugars, we prefer to simply sweeten to taste at the end. The result? Low-alcohol, deep golden plum goodness.

Melon

Two of our new fave flavour pairings also hail from the Pacific Rim and have recent roots in bubble tea – a new crucible for tea-and-fruit experimentation. Cantaloupe and black tea – such as hojicha or pu-erh – imbue the tea with an explosion of ripe melon.

Another is honeydew with matcha tea. We tried it with sencha and a couple of other green teas, but matcha really stood out among them. Honeydew and matcha cry out to be made into a long drink with white rum.

Shiso

We feel fortunate to be able to grow shiso, though anyone with a sunny window, a bucket of potting soil and a vaguely green thumb can do the same. Why grow it? One: shiso has a gorgeous flavour that’s distinctly different from basil. Two: although the price has come down by half in recent years, we still see it for as much as 50p per leaf.

You can find both green and purple shiso seeds online. The secret is to soak them in a dish of water for 24-48 hours before planting them. It takes two to three months to bring them to maturity (if you start to see flowers, you’ve let the plant go too far and should harvest immediately as it will put all its energy into producing seeds and the leaves will begin to die). We make loads of red shiso syrup for a whisky cocktail. We also use the leaves in a gin shiso smash and for garnish. We can never grow enough, but that’s more testament to their quality than scarcity.

Figs

We planted fig trees a couple of years ago. If we were in the Mediterranean, we’d be buried in figs by now rather than waiting impatiently while buying them in the shops to make caramelised fig syrup – a must behind the bar. Fig purée has also proven to be a good mixer. Hopefully, someday we will be able to report that we did it with our own figs.

Peaches

Bellinis are among the most seasonally limited of all drinks if you rely on Italian flat peaches at their peak. Thankfully, there are commercial peach purées, there are other peaches on the shelves, and flat peaches from other parts of the world.

However, none will ever be quite as good. On our first visit to Harry’s in Venice, we discovered a second Bellini on the menu – a Gin Bellini. Extensive experimentation with that connection has never disappointed us. One addition we have found that brings substitute peaches up a notch is fresh raspberries. Traditional? Not yet, but sooo good.

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SEASONAL INGREDIENTS

DOMESTIC

Angelica (JUN)

Apricots (JUN)

Basil (JUL/AUG)

Bilberries (JUL/AUG)

Blackberries (AUG)

Blackcurrants (JUN/JUL/AUG)

Blueberries (JUL/AUG)

Bramley apples (JUL)

Cantaloupe (AUG)

Cherries (JUN/JUL/AUG)

Chervil (JUN/JUL/AUG)

Coriander (JUN/JUL/AUG)

Cucumber (JUN/JUL)

Dill (JUL/AUG)

Elderflowers (JUN/JUL)

Figs (AUG)

Gooseberries (JUN/JUL/AUG)

Greengages (JUL)

Loganberries (AUG)

Melons (JUL/AUG)

Mint (JUN/JUL/AUG)

Nasturtium (JUL)

Nectarines (JUN/JUL/AUG)

Oregano (JUL/AUG)

Peaches (JUL)

Peppers (sweet) (JUL)

Plums (AUG)

Raspberries (JUN/JUL/AUG)

Redcurrants (AUG)

Rhubarb (JUN/JUL)

Rosemary (JUL)

Sage (JUL/AUG)

Samphire (JUN/JUL)

Shiso (JUN/JUL/AUG)

Sorrel (JUL)

Strawberries (JUN/JUL/AUG)

Tarragon (JUL/AUG)

Thyme (JUL)

Tomatoes (JUN/JUL)

Watercress (JUN)

IMPORTED

Kiwi (JUN)

Mandarins (JUN/JUL/AUG)

Pineapples (JUL/AUG)

Pink grapefruit (JUL/AUG)