Trends

All The Produce To Get Excited About This May—And What To Cook With It

From crunchy radish to sweet strawberries, the beginning of spring means fresh fruits and veggies are finally available!

As the old saying goes, April showers brings… May produce! May is when fruits and veggies like rhubarb, strawberries and asparagus start cropping up. Super-seasonal delicacies, like fiddleheads and ramps, are also available, so grab them if you see them (just be sure to cook them properly). Here’s everything that’s in season in May across Canada, and what you should cook with the first locally grown fruits and veggies of the season.

Rhubarb

Strawberry-rhubarb-sangria in clear glasses on wooden tabletop

Photo, Erik Putz.

Pink rhubarb is pretty much made for the Instagram age, but this sweet-tart veggie is much more than eye candy. It’s most commonly found in desserts, but we’re fond of savoury preparations too. It’s especially delicious in sangria!

Rhubarb recipes:

Strawberries

Strawberry scones on cooling rack.

Strawberry scones. Photo, Roberto Caruso.

Locally grown strawberries will likely start appearing towards the end of the month, but they’ll be worth the wait!

Strawberry recipes:

Asparagus

asparagus fries on the side of a fish filet

Baked asparagus fries. Photo, Erik Putz.

Green stalks of asparagus are truly a springtime treat. They make a delicious side and they’re super easy to prepare.

Asparagus recipes:

Spinach

Spinach salad with avocado dressing and raspberries

Photo, Erik Putz.

Sure, frozen spinach is great and all, but in May, reach for the fresh stuff.

Spinach recipes:

Radish

Barbecued pork tenderloin medallions and radish and cucumber salad on a white plate

Photo, Roberto Caruso.

Radishes often go overlooked, but no longer. They’re super versatile and add a nice crunch to salad. And, you can also eat radish greens, which means you can easily eat it root to stem.

Radish recipes:

Green Onion

Easy tofu recipes - Pork and tofu cakes

Photo, Erik Putz.

Those on the west coast should start seeing green onions this time of year.

Green onion recipes:

Peas

Sweet peas on toast

Photo, Erik Putz.

Spring peas are also more of a west coast thing (they peak in summer in places like Ontario).

Pea recipes:

Kale

Salad greens, like spinach and kale, start to become available in the springtime.

Kale recipes:

Garlic scapes, ramps and fiddleheads

Fiddleheads and morrels in a basket.

The fiddlehead season is short, so get ’em while you can! Photo, iStock.

Garlic scapes (the shoots that grow from a garlic bulb; they have a mild garlicky flavour), ramps (spring onions) and fiddleheads appear in farmers’ market for a very short window, so if you see them, get ’em. However, don’t mess around with fiddleheads—be sure to cook them properly!

Garlic scapes recipes:

How to make baked asparagus fries

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