British seasonal food in July

British seasonal food in July in season UK

Welcome to our guide to the best British seasonal food in July. It’s an abundant month as warmer weather and stronger sunshine bring us a wider range of homegrown produce.

There’s plenty to buy at the market, or pick in a kitchen garden, allotment, or grow-your-own pots on the patio. Here’s the big list of the best fresh ingredients to buy and eat this month:

Fruit in season in July

Clockwise from top left: figs, raspberries, apricots, redcurrants

British-grown fruit this month

  • apricots
  • blackberries
  • blackcurrants
  • blueberries
  • cherries
  • figs
  • gooseberries
  • loganberries
  • peaches
  • raspberries
  • redcurrants
  • rhubarb
  • strawberries
  • tayberries
  • whitecurrants

Best imported seasonal fruit

  • apricots
  • figs
  • melon (Charentais, cantaloupe, galia)
  • nectarines
  • peaches
  • pineapples

Recommended seasonal fruit & preserves books

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Vegetables in season in July

Clockwise from top left: cucumber, courgettes, watercress, kohlrabi
  • aubergines
  • beetroot
  • broad beans
  • broccoli (calabrese)
  • cabbages (summer, red)
  • celery
  • chard
  • chicory
  • courgettes
  • cucumbers
  • fennel (Florence)
  • globe artichokes
  • green beans (French and runner)
  • kohlrabi
  • leaf beet (perpetual spinach)
  • lettuce and other salad leaves
  • mangetout
  • marrows
  • new potatoes
  • okra
  • pak choi
  • peas
  • peppers
  • radishes
  • shallots
  • spinach
  • spring onions
  • summer squash
  • tomatoes
  • turnips
  • watercress

[Available most months in good condition: button mushrooms, carrots, cauliflower, maincrop potatoes, onions, rocket.]

Recommended seasonal veg books & box delivery

Herbs in season in July

  • basil
  • chervil
  • chives
  • coriander
  • dill
  • fennel
  • lovage
  • marjoram
  • mint
  • oregano
  • parsley
  • rosemary
  • sage
  • sorrel
  • summer savory
  • tarragon
  • thyme
  • winter savory

[Always available: chives, coriander, parsley grown under cover; older leaves of hardy perennials like bay, rosemary, sage, thyme.]

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Wild / foraged food in season in July

British foraged ingredients in July UK wild food
Clockwise from top left: elderflowers, bilberries, golden chanterelles, rock samphire
  • bilberries and blaeberries (wild blueberries)
  • elderflowers
  • puffball mushrooms
  • samphire (marsh and rock)
  • Scottish girolles (golden chanterelles)

[Take great care when foraging as it’s very easy to confuse edible and poisonous ingredients.]

Recommended foraging & wild food books

Fish in season in July

British seasonal fish shellfish seafood in season in July UK
Clockwise from top left: haddock, mackerel, Dover sole, prawns

July is a good month for flatfish that are now out of their spawning season. There’s some shellfish available such as Atlantic prawns and crab, plus fresh mackerel and sardines to marinade and throw on the barbecue.

Seasonal fish varies greatly around the UK and from year to year, for complex reasons including geography, climate change and overfishing. It’s a real labour of love trying to keep up with it all. If in doubt about sustainability, look for farmed fish or responsibly fished wild varieties from a reliable fishmonger.

Here’s a rough guide to what fish and seafood is most sustainable, in season and on sale now in July:

Sustainable British fish varieties

  • brill
  • coley / saithe
  • crab (brown)
  • dab
  • flounder
  • haddock
  • herring / sild
  • mackerel
  • plaice
  • pollock
  • pouting / bib
  • cold water prawns
  • common sole / Dover sole

[To the best of my knowledge, the list above excludes critically endangered fish. Visit The Good Fish Guide from the Marine Conservation Society for the latest lists which are regularly updated.]

Fish in season in July, less sustainable

You can still find most of these fished using sustainable methods via a good fishmonger.

  • cod
  • lemon sole
  • sardines / pilchards
  • squid
  • whiting
  • wild halibut (best to avoid completely)
  • wild salmon
  • wild seabream

[In good condition almost all year: herring, farmed halibut, farmed sea bream, farmed turbot, megrim sole, sustainably-fished monkfish, rope-grown mussels, prawns.]

Recommended fish & shellfish books

Meat, poultry and game in season in July

UK in season July game meat poultry
Left to right: salt marsh lamb, wild red deer
  • lamb (including salt marsh lamb)
  • venison (wild red deer)

[Always available in good condition: beef, chicken, pork, rabbit, farmed venison, wood pigeon.]

Recommended meat, poultry & game books

Cheese in season in July

British cheeses in season in July UK and imported French seasonal cheese
Clockwise from top left: fresh goat cheese, Stinking Bishop, St Marcellin, Camembert

British cheeses this month

  • fresh goat’s cheese
  • Stinking Bishop

Imported cheeses in July

  • Camembert
  • Reblochon
  • Saint Marcellin

[Many quality mature cheeses are available year-round, especially hard cheese types.]

Recommended cheese & wine books + delivery

Enjoying this guide? You may also like:

Favourite British seasonal food in July

We’ve been having lots of salads with home grown baby leaves, pea shoots and radishes, and making meals more interesting with fresh basil, mint, coriander and newly sprouted thyme leaves.

The unsettled weather this year means we’re still waiting for the cherry tree to give us some cherries, but there’s plenty of rhubarb and wild strawberries to keep us going.

Recommended seasonal inspiration books

Has anything caught your eye on this list of best UK seasonal foods in July? Any old favourites or interesting new things that you want to try?

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