British seasonal food in May – what to eat now
Welcome to the comprehensive guide to the best British seasonal food in May.
Stars of the season include Jersey Royal new potatoes at their peak, and you can also help yourself to asparagus, fresh peas and baby broad beans.
Other treats include brown crab and spring lamb, and the first strawberries towards the end of the month.
Here’s what’s at its absolute best over the next few weeks. Enjoy.
Fruit in season in May
There’s a relatively small selection, but it’s all delicious:
British-grown fruit in May
Strawberries (first few)
Rhubarb (outdoor)
You may also be able to find a few gooseberries arriving at the market right at the end of May.
Otherwise, shop around for some some imported seasonal treats, including:
Imported seasonal fruit: May
Alphonso and honey mangoes
Cherries from France
Pineapples
Strawberries (French gariguette)
Recommended seasonal fruit books
Vegetables in season in May
Top picks include asparagus, Jersey Royal new potatoes, fresh peas, early broad beans and spring cabbage (AKA spring greens). There are some delicious baby vegetables to enjoy too.
There’s plenty for you to choose from in May. Here’s the full list:
British seasonal veg: May
Asparagus
Baby broad beans
Baby beetroot
Baby carrots
Broccoli (calabrese)
Cucumbers (greenhouse, first few)
Garlic (new season, wet)
Green globe artichokes
Jersey Royal potatoes, other new potatoes
Lettuce
Peas
Radishes
Rocket
Seakale
Spinach
Spring greens, spring cabbage
Spring onions
Tomatoes (first few, greenhouse)
Baby turnips
Watercress
Available most months in good condition: broccoli, button mushrooms, carrots, cauliflower, maincrop potatoes, onions, rocket.
Recommended veg cookbooks
FREE!!
UK fruit and veg calendar
Herbs in season in May
- Basil
- Chervil
- Chives
- Coriander
- Lovage
- Mint
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Sorrel
- Summer savory
- Tarragon
- Thyme
Always available:
- Chives, coriander, parsley grown under cover.
- Older leaves of hardy perennials like bay, rosemary, sage, thyme.
Wild / foraged food in May
The short-lived elderflower season is here, and there are more spring mushrooms to try too.
UK foraged food in May
Elderflowers
Morel mushrooms
St. George’s mushrooms
Samphire (rock)
Wild garlic
[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 May
May is the best month of the year for brown crab. It can be used in many dishes, from sandwich fillings to salads.
Most flatfish are spawning during the Spring, so should be avoided, but you should still be able to get plaice and flounder during May.
Seasonal fish varies greatly around the UK, and weather fluctuations are also likely to affect spawning and peak seasons, but here’s a rough guide to what’s at its best and on sale now:
Sustainable British fish: May
Coley / saithe
Crab (brown)
Flounder
Herring / sild
Lobster (European)
Plaice
Pollock
Pouting / bib
Prawns (Northern)
Rainbow trout
[To the best of my knowledge, the list above excludes critically endangered fish. Visit The Good Fish Guide from the Marine Conservation Society for latest lists.]
You may also be able to source these sustainably from responsible fishmongers:
Less sustainable UK fish: May
Brown shrimp
Langoustine / scampi
Wild salmon
In good condition almost all year: farmed clams, farmed seabass, farmed halibut, herring, farmed sea bream and turbot, megrim sole, sustainably-fished monkfish, rope-grown mussels, prawns.
Recommended fish & shellfish books
FREE!!
UK fruit and veg calendar
Meat, poultry and game in season in May
May is the month for the best British new season lamb. You might also be able to find some spring chicken.
UK meat, poultry & game: May
New season lamb
Poussin / spring chicken
Although it’s generally available all year round, wood pigeon is your best bet if you’re looking for game this month.
Always available in good condition: beef, chicken, pork, rabbit, farmed venison, wood pigeon.
Recommended meat, poultry & game books
Cheese in season in May
Yes, many cheeses are seasonal! It depends on the animals being milked, their grazing and reproductive cycles, the way specific cheeses are made, and their time to mature.
Springtime favours fresh cheeses, and it’s also a time when some of the best white blooming rind cheeses start arriving.
Make the most of these if you’re a seasonal cheese fan:
Best British cheeses: May
English soft cheeses
Ewe’s milk cheeses (including Wigmore)
Fresh goat cheeses
Best imported cheeses: May
Brie de Meaux
Valençay (aged fresh goat’s cheese) & other goat’s cheeses
Many quality mature cheeses are available year-round, especially hard cheeses.
Recommended cheese books
Enjoyed reading this? You may also like:
- British seasonal food in April
- British seasonal food in June
- Reasons to make a weekly meal plan
- Grow your own fruit & veg on a budget
- What to sow & do in a May kitchen garden
What we’re eating at Golightly Gardens
Two years ago we planted several different types of strawberries in the kitchen garden, and it looks like we’ll be picking a few of the early types by the middle of May. There’ll be some baby leaf salad to enjoy fresh here too, although I haven’t gone as overboard with it this season.
If I go out for lunch I might have a crab salad or pasta dish for a treat. Jersey Royal new potatoes and asparagus are on the shopping list, and I hope I can find a few mangoes while I’m out and about.
We’ll also be having a proper ‘payday cheeseboard’ with a wedge of brie, and a couple of British cheeses. Leftover brie toasties too. Can’t wait.
Recommended general seasonal books for inspiration
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Do you have any favourite recipes for May seasonal ingredients?
What are you looking forward to cooking up this month?
