Berries and Soft Fruits

In summer, peaches, plums, melons and glowing soft red berry fruit, strawberries, raspberries and figs are piled high in the shops, for us to eat our fill of before it’s time for the crunch of autumn top fruit. It goes without saying that the best way to eat summer fruit is au naturel, but occasionally one might want to do something a little more elaborate, and in this chapter I have included many of the recipes I try out during the summer months.

Blueberries are an increasingly available summer treat, both grown here and imported from America. In America they are cheap enough for me to cook with in quantity. I make blueberry jam, blueberry cobblers and crumbles, and I love them combined with sliced peaches and orange juice in a colourful fruit salad.