Not only do California farmers and producers harvest more fruit than any other state, they cultivate an equally impressive variety of ready-to-eat crops ranging from apples to watermelons. In fact, over 99 percent of America’s figs, grapes, kiwifruit, plums and pomegranates are grown right here!

While there’s plenty of local Golden State produce available year-round, during the late spring and summertime the majority of the harvest takes place, providing consumers and chefs alike with an incredible range of farm-fresh, local fruit to choose from.

Here’s a sampling of the fabulous, fresh California summer fruit you can look forward to enjoying in the upcoming weeks:

Tree Fruits

Peaches, pears, plums, apricots, cherries, figs and Valencia oranges are all harvested throughout the summertime. This year, whip up a batch of jam using super-tart, super-sour Montmorency cherries, or create a smooth, sweet glaze for chicken or ham using fresh Patterson apricots?

Clingstone peaches also make their seasonal debut during late May, with the freestone varieties following in late July through September, making the summer a great time to bake up a fresh peach cobbler, or indulge in a white peach margarita – the perfect drink for those long, lazy sun-drenched afternoons!

Berries

Summertime is fresh berry time in California, with blackberries, blueberries and boysenberries all hitting the markets in mid-May, while strawberries continue to be available throughout the season.

Looking for something different this year? Why not give tayberries a try! These tart little deep-purple cone-shaped berries originated in Scotland, and are a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry, making them a tasty topping on salads or over fresh yogurt.

Melons

California’s warm, sunny climate provides the optimal growing conditions for cantaloupes, watermelons, honeydew melons along with a tremendous assortment of mixed melons, all which hit their peak from mid-June through mid-August.

In order to meet the rising demand for unique fruits, melon growers have begun expanding their production of ‘mixed melons’ – a catch-all term for unique, eye-catching varieties that are often popular in ethnic markets and specialty shops. This year, look for mild, sweet and dense-fleshed casabas; flavorful galias, and the eye-catching orange-fleshed honeydew melons to add a unique twist to your traditional fruit trays.

Grapes

Here in California, the thriving wine industry processes about 608,000 acres of the 856,000 acres of grapes grown in the state each year, which means there’s plenty of full-flavored table grapes available for your enjoyment!

Our local grape growers cultivate over 85 varieties, including green, red and black seeded and seedless types. Late May marks the start of the new season for table grapes; look for varieties like the large, green Sugraone, blue-black Summer Royal, and round red Flame Seedless to start enjoying these tasty tote-able treats.

Produce Services of Los Angeles, Inc. is a distributor of all of the above mentioned California fruits, as well as a full line of other fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables.