If you’re looking for the freshest, most flavorful vegetables this summer, you’ll love the incredible variety of just-picked local California produce that’s beginning to appear on market shelves.

Not only do Golden State farmers grow over one-third of the total domestic vegetable crop, chefs and consumers here have their pick of the wide assortment of conventional and organically-grown veggies, making summer a great time to explore locally-grow produce.

Here are just a few of the many California vegetables you should be enjoying this summer:

Tomatoes

Despite the fact that tomatoes are actually classified as fruits, they’re usually considered to be vegetables, and nothing says summertime like a big, juicy field-fresh tomato.

Grape and cherry varieties are the first to appear in the late spring, providing a burst of sweet flavor in a bite-sized package. While they’re great served up fresh with marinated mozzarella in a salad, they’re also the ideal main ingredient in a simple pasta sauce – just slice the tomatoes in half, warm them in a skillet with butter and minced garlic, then add a splash of white wine.

Lettuces & Leafy Greens 

American’s count on California farmers to grow vast amounts of leafy greens – over 86 percent of the domestic leaf lettuce, 77 percent of romaine, and 66 percent of spinach comes from farms located throughout the San Joaquin Valley, Desert and Central Coast growing regions.

While leafy greens and lettuce are available year-round, it’s during the late spring that many of these nutrient-packed veggies are at their peak. Flavors of these fast-growing greens range from mild and sweet to tangy and peppery, providing chefs with a huge assortment of different textures and colors from which to create impressive raw salads and cooked sides.

Sweet Corn 

Whether you bake it up into corn bread, combine it with California walnuts to create a unique creamed corn side dish, or enjoy it straight off the cob, sweet corn hits its peak during the late spring and summer, making it a must-have vegetable in SoCal.

When choosing the perfect cob of sweet corn, look for tassels that are brown and slightly sticky – if the tassels are dry or black, the corn is probably dried out and tough. Pick cobs that feel heavy for their size, since the heavier the cob, the juicier the kernels will be!

Okra 

With its distinctively viscous texture (some call it slimy) and its unique flavor that is often described as a cross between asparagus and eggplant, okra is definitely a love-it-or-hate-it veggie. Here in California, locally-grown Okra is available from June through October, making this a great time to step out of your culinary comfort zone and experiment with this oft-maligned vegetable.

When it comes to preparing okra, experts agree that high heat tends to eliminate much of the gummy texture that naysayers complain about. For a simple introduction to this nutrient-packed veggie, try roasting it with olive oil, salt and pepper @ 425 degrees – you might just be surprised at how great okra can really taste!

So this summer, why not explore the fabulous fresh vegetables that are grown right here in California?