GO BEYOND FOUR SEASONS

EARLY

MELON - HONEY MOON
Lombardy, Italy
May - Sep

Warm days and cold nights in Sermide are setting the stage for a standout season of Honey Moon Melons – our latest arrival from Oscar.

As with Sun Sweet, the season begins, usually, with the richest, most complex fruit. Grown slowly on the Mantua floodplains, these early melons develop under temperate conditions that intensify flavour. The clay-rich soil plays a key role, holding back moisture just enough to stress the plants, concentrating sugars and producing firm, juice-saturated flesh.

So, now’s the time to make the most of these intensely sweet, buttery and aromatic melons. And keep an eye out, Oscar’s Sentiniel Watermelons are landing next week, too.

Over three generations, the Zerbinati name has become a byword for excellence - so much so that in recent years, attempts have been made to pass off melons from other growers as that of Oscar and his family. But there is no faking this degree of specialisation. Building on his grandfather Mario’s founding principle of quality over yield - in itself an unusual ethos - Oscar has taken that commitment to a totally different level, fanatical in his pursuit of exceptional flavour.

Grown in the thick, mineral-rich clay floodplains of the river Po, Oscar thins the number of fruits on each plant, producing on average less than half the number of a conventional grower. With water input limited to the bare minimum, the clay withholds moisture from the plants, further strengthening the energy and nutrients in the remaining fruit. The result: melons that outstrip anything else we’ve ever tasted, even within the renowned growing region of Mantua.

LATE

ELDERFLOWER
Wild, England, UK
May - Jun

In early summer, creamy-white Elderflower blankets everything from roadside shrubs to forest edges all across England. It has a fiercely short season, which after a fair amount of rainfall over the last couple of weeks, is soon coming to an end. So, if you’re looking for large quantities for cordials, vinegars or other preserves, now’s the time to order.

Other wild foods – Scots Pine and Juniper Branches gathered in Scotland, along with Sea Purslane and Rock Samphire from the Welsh coast – are thriving now in peak season, while Garlic Capers and Mousseron Mushrooms slowly start to tail off as the days get warmer.

We work closely with foragers to bring you native and invasive plants from the British Isles. Sourcing wild food requires incredible agility; the produce is delicate, often with no clearly defined season, location or quantity – a total reinvention of traditional supply.

Wild food grows without human intervention, although considered harvesting often helps it proliferate. Our sourcing team continues to nurture relationships with foragers from Cornwall to the Scottish highlands to offer a variety of wild food, harvested sustainably. These people hold incredible knowledge and are deeply connected to the wild landscapes in which these plants thrive. In supporting them, we not only give you access to unique and surprising flavours, we recognise the importance of their work.