August is peak season for a lot of summer fruits and vegetables. The recipes in this month's collection help you enjoy the produce, but beat the heat by getting outside on the grill or making a fresh salad.
August seasonal produce list
Nearly all of your favorite summer fruits and vegetables are still in-season in August. Cherries, strawberries, and blueberries will be out of season early this month, if not already depending on your climate. Blackberries actually last a bit longer, often through September.
My favorite thing about August is that the first fall apples and pears show up, presenting a short window to mix them with summer's fruit & vegetables for unique flavor combination.
If you make homemade jam, now is a great time to take advantage of apple's naturally high levels of pectin, and mix them with other fruit without the need for commercial pectin.
Fruits
- Apples
- Pears
- Figs
- Melons
- Grapes
- Cherries
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Raspberries
- Apricots
- Peaches
- Nectarines
- Plums
Vegetables
- Tomatoes
- Corn
- Bell peppers
- Hot peppers
- Zucchini & summer squash
- Eggplant
- Green beans
- Cucumbers
- Peas
- Sweet onions
Fruit in season
The best fruit to buy this month are nectarines, peaches, and melons. It's their peak season and they should be sweet and flavorful throughout all of August. The farmers market will have the best tasting fruit, as they are picked closer to peak ripeness.
Let's take a look at some of the best fruit to buy in August.
Peaches & nectarines
The juiciest, sweetest peaches and nectarines are usually found in August when they are at peak production and ripeness. Their season lasts through September and sometimes into October depending on the climate.
Yellow peaches have that characteristic peach flavor that's also bright and acidic. As they ripen on the tree, they become sweeter and less acidic and the flesh turns a deep yellow. Yellow peaches hold their shape better than white peaches when baked.
White peaches have pale yellow flesh and tend to be sweeter than yellow peaches. White peaches are also less acidic which is preferred by some people, while others describe them as having less depth of flavor. They tend to fall apart when baked, so use them fresh.
Nectarines are actually a type of peach that doesn't have fuzzy skin, thanks to its genetics. They are very similar in flavor, but are often sweeter and more aromatic. Nectarines are usually firmer than peaches as well, so they work well when baked.
When shopping for peaches and nectarines, it's hard to know how they will taste. Your best bet is to use your nose - the more aromatic they smell, the better they will taste.
Melons
Melons take a lot longer to grow than summer berries and other small fruit. It's worth the wait and they should be sweet and flavorful this month.
Watermelons are the hardest to pick out - sometimes they are sweet and flavorful, other times dull and bland. The best trick to select ripe watermelons is to look at the patch on the bottom where it sat on the ground.
The spot should be a creamy-yellow color, indicating it was left on the vine long enough to fully ripen. If the spot is really white, or whitish-green it was picked before it fully developed its flavor.
Cantaloupe are easier to pick out. When they are fully ripe, they naturally detach from the vine. Cantaloupe harvested this way will have a slightly indented spot where the stem used to be. If it looks like the stem was cut or torn from the vine, it was picked too early.
Another indicator of ripe cantaloupes is the color under the 'netting' texture. It should have a golden hue, rather than green. They should also smell floral.
Honeydew melons are best picked out by their smell. They should have a sweet, honeydew aroma. The rind should be a warm cream color, or even creamy-yellow. The rind will also be tacky rather than clean and smooth.
Figs
Figs are still in season in August, and continues on through November, depending on the variety. California grows 98% of the figs in the US, supplying grocery stores nationwide.
Figs can grow in other regions, but they are often a specialty item at farmers markets - if you are lucky. The Chicago Hardy Fig grows as far north as Zone 5, but they need winter protection, preventing large farms from growing them.
Black Mission figs are the most popular and are available all season long. The green Tiger and Calimyrna figs don't show up until later in summer, so you should be able to find them now.
Ripe figs will be soft with slightly wrinkled skin. They should still look plump - if they look shrunken they are past their prime.
Blackberries
Fully ripe blackberries are sweet and flavorful, especially when they are at their peak in July and August. Their season extends into early fall, sometimes all the way into October.
When blackberries are harvested too early, before they have a chance to fully ripen, they often taste bitter. Seek them out at a farmers market for your best chance at getting high quality, vine ripened blackberries this month.
If the ones you have end up tasting bitter, you can try a few things to fix them: add sugar, fat, salt, or simply cook them to break down some of the bitter compounds.
August vegetable season
Summer vegetables are still abundant and still often at their peak flavor, especially corn, peppers, and tomatoes. Winter squash aren't quite ready yet, you'll have to wait another month for those.
Peas and cucumbers don't like the super hot weather of July and August, so those might be sparse this month. They often show back up when the weather cools in September, thanks to late plantings that bypass the heat.
Let's take a look at some of the best vegetables to buy in August.
Corn
Corn is at its peak in July and into early August.
When buying fresh corn, look for ones with fresh husks that aren't dried out. That indicates the corn is fresher. Black spots on the husks are normal and don't affect the quality of the corn. The silks will likely be brown, which is also normal as this happens when they become ready to harvest.
If the tips of the cobs are missing kernels, that is totally okay and not an indication of quality. It just means the last of the corn silks didn't get pollinated.
Tomatoes
August is easily the best month for eating tomatoes. All sizes and varieties are abundant and ripening from the heat in July and August.
Small sungold and cherry tomatoes show up earlier in summer, but are still abundant this month. But the crown jewel of August tomatoes are the giant Mortgage Lifters and other large heirlooms that you can find at the farmers market.
For the best tasting tomatoes, buy them from the farmers market. Since market farmers don't need to ship them cross-country, they can let them ripen longer on the vine to develop more flavor.
If you do end up with some bland tomatoes, you can cook them down into a thick sauce or roast in the oven with herbs to concentrate their flavor. If tomatoes are too acidic, try mixing them with a lower acid vegetable like zucchini or eggplant.
Bell peppers
Sweet peppers are categorized as not having capsaicin or very little of it. Capsaicin is the compound that gives hot peppers their heat.
Green bell peppers are unripe orange, yellow, red, or even purple peppers. Because they aren't fully ripe, they have a more vegetable and sometimes bitter flavor. When allowed to ripen, their flavor sweetens and develops hints of citrus.
Look for other sweet pepper varieties this month. One of my favorite summer peppers are Jimmy Nardellos, perfect for pizza. You might find them at a farmers market, but not likely at a grocery store.
Hot peppers
Hot peppers ripen in August and provide a wide variety of nuanced flavor for those of you who like a little (or a lot of) heat. The heat of peppers come from capsaicin (kap-SAY-i-sin) and is measured in Scoville units (read more about the Scoville scale).
A majority of the heat is found in the seeds and veins, so remove them to make a dish more mild, or keep them in to up the heat. It's also worth wearing gloves when working with the peppers - it only takes one time of accidentally rubbing your eye to learn your lesson!
Here's a list of a handful of hot pepper varieties, from mildest to hottest.
- Shishito peppers: 50-200 scoville
- Pepperoncini: 100-500 scoville
- Padron peppers: 500-2,500 scoville
- Poblano & Ancho chiles: 1,000-2,000 scoville
- Jalapenos: 2,500-8,000 scoville
- Serrano: 10,000-23,000 scoville
- Habanero: 100,000-350,000 scoville
If you eat a pepper that is just too spicy, drink some milk or eat ice cream. Milk contains casein, a protein that actually binds really well to capsaicin and then washes it away. Skim and whole milk work the same, as casein isn't related to the fat content of milk.
For a full list of other months and all of the seasonal produce guides, go to the in-season page.
Recipes for August
For recipes that only use fruits and vegetables in season this month, check out the August farmers market recipe collection. It includes recipes for the best-tasting produce, as well as options for turning bland fruits into something delightful (like bourbon soaked peach syrup for pancakes!)
Check out the other seasonal guides coming up in fall.
