May brings us vegetables masquerading as fruits, and fruits which are more comfortable in savory dishes. But of course…the month is not merely limited to confused roles. May is also the best time of year to enjoy locally produced asparagus, plenty of colorful young root vegetables, a large selection of fresh greens, delicious Italian tomatoes and increasing amounts of fresh fruits.

Here are a few products to definitely look for…some to avoid…and even a few to hunt for in the wild.

Asparagus in May should always occupy the top of anyone’s shopping list. The best choices for white asparagus are those which come from Southern Germany, the Alsace and Provence regions of France, and the Donau region (Austria/Slovakia). White asparagus from Switzerland are showing up increasingly more at the market, and as a result, prices for imported asparagus are also on the rise. There is a scam to be aware of while shopping for white asparagus. Some vendors intentionally label lower grade (and lower priced) Greek or Hungarian asparagus as higher priced Donau or German asparagus. You can check for absolute freshness by rubbing two spears together…they should produce a noticeable screeching sound. Look for green asparagus coming from Italy, Spain or Switzerland. As a general rule, asparagus should be consumed as close to harvest time as possible to experience the fullest flavor. There are also multiple opportunities to purchase asparagus directly from the farmer throughout most of Switzerland. Around Zürich, consider taking a short drive to Flaach about 20 minutes away to visit the Spaltenstein family farm, or check out Jucker Farms, where you can harvest your own asparagus daily until the end of June.   

May is not just about asparagus. There are plenty of other fresh options to look for while shopping at the market.

If you haven’t had the chance to experience fresh Italian tomatoes, then now is the time! There are three varieties you should consider: the Sardo from Sardegna, the Piccadilly from Sicily and the Pacchino also from Sicily. Other tomato varieties are also starting to appear at the market (pelatti or San Marzano), but these tomatoes are immature and produced in greenhouse environments – they are not your best options.

Rhubarb have really exploded this year, and the market is full of excellent locally grown rhubarb. Although normally used as a fruit in preparing compotes and tarts, rhubarb is also excellent when used as a vegetable. Try making a rhubarb chutney and serving it along side a fatty grilled piece of pork. Another savory method to consider to slowly cook the rhubarb in a small amount of wine and sugar and enjoy with polenta. Fresh garden peas from Italy are still available this month, but the early season sugar snap peas or snow peas are much better. Both are packed with sugar and fresh flavor and can be enjoyed raw or quickly sautéed in butter and herbs. Spring onions from Switzerland are another quality product available in abundance. It is easy to find yellow, white or red varieties, which are bursting with sweet flavor. Spring onions should not be confused with the thin scallions often used in Asian cuisine. Spring onions are simply immature onions, which were planted last fall. For an excellent spring treat, try coating spring onions in olive oil and sea salt, then grilling them over a hot fire until nicely caramelized. Young swiss chard and fennel are both moist and full-flavored, but their flavors are a bit fragile and don’t hold up well to long cooking. Enjoy early season swiss chard quickly sautéed with a few olives. Young fennel is best when consumed raw with just a bit of fruity olive oil and lemon juice. Young and sweet radishes from France and Switzerland are also in abundance…and inexpensive. They come in a variety of shapes and colors. The elongated red or white varieties, similar to daikon, are especially sweet early in the season. Young carrots from Switzerland are also plentiful, but like the fennel, they too have fragile tastes and are best when enjoyed raw.

The month of May also brings a lot of choices in lettuce. Look for mini versions of romaine lettuce (perfect for a refreshing Caesar salad), mild leaf lettuce varieties, assertive arugula (rocket) or very mild bibb lettuce.

Fresh fruits finally begin showing up in May, although the best really appear toward the latter part of the month. There are some interesting fruit choices to be had…but there are also a few cautions. Early season fruits are often acidic, which is a big turn-off for most. Further, many of the early season fruits appearing in Swiss markets are grown in artificial environments, receive regular chemical baths and harvested while still green. These fruits are…well…tasteless. Best bests are the fruits which have matured under a natural sun (think southern Italy, Spain and the Provence region of France) they are…well…full of flavor! Melons, strawberries, nespole (loquat) and apricots are the best of the early season fruits. The melons from the Cavaillon region of France are especially nice toward the latter part of the month. These melons can be expensive at CHF 9 per melon, but they are truly worth it – a very special spring treat to savor. The best strawberries are still coming from Italy. Swiss strawberries are also available in May, but the best ones always come in June. Nespole are similar in flavor and texture to apricots. These fruits come from Spain and are tart and full of vitamins. They are delicious in a bitter salad. It’s still a bit early for apricots, but the very pale variety from Naples is a good option to consider. These fruits are usually a bit hard and quite acidic, which makes them perfect for cooking. Slice them in half, remove the stone, coat in a small amount of oil and sugar, then fry or grill them until lightly caramelized. To intensify the flavor even more, finish them in a hot oven for about 10 minutes. Cooked apricots are excellent with grilled or roasted meats.

what to avoid

Avoid all tomatoes which are not Italian. There are plenty of tomatoes available in May, but most of them are mass produced in Holland, Morocco, Israel, and Spain. These tomatoes are really not flavorful. Cucumbers are also widely available, but most are from a greenhouse and have very thick skins. Red and yellow bell peppers are mostly from Spain, and are mass produced in large greenhouses using heavy amounts of pesticides. Strawberries are coming into season, but avoid those coming from somewhere else other than Italy…at least until the end of the month. Avoid asparagus from anywhere outside of Switzerland, Italy, Germany, France, or Austria. Green-fleshed melons (mostly from Spain) and Spanish cantaloupes are harvested immature. They should be either avoided, or allowed to mature at room temperature for a few days (warning…they will attract a lot of fruit flies).

on the wild side

There are plenty of wild (and free) options available in May. Bärlauch is still plentiful, although they are becoming somewhat harsh in their flavor as they begin to bloom. Wild nettles are appearing everywhere. Try to harvest the younger leaves toward the top, and remember to wear gloves. Wash wild nettles very well, and plunge them into boiling salted water for about one minute to remove their stinging capability. After cooling in cold water, the leaves can be easily removed from the stems. Elderberry trees will begin blooming toward the end of the month. Elderberry flowers are quite fragrant, and they make excellent syrups when steeped in water and mixed with sugar.

Happy shopping and cooking, and be sure to keep up with monthly seasonal products by visiting our monthly seasonal product chart...