GO BEYOND FOUR SEASONS

PEAK SEASON BOX

Our Sourcing Team have selected the 9-10 varieties tasting their best right now. From familiar favourites to lesser known ones, these are our picks this week.

Green English Asparagus - Norfolk & Kent, UK
Borlotti Beans - Sicily, Italy
Datterini Tomato – Modica, Sicily
Grezzina Courgette - Lazio & Campania, Italy
Tropea Onion - Calabria, Italy
Cucumber Carosello - Puglia, Italy
Vignola Cherry - Emilia Romagna, Italy
Green Piattone Beans - Lazio, Italy
Little Gem Lettuce - Lancashire, UK
Friggitelli Pepper - Lazio, Italy

SAVOURING THE SEASON:
CUORE DEL VESUVIO

The first of Raffaele’s Cuore del Vesuvio Tomatoes have already started making their way down from Torre del Greco into your kitchens. After weeks of slow growth, taking in nutrients from their volcanic soil, they are only picked when their thin skin begins to blush and scar, signalling perfect ripeness. We have come to see these tomatoes as a sign that summer is here. 

Raffaele harnesses the changing of the seasons. He manages the ventilation of his greenhouses to beckon in sea breezes, the irrigation of his soil depending on the heat and humidity of the air, and the light the sun sheds on his plants, shielding them and exposing them as necessary. This stresses the plant, encouraging a saline depth and brightness of flavour, and a velvety flesh. This stress can result in scarred skin, uneven colour and size variation but the resulting flavour is enough to render imperfection desirable.

Until conditions become too hot in Campania, which can often occur in August, we will be receiving as many of Raffaele’s tomatoes as possible.