Blueberries
Small, round, smooth-skinned and fleshy with tiny seeds, blueberries grow on shrubs on peaty moors and uplands, predominantly in North America and New Zealand. They have a balanced, tart and sweet flavour, although the cultivated type (which is what's mainly available in the UK) has a less intense flavour than the wild variety.
The high levels of phytochemicals, which are thought to help protect against cancer and heart disease, mean blueberries are considered one of the top superfoods for good health.
Availability
End of June to early September.
Choose the best
Look for plump, indigo blueberries of a fairly uniform size, with a slight silvery bloom. If you're buying a punnet, check that the underside isn't stained - that means the lower level of berries has been crushed.
Store
Unwashed, blueberries will keep for up to a week in the salad drawer of the fridge.
Prepare
To eat raw or cooked, just rinse and drain.
Watercress
With deep green leaves, and crisp, paler stems, watercress is related to mustard and is one of the strongest-tasting salad leaves available. It has a pungent, slightly bitter, peppery flavour and is highly nutritious, containing significant amounts of iron, calcium, vitamins A, C and E, and folic acid. It's sold in either bunches or bags, and is good combined in a salad with milder leaves, or made into soup.
Availability
Watercress is available all year round but is at its best from April until September.
Choose the best
Go for crisp, dark green leaves, with no sign of yellowing or wilting.
Store
Watercress is highly perishable, so store it in a perforated bag in the fridge and eat it within a couple of days. Alternatively, treat it like a bunch of flowers and put in a glass of water in the fridge, covering the leaves with a plastic bag - it can last a little longer that way.
Prepare
Wash and shake dry just before you're about to use it. Both the leaves and stems are edible - just trim off any tough roots.
