The Best Weeks of Summer Are Here

If you've walked past any market stall or greengrocer this week, you'll have noticed the display has changed. The strawberries are still there, but suddenly there are deep red cherries piled in punnets, plump apricots glowing gold, and peaches that actually smell like peaches. July is stone fruit season — and it's short, glorious, and very much worth stocking up for.

Unlike the rest of the year when these fruits travel thousands of miles and arrive under-ripe, the ones available right now are genuinely good. Often locally grown, packed with flavour, and at a price that makes buying in bulk very tempting.

What to Stock and How to Store It

The tricky thing about stone fruit is that it doesn't keep for long once it's ripe. Here's how to make the most of it:

  • Cherries — keep refrigerated and use within four to five days. Don't wash until just before eating. Buy a kilo at a time while they're at their peak.
  • Peaches and nectarines — let them ripen on the counter at room temperature for a day or two, then move to the fridge. Eat within three to four days of ripening.
  • Apricots — similarly, ripen at room temperature first, then refrigerate. Also brilliant dried: stock up on good-quality dried apricots now for the months ahead.
  • Frozen stone fruit — pit and halve surplus peaches or apricots, freeze on a tray, then transfer to bags. Perfect for smoothies, compotes, and crumbles all winter long.

Easy Ways to Use Stone Fruit This Week

Cherry and almond overnight oats — soak oats overnight in oat milk, stir in a spoonful of almond butter, and top with a generous handful of pitted fresh cherries in the morning. Barely any effort, very satisfying.

Roasted apricot topping — halve apricots and roast cut-side up with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of cinnamon for 20 minutes. Blitz or mash and serve over porridge or granola. Tastes far more involved than it is.

Peach, basil and rocket salad — slice ripe peaches, tear fresh basil leaves over the top, drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil, and add a handful of rocket. Refreshing and unexpectedly good as a side dish on warm evenings.

Stone fruit compote — simmer any mix of stoned, chopped cherries, apricots, and peaches with a splash of water and a squeeze of lemon for 10–15 minutes. Jar it up and it'll keep in the fridge for a week. Brilliant on toast, porridge, or pancakes.

Keep Track Before the Season Passes

Stone fruit season is short — blink and it's over. Use Pantrist to add your stone fruit buys to your stock list, note when you moved things to the freezer, and get a nudge before fresh fruit is nearing the end of its fridge life.

Pantrist's expiry tracking is particularly handy here — peaches have a way of quietly going soft at the back of the fridge while you're busy. Set a reminder for your bag of frozen fruit too; it's best used within three months for peak flavour.

And when the season is winding down and you want to make one last big batch of compote, the shared shopping list means whoever's heading to the market knows exactly what to pick up.

Make the Most of July

Stone fruit is one of those things that makes July feel genuinely special. Stock up while it lasts, use what you've got fresh, and freeze the rest — your future self on a grey February morning, spooning cherry compote onto porridge, will be very glad you did.