Food File - What's in season in May

PubChef's guide to what's in season in May

Duck - Thanks to their large layers of fat, ducks offer a rich and flavoursome meat. The high fat content ensures tender meat, with a crispy skin, and the meat goes superbly with citrus and other fruit sauces. May is a great time to pick up a prize pond dweller whose meat is a favourite of both European and Chinese cooking. Favourite Chinese-style recipes include stir-fried duck with spring onions, ginger and lime and classic crispy aromatic duck served with pancakes and hoi sin sauce. When roasted, the duck fat collected during cooking can be stored and used as a flavoursome fat in other recipes or for making delicious roast potatoes.

Asparagus - Blink and you might miss Britain's all-too-short asparagus season. Harvested between early May and mid-June, UK asparagus is regarded as among the world's best. The vegetable, which is rumoured to hold aphrodisiac properties, can be served simply with butter, blended with risottos or used in stir-fry dishes.

Cherries - Early-season cherries appear during May. The fruits are available in sweet and sour varieties. Sweet cherries are excellent served raw while sour varieties can be used in pies, jams or sauces. The main UK harvest takes place in June and July.

Sea trout - A hybrid of salmon and trout, the sea trout offer a delicious alternative fish for summer menus. Recipe ideas include seared smoked sea trout with chive dressing and poached sea trout with sorrel hollandaise. Sea trout are natural river dwellers but swim out to sea for feeding. The fish is delicate and pink in colour when served.