Orchard fruits

Discover how Scottish chefs and food writers make the most of seasonal orchard fruits. Why not try their delicious recipes?

British apples are in season from October to December and pears from September to January.
There are an exciting variety of apples grown in British orchards ranging from sharp to sweet, crunchy to soft fleshed and coloured from red to green to yellow and all sorts in between.
Pears ripen from the inside out. This means that they may be soft on the inside but still feel firm on the outside.
When pears are ripe they will ‘give’ a bit when you press them near the stalk with your thumb.
If you have cut a pear but found it's not quite ripe why not try one of our pear recipes.