What’s in Season?

Summer

Shop our 99%+ Certified Organic Produce Department.

At BriarPatch Food Co-op, supporting organic local and regional farms is at the heart of what we do. We are a community-owned cooperative and understand the importance of direct farmer relationships to build a resilient food system. At the Patch, you’ll find a colorful array and diverse selection of beautiful, fresh and delicious fruits and veggies all year long. We take great pride in knowing our farmers by name. How do we define what is local?

Strawberries

Outrageously red and bursting with
juicy goodness at their best. Eat the
tops/leaves by throwing into smoothies
with the berries or steeping them
in boiled water to make tea; they’ve
been shown to aid gastrointestinal
discomfort and joint pain. Impress
(or annoy!) folks by asking for them
by their scientific name: Fragaria x
ananassa.

Blueberries

Sweet, floral, and sometimes a little bit
sour, they just beg you to scoop ‘em
up and munch by the handful. Chock
full of antioxidants, you’ll find ‘em on
almost every superfoods list. Enjoy
in muffins, cornbread, smoothies or
cooked into a dessert sauce.

Kiwiberries

These cuties taste like a fuzz-less kiwi,
only more complex and acidic; they
still make a solid substitute for regular
kiwis in most recipes. Their teeny shape
makes ‘em fun to eat out of hand, or
tossed into a salad or yogurt parfait, or
sliced to garnish a martini!

Acai Berries

These precious berry-baubles are
from a palm tree that grows mainly
in the Brazilian Amazon. They’re very
perishable, so in the U.S. you’ll most
likely find these frozen or in powdered
form, to add to smoothie bowls and
sorbets. Their mega-purple color has
astounding nutritional powers.

Goji Berries / Wolfberries

Bittersweet when raw, tart-sweet and
slightly bitter when dried. Used in
traditional Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese
and Japanese medicine since at least
the third century. Most commonly sold
dried in the U.S. and used as a health
food thanks to their 19 amino acids.
Enjoy in trail mix or on top of a salad,
or soak and add to smoothies.

Raspberries

Best during the summer months,
when they’re most affordable and at
their peak. They’re very delicate and
don’t keep very long, so be sure to use
quickly. Most are red, but you can also
find black or gold raspberries

Cape Gooseberries

Unrelated to true gooseberries, they’re
actually a species of ground cherry in
the nightshade family. They’re quite
juicy and have a combo of the acidity
of a cherry tomato and notes of citrus
fruits, peaches, cherries and pineapple.
Each one is “gift-wrapped” by a paperthin husk that falls off as it dries.

Boysenberries

A cross between raspberries,
blackberries, dewberries and
loganberries. The spectrum of flavor
notes in each berry is mind-blowing.
Think pie, jelly, and cheesecake!

Blackberries

These look like large black raspberries,
but have a tangier flavor. Pro-tip: you’ll
know how sour a berry’s going to be by
looking at the center. Green means on
the sour side, while white to purplish
means more flowery and sweeter.

Local = Watershed

Our definition of local Flows as we grow

We’ve recently redefined what local means to us. For many years, we’ve defined local relative to our flagship store in Grass Valley. As we grow, our definition expands, too.

Learn More
See watershed map
Auburn news