Cherimoyas today, cherries tomorrow

THIS is one of the sweetest times of year for a cook. Spring is gradually edging into summer and the excitement just keeps building. Market tables are still stacked deep with the last of winter’s holdovers: brightly colored chards and cauliflower, and mounds of tangerines. And you know it’s only going to get better. Spring’s harvests of asparagus, strawberries and artichokes are already going full throttle. Freshly dug new potatoes should be right around the corner. How long before the first really good cherries hit the stands? And then apricots: Early reports say the Blenheims will be fabulous this year. And we’re already starting to see the first eggplant, cucumbers and even corn coming in from the desert. Can tomatoes be far behind?

Peak Season

Spring onions: A spring onion isn’t actually a variety of onion; rather it’s an onion that has been harvested at an immature stage, when it has just begun to form a round bulb and when the top is still green. At this point they will seem sweeter than a mature onion, as they haven’t yet developed their full chemical complex, including the elements that give onions their characteristic bite. Really, though, it’s probably more accurate to call them milder, because they haven’t developed their full sugar yet, either. Because they are immature, the flavors are pretty much interchangeable. Spring onions are really nice quartered lengthwise (leave the root attached to hold it together), brushed with olive oil and grilled.

Various farmers, $3 per bunch.

Cherimoyas: That’s not a hand grenade at that farmer’s stand, it’s a cherimoya. This warty green fruit may not look like something you’d want to eat, but its rough exterior hides a heart that’s pure custard (in fact, one common nickname is custard apple). Cherimoyas are a tropical fruit, though they have a long history in California. They were first planted here in 1871, according to the California Rare Fruit Growers. The flavor of the fruit reveals its heritage; it’s sweet and wildly fragrant with a kind of tropical tutti-frutti appeal. When ripe, cherimoyas give to gentle pressure, similar to a pear. To eat it simply, spoon out the fruit, discard the large black seeds and season the pulp with a squeeze of orange juice. Get them now;, they’ll only be around only for the rest of the month.

Various farmers, $2 per pound.

Artichokes: Artichokes are available pretty much all year round these days, but there are two peaks for production and we’re in the middle of the first one right now. That’s because the seasons for the four primary varieties are overlapping.

For years, the only artichokes grown commercially were the Green Globes planted up around Castroville, just north of Monterey. Those plants produce the huge artichokes you use for dipping. Within the last five or so years, other varieties have been successfully planted in areas such as Lompoc and the Imperial Valley. These new varieties -- Desert Globe, Big Heart and Imperial Star are the main ones -- look much like the classic Globes, but they differ in one significant respect. These are annuals grown from seed, whereas Globes are perennials grown from root stock. That may seem trivial, but to an artichoke farmer it’s key, because planting from seed allows much more flexibility. They can grow artichokes as part of a mix of row crops without having to commit land for a full 10-year run.

Purple artichokes are showing up more and more; they’re so pretty it’s hard to resist buying them, but I have to confess that I can’t tell the difference in flavor -- and the color fades to green during cooking. Choose the freshest artichokes by squeezing the “leaves” (actually, they’re bracts, like the “flowers” on bougainvillea). Really fresh artichokes will squeak when squeezed.

Various farmers, $2.50 per pound.

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russ.parsons@latimes.com