May is one of the most anticipatory months in the fruit grower’s calendar. The trees are in blossom, the canes and bushes are leafing out with fresh green growth, and the first tentative fruits of the year are beginning to form from the flowers that have been steadily opening through the warm days of late spring. It is a month of promise as much as harvest — a month in which the gardener walks through the orchard and fruit garden with a keen, forward-looking eye, watching the small, hard fruitlets developing and calculating, with a mixture of patience and impatience, what the weeks ahead will bring.
Yet May is not without its own genuine fruit harvest. In warmer climates and favored microclimates, the earliest strawberries are ripening in May. Forced rhubarb is still in excellent condition through the first weeks of the month. In the southern hemisphere — where May sits in the heart of autumn — the fruit season is entirely different, with apples, pears, quinces, and late-season stone fruits reaching their peak. Globally, May encompasses an extraordinary range of seasonal fruit harvests that together make it a month of considerable fruit interest and eating pleasure.
The picture is further enriched by the tropical and subtropical world, where May marks the beginning of some of the most celebrated fruit seasons on earth. Mangoes, lychees, jackfruit, and mulberries all come into their prime in May in various parts of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The contrast between the delicate early strawberry ripening in a British garden and the voluptuous, heady sweetness of a Alphonso mango in Maharashtra is a vivid illustration of how differently May presents itself across the globe, and how richly the month rewards those who eat with the season wherever they happen to be.
Whether you are foraging, growing, shopping at a farmers’ market, or simply trying to understand what the world’s orchards and gardens have to offer in May, this guide covers 32 of the most important and rewarding seasonal fruits that the month has to offer across a range of climates and growing regions.
Strawberries (Early Season)
The first strawberries of the year are among the most eagerly anticipated fruits in the entire seasonal calendar, and in warm gardens and favored growing regions they begin arriving in May — initially in small, precious quantities, building toward the full flush of June. Early varieties such as Honeoye, Marshmallow, and the legendary Gariguette from southern France ripen in May, producing fruit that is small, intensely perfumed, and richly flavored with a sweetness and complexity that the larger, blander strawberries of full summer cannot always match. The first bowl of homegrown strawberries in May feels like a reward for the entire winter of waiting.
Alphonso Mango
The Alphonso mango — widely regarded as the finest mango in the world — has its season in May, when the harvest from the Konkan coast of Maharashtra in western India reaches its brief, glorious peak. Available for only a few weeks each year, the Alphonso is a fruit of extraordinary character: deep saffron-yellow flesh of silk-smooth texture, an almost complete absence of fiber, and a flavor of incomparable richness and complexity that is simultaneously sweet, aromatic, and faintly floral. Its cult following among mango enthusiasts is entirely justified — eating a perfectly ripe Alphonso in May is one of the finest fruit experiences available anywhere in the world.
Lychee
Lychees come into season in May across much of southern China, Southeast Asia, and other subtropical growing regions — the clusters of rough-skinned, bright red fruits hanging from the trees in abundance through the warmest weeks of late spring and early summer. Inside the inedible shell, the translucent, jelly-like flesh is perfumed, sweet, and delicately floral — quite unlike any other fruit in flavor or texture. Freshly picked lychees, eaten immediately after the shell is peeled away, bear little resemblance to the syrup-preserved canned versions familiar from Chinese restaurant dessert menus, and their brief fresh season is cherished by growers and local markets alike.
Mulberries
Mulberries ripen in May and June in warm climates — the large, dark fruits of the black mulberry in particular being among the most richly flavored and deeply colored of any temperate fruit. They are extraordinarily juicy and fragile, staining everything they touch with a vivid, indelible crimson-purple that is the reason they have never succeeded as a commercial fruit — they simply cannot survive handling, transport, or storage in any meaningful way. To eat a sun-warmed mulberry straight from the tree in May is to experience a flavor of intense, wine-dark sweetness with a slight edge of sharpness that is unique and entirely wonderful.
Jackfruit (Young Season)
Jackfruit — the largest tree-borne fruit in the world — begins its season in May across tropical Asia, where the enormous, spiny fruits can weigh anywhere from a few pounds to over a hundred. Young, unripe jackfruit harvested in May is used extensively in savory cooking across South and Southeast Asia, where its fibrous, neutral-flavored flesh absorbs spices and sauces with remarkable facility. Ripe jackfruit, available later in the season, is sweet, aromatic, and complex — with individual segments of yellow, custard-like flesh that taste something like a cross between banana, pineapple, and vanilla with a uniquely tropical depth.
Gooseberries (Early)
The earliest gooseberry varieties are beginning to ripen in May in warm, sheltered gardens — still firm and quite sharp at this point in the season, but already useful in the kitchen for the particular tart, fruity brightness they bring to cooking. Early May gooseberries are excellent for savory preparations — a classic gooseberry sauce with mackerel is one of the great British seasonal dishes — as well as for early jams and jellies where their natural high pectin content makes setting effortless. The plants themselves are covered in their characteristic thorny growth and small, hard fruits that will swell and sweeten steadily through the coming weeks.
Cherries (Early Greenhouse)
In sheltered, warm gardens and under glass, the very first sweet cherry varieties are beginning to ripen in May — small, glossy, and deeply colored, with the characteristic sweet, clean fruitiness that makes cherries one of the most universally loved of all seasonal fruits. Early May cherries harvested from a trained fan against a warm wall or from a greenhouse-grown tree are a genuine seasonal luxury — one of those fleeting early harvests that reward careful planning and favorable growing conditions with a fruit of extraordinary quality. The wait for cherries through the long, flowerless months makes their arrival in May all the more celebratory.
Apricots (Early Season)
Apricots are beginning to ripen in May in Mediterranean climates — southern France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, and California — producing their first golden-orange fruits with the characteristic blush of rose-pink on the sun-exposed side. An apricot picked at full ripeness, warm from the tree, is one of the most purely delicious fruits that the early summer season produces — sweet, rich, and fragrant, with a slight tartness near the skin that balances the honeyed sweetness of the flesh. May apricots from warmer growing regions represent some of the finest of the entire season, and they are exceptional eaten fresh, baked into a tart, or made into the intensely aromatic jam that captures the flavor of the season beautifully.
Plums (Southern Hemisphere)
In the southern hemisphere — across Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and southern South America — May marks the final weeks of the autumn plum harvest, with late-season varieties reaching their peak richness and sweetness as the days shorten and the nights cool. Southern hemisphere plums harvested in May have a deep, complex flavor that distinguishes autumn-ripened stone fruits from those harvested earlier in warmer conditions — the cool nights slow the ripening process and concentrate sugars and flavors to a remarkable degree. They are excellent for eating fresh, for making plum sauce and chutney, and for the long, slow cooking in red wine that transforms them into one of the finest autumn pudding fruits available.
Apples (Southern Hemisphere Autumn)
May is apple season across the southern hemisphere, where the great apple-growing regions of New Zealand, Tasmania, South Africa, and southern Chile are harvesting their late-season varieties through the golden, cooling days of autumn. Varieties such as Fuji, Pink Lady, and Braeburn reach their peak in May in these regions — crisp, well-flavored, and beautifully colored with the characteristic apple sweetness that develops fully only in the cooler conditions of late autumn. Southern hemisphere May apples are among the finest in the world and supply a significant proportion of the global apple trade during the months when northern hemisphere orchards are bare.
Pears (Southern Hemisphere)
Alongside apples, pears are at their seasonal peak in May across the southern hemisphere’s major growing regions. Late-season pear varieties — Beurre Bosc, Packham’s Triumph, and Winter Nellis among the finest — ripen slowly through the cool autumn weeks to a buttery, melting texture and rich, honeyed flavor that is quite different from the crisp, underripe pears so often encountered in shops. A properly ripened May pear from a southern hemisphere orchard, tested for the characteristic give near the stem that signals perfect maturity, is one of the most satisfying fruit experiences of the cool-climate autumn table.
Banana (Year-Round Tropical Peak)
Bananas produce year-round in tropical climates but reach particularly high quality and abundance in May across parts of Central America, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia, where warm, humid conditions drive rapid growth and excellent fruit development. The range of banana varieties available in tropical growing regions during May goes far beyond the uniform yellow Cavendish familiar from global supermarkets — from small, intensely sweet lady finger bananas to large, starchy plantains, red-skinned varieties, and the extraordinarily flavored apple banana of Hawaii. In their home growing regions, bananas harvested and eaten at true ripeness are incomparably better than the gas-ripened fruits sold after weeks in refrigerated transit.
Papaya
Papaya trees are in productive fruiting through May across tropical regions worldwide — the large, oval fruits ripening from green to golden-yellow or orange on the outside, their flesh transforming simultaneously from firm and white to soft, rich, salmon-pink or deep orange with a sweet, musky tropical flavor that is deeply characteristic and instantly recognizable. A ripe papaya in May, halved and served with a squeeze of lime, is one of the most effortlessly good breakfasts that a tropical growing region can produce. The black, peppery seeds inside are also edible and can be ground as a substitute for black pepper or added to dressings.
Pineapple
Pineapples reach peak quality and availability in May across their major tropical growing regions — Costa Rica, the Philippines, Thailand, and Brazil among the most significant producers. The pineapple’s complex, intensely aromatic flavor — sweet and sharp simultaneously, with a distinctive tropical fruitiness unlike any other fruit — is at its finest in May when seasonal growing conditions are optimal. A freshly cut pineapple in May, properly ripe and fragrant, bears comparison with very few other fruits for sheer sensory impact. The golden flesh has a juiciness and fragrance that the uniformly available supermarket pineapple, harvested well before ripeness for international shipping, cannot reliably deliver.
Mango (Various Varieties)
Beyond the celebrated Alphonso, May sees a broad wave of mango varieties coming into season across the tropical world — from the Kesar mangoes of Gujarat to the Himsagar of West Bengal, the Nam Doc Mai of Thailand, the Carabao of the Philippines, and the Tommy Atkins and Kent varieties of Central America and Mexico. Each variety has its own distinct character — different levels of sweetness, fiber, acidity, and aroma — and together they make May one of the richest months in the global mango calendar. In growing regions where mango trees line the streets and fill the markets, the arrival of May’s mango season is a genuine cultural event celebrated as much as any harvest festival.
Passion Fruit
Passion fruit is in season across tropical and subtropical growing regions in May, the wrinkled, deep purple or yellow shells concealing an intensely aromatic, seed-filled pulp with a flavor of extraordinary complexity — sweet and sharp, floral and tropical, with a persistence on the palate that few other fruits can match. May passion fruit from Australia, Brazil, Kenya, and Southeast Asia tends to be at its most intensely flavored and aromatic, and the golden variety in particular — larger and slightly less sharp than the purple — is outstanding eaten fresh or used to flavor creams, fools, and the legendary Australian pavlova. The intensity of flavor makes passion fruit one of the most powerful and transformative of all tropical fruits in cooking.
Guava
Guava ripens in May across tropical and subtropical regions — the round or pear-shaped fruits with their thin, pale green to yellow skin and pink or white flesh inside being one of the most nutritionally dense and flavorfully distinctive of all tropical fruits. The flavor of a ripe guava is complex and unique — sweet, floral, and faintly musky, with a perfume that permeates a room the moment the fruit is cut. It is exceptional eaten fresh, blended into juice, or cooked into the guava paste that is the classic companion to aged cheese in Latin American cuisine. May guavas from growing regions with optimal conditions are among the finest available at any time of year.
Watermelon (Early Season)
The first watermelons of the year begin arriving in May from early-season growing regions — the warm, dry climates of Mexico, Central America, and the Mediterranean where the long, hot days needed for watermelon development come earliest. Early May watermelons are the harbingers of summer — their cool, sweet, intensely hydrating flesh and vivid red color making them one of the most immediately and universally appealing of all seasonal fruits. A ripe watermelon cut open in May, with flesh that is sweet, crisp, and flooding with juice, tastes unmistakably of the season ahead — of warmth, outdoor eating, and the easy pleasures of summer.
Cantaloupe Melon (Early Season)
Cantaloupe melons from the early-season growing regions of Central America and the Mediterranean are beginning to appear in May — the netted, fragrant fruits with their characteristic deep orange flesh and intensely sweet, honeyed flavor that makes them one of the most luxurious and celebrated of all summer fruits. A fully ripe cantaloupe, identifiable by its yielding give at the blossom end and the wave of perfume it releases when cut, is one of the most sensory-rich fruit experiences available in May. The combination of intense sweetness, floral fragrance, and almost buttery texture makes it exceptional eaten simply on its own or with a few shavings of cured ham in the classic Italian fashion.
Figs (Early Mediterranean)
In the warmest parts of the Mediterranean — coastal areas of Spain, Italy, Greece, and North Africa — the first breba crop of figs begins ripening in late May, producing the early-season fruits that appear on wood from the previous year’s growth before the main summer crop. These early figs are often larger and slightly less sweet than the main-crop fruits of late summer and autumn, but they carry the distinctive, honey-rich, seed-filled flavor that makes figs one of the most evocative and sensually appealing of all seasonal fruits. A perfectly ripe May fig, split open to reveal the jammy, rose-pink interior, eaten with fresh ricotta and a drizzle of honey, is one of Mediterranean cooking’s most effortless pleasures.
Kiwi Fruit (Southern Hemisphere)
New Zealand and Chilean kiwi fruit are at their seasonal peak in May — harvested in the previous autumn months and now fully matured to the ideal eating ripeness, with flesh that is sweet, tangy, and vivid green, surrounding the characteristic white core and its ring of tiny black seeds. Southern hemisphere kiwi fruit in May are considerably better than the northern hemisphere fruit available earlier in the year, reflecting both the quality of growing conditions and the superior ripening that comes from allowing the fruit to mature fully on the vine in autumn conditions. New Zealand Zespri varieties in particular are outstanding in May.
Blood Orange (Late Season)
Blood oranges are at the very end of their season in May in the Mediterranean, and the final fruits of the year — particularly from Sicily, where the Moro and Tarocco varieties are grown — often show the deepest blood-red coloring and the most complex, berry-tinged flavor of the entire season. Cool nights through the winter months are what drive the development of the anthocyanin pigments that give blood oranges their characteristic color, and in the cooler microclimates where the finest Sicilian blood oranges are grown, May fruits are often the most spectacularly colored of all. The season ends in May and its passing is genuinely mourned by those who love the unique flavor of blood orange above all other citrus.
Kumquat
Kumquats — the tiny, oval citrus fruits eaten whole, skin and all — are approaching the end of their season in May in the Mediterranean, Japan, and the southern United States, where they have been in production through the winter and early spring. The flavor of a kumquat is a uniquely contrasting experience: the thin, sweet, aromatic skin is bitten into first, followed immediately by the intensely tart, almost shockingly sour juice inside — a combination that is startling the first time but deeply addictive thereafter. May kumquats are often the sweetest and most balanced of the season, as the warming temperatures bring out the natural sugars in the skin to their fullest expression.
Loquat
The loquat — a small, round or pear-shaped fruit with thin, pale golden-orange skin and sweet, mildly acidic flesh surrounding one or more large seeds — is one of May’s most distinctly seasonal fruits, available for only a brief window each spring in Mediterranean, subtropical, and warm-temperate growing regions. It ripens in April and May and is rarely seen in supermarkets because it is simply too delicate and short-lived to transport commercially. Eaten fresh from the tree, a perfectly ripe loquat has a gentle, perfumed sweetness that is faintly reminiscent of apricot and peach — a quiet, unhurried fruit flavor perfectly suited to the temperate warmth of May.
Mulberry (White)
White mulberries — paler and considerably sweeter than their black counterparts, with a mild, honeyed flavor that lacks the tartness of black mulberries — ripen in May in warm growing regions across the Mediterranean and Asia. They are a more delicate fruit than the black mulberry, with a sweetness that is almost too gentle and mild for strong culinary preparations but is absolutely perfect for fresh eating. In Turkey and across the Middle East, white mulberry season is celebrated with fresh mulberries eaten by the handful, or dried into the sweet, chewy mulberry leather that is one of the most characteristic and ancient of the region’s traditional foods.
Pomelo
The pomelo — the largest of all citrus fruits and the ancestor from which grapefruit was ultimately derived — is in season through May in Southeast Asia and southern China, where it is particularly associated with the Thai and Vietnamese new year celebrations. The flesh is pale yellow to pink, divided into large, dry segments with a flavor that is sweeter and gentler than grapefruit, with little of the bitterness that characterizes that fruit. A pomelo peeled and separated into its segments, then dressed with fish sauce, lime, chilli, and toasted coconut, is one of Southeast Asia’s most refreshing and distinctive salads — a dish that captures the spirit of May in the tropics completely.
Star Fruit (Carambola)
Star fruit — named for the perfect five-pointed star shape revealed in cross-section — comes into season in May in tropical and subtropical growing regions across Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and South America. The flesh is crisp, juicy, and translucent, with a flavor that varies from quite tart in unripe specimens to gently sweet and slightly floral when fully ripe. The visual appeal of star fruit slices as a garnish is hard to beat, and the fruit’s high juice content and refreshing flavor make it particularly welcome in May in tropical climates where the heat demands cool, hydrating foods. In Malaysia and Thailand, green star fruit is often eaten with salt, sugar, and chilli as a snack.
Longan
Longans — often described as the little sibling of the lychee — come into early season in May in southern China, Thailand, and Vietnam, producing their clusters of round, tan-brown fruits in abundance on tall, graceful trees. The flesh inside is translucent, like the lychee, but slightly firmer and less perfumed, with a sweet, clean, mildly floral flavor and a characteristic musky note that distinguishes it clearly from its more famous relative. Fresh May longans eaten straight from the branch — the shell cracked between thumb and forefinger to reveal the glistening, cool flesh inside — are one of the understated pleasures of the early tropical summer season.
Avocado (Spring Season)
Avocados reach seasonal peak availability in May from a range of major growing regions — Mexico, California, Peru, and South Africa among the most significant — with spring-harvest varieties offering the rich, buttery, nutty flesh that has made avocado one of the most popular and widely consumed fruits in the modern world. May avocados from Mexico in particular are at an important seasonal moment, with the Hass variety — the world’s most widely grown and consumed avocado cultivar — producing heavily through the spring months. A perfectly ripe May avocado, dark-skinned and yielding under gentle pressure, halved and seasoned with nothing more than good salt and lime juice, needs no further elaboration.
Raspberries (Greenhouse and Early Season)
Under glass and in the warmest outdoor situations, the very first raspberries of the year are ripening in May — a harbinger of the full outdoor season that will follow through June and July. Early May raspberries from heated or unheated tunnel growing are a genuine seasonal luxury, and their arrival in May signals the beginning of the soft fruit season in earnest. The flavor of a freshly picked raspberry — sharp, intensely fruity, and aromatic with a sweetness that is never cloying — is one of the finest in the entire fruit calendar, and even these first early specimens of the season carry that characteristic raspberry intensity that makes the fruit so universally loved and so immediately recognizable.
Damson (Blossom to Early Fruitlet)
The damson — that most intense and characterful of all the plum family, prized above all others for the extraordinary depth and complexity it brings to jam, gin, cheese, and slow-cooked puddings — is not yet ripe in May but is setting its first small, hard fruitlets from the mass of white blossom that covered the trees in April. For the grower who tends damson trees, May is the month of quiet optimism — counting the fruitlets developing on the branches, assessing the likely harvest to come, and anticipating the deep, astringent, wine-dark richness that will reward the long wait when October finally arrives and the fruit drops heavy from the laden branches into the collecting sheets below.