Fruit (4)
Green Plum
Maesil is never eaten raw. It is layered with sugar into maesil-cheong syrup or steeped into liq...
Melon
Netted muskmelon, treated in Korea as a gift fruit and priced accordingly. Ripe when the stem en...
Apricot
A short early-summer window. Korean apricots are eaten fresh when soft, and otherwise dried or s...
Korean Melon
Chamoe is the yellow, white-striped melon with crisp, mildly sweet flesh — closer to a cucumber-...
Vegetable (3)
Potato
Summer-harvested potatoes arrive waxy and moist, best steamed and eaten plain or crushed with bu...
Korean Zucchini
Aehobak is shorter and denser than Italian zucchini, with fewer seeds. Sliced into doenjang stew...
Cucumber
Peak-season Korean cucumbers are thin-skinned and crunchy — the base for oi-muchim, cold oi-naen...
Seafood (2)
Blue Crab
Spring blue crab is female and full of roe; autumn crab is male and meatier. Steamed, or cured r...
Anchovy
Spring anchovies are large enough to eat fresh — grilled or raw — rather than dried. Dried ancho...
Greens & Herbs (2)
Perilla Leaf
Kkaennip has no real Western equivalent: minty, anise-like and slightly bitter. Eaten raw as a w...
Garlic Chives
Buchu is softer and more garlicky than Western chives. Folded into pancakes, tossed as a raw sal...
At a glance
| Item | Korean | Category | Peak months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Plum | 매실 | Fruit | May, Jun |
| Melon | 멜론 | Fruit | Jun, Jul, Aug |
| Apricot | 살구 | Fruit | Jun, Jul |
| Korean Melon | 참외 | Fruit | Jun, Jul, Aug |
| Potato | 감자 | Vegetable | Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep |
| Korean Zucchini | 애호박 | Vegetable | Jun, Jul, Aug |
| Cucumber | 오이 | Vegetable | Jun, Jul, Aug |
| Blue Crab | 꽃게 | Seafood | May, Jun |
| Anchovy | 멸치 | Seafood | Apr, May, Jun |
| Perilla Leaf | 깻잎 | Greens & Herbs | Jun, Jul, Aug |
| Garlic Chives | 부추 | Greens & Herbs | May, Jun |