The culinary cognoscenti of the Garden State utter a collective exclamation of gushing lust every summer when the first real-deal ripe Jersey tomatoes hit harvest time, and our farmers’ markets, roadside stands and baskets resting upon kitchen counters are filled with our own revered love apples.

Sweet corn, peaches and blueberries also weigh in as favored peak-summer Jersey-grown produce for which veritable poems of worship are written every year. We are surely lucky to be known as top producers of all these loved fruits and vegetables, but as our food pros know, there are other members of the wide world of Garden State produce worth getting hot and bothered in a good way over. That’s why we asked a cross-section of experts:

Which summer vegetable or fruit do you think is underappreciated and/or under-used? And how do you prepare or use it to underscore your reason for believing in its value?

If what immediately comes to your mind is either a ground cherry or a garlic scape, well, you’re a member of the Cool Food Kids Crowd.

Chris Cirkus, the manager of the acclaimed year-round West Windsor Farmers’ Market, is in a prime position to know her produce. Her personal pick is the ground cherry. Her description may soon make it yours.

“Somewhere between a cherry tomato and a pineapple in flavor and texture” is how she kicks off her tasting notes. Then she takes her case a step further by adding that it’s “pop-able like candy – we keep a bowl on the kitchen table and unwrap each one like a present.” As a tip for buyers, Chris notes: “Jeff’s Organic Produce is my favorite grower of these.” Jeff’s, BTW, is a fixture at the West Windsor Farmers’ Market, which takes place on Saturdays.

Jamie Merlino, who with her partner Candace Caprio owns and operates the new Wild Roots Provisions café/shop across from the beach in Cape May, is all-in for ground cherries as well.

“I grew up hearing about the elusive wild ‘gooseberry,’ she says, “When Candace and I moved to Maui, we fell in love with poha berries. To our delight, we found ground cherries in a CSA box from Stone Circle Farm and we knew it was love when we finished the whole lot on the car ride home.”

Note to readers: They don’t live all that far from the farm located in Middle Township.

She continues: “These little gems sure pack a punch! They are sweet but tart, and full of flavor that bursts in your mouth, with undertones of vanilla and pineapple.” The Wild Roots partners advise using them as an “accompaniment to a cheese board” or sneaking “some into a summer berry pie or crumble. They are excellent in raw applications such as a tartare, ceviche or salsa.”

Without so much as taking a breath, Jamie tips Cape May County fellow food pros Amanda Axelsson and Captain Brady Lybarger of Scallop Shack Farms in Rio Grange and urges making a “pro move” by using Scallop Shack Farms’ namesake in “a lovely scallop crudo with ground cherries.” Other uses: pickle ground cherries for a side or accent or mix them with coconut yogurt as a snack.

(Coincidence or trend? I was at Stone Circle on Wednesday, buying produce myself and not resisting a carton of ground cherries, and asked owner/farmer-chef Andrew Steiner what he does with his ground cherries. For starters, he uses them to bring a perky crunch to salads and recommends partnering them with cucumbers, peaches, tomatoes and all sorts of high-season favorites.)

Ground cherry supporters have competition from advocates for garlic scapes. Stephanie Bricken, the mastermind behind Seraphim Social Beverage, the Monmouth County-based non-alcoholic botanical blends that drink like complex red wines, makes a compelling case for the shoots.

“Once (only) trimmed and tossed aside to help garlic bulbs grow bigger, garlic scapes have since become a seasonal treasure in the culinary world,” Stephanie says. “These vibrant green, curly shoots offer a delicate, slightly sweet garlic flavor with grassy undertones, making them a favorite among chefs and home cooks. Use them to brighten up pesto, blend into hummus, sauté with vegetables, stir into risottos or grill whole as a savory side. They’re also excellent in scrambled eggs, on pizzas, mixed into compound butters, or finely chopped into salad dressings and marinades.”

Larry Mahamarian, one of the quartet of founders of River Valley Community Grains, a grain hub now headquartered at Markboro Mills in Warren County, also casts a vote for garlic scapes.

“They are easy and taste delicious,” Larry says. They can be “simply made, with some olive oil, salt and pepper,” tossed on the grill. “They are an excellent side dish to any meal and very flavorful and not overpowering.”

If you’re looking for something more than a side, follow the lead of Dave Watts, farmer and owner of Watts Organic Farm in Pittsgrove, and use eggplant as the foundation of a spin on the food many eat every week.

“I like to make small eggplant pizzas in the summer,” Dave says, putting to great use a crop that might not rank up there in sheer-adoration polls with tomatoes, peaches, corn and blueberries, but catapults New Jersey to the No. 1 position in the nation for cultivation.

Take that, tomatoes – although Dave does use Jersey’s popularity queen as part of his personal summertime pie.

Award-winning pastry chef Debbie Mumford, who with her farmer-chef husband Chris is revving up their new property in Wall Township to become the official home of Hay Mumford Farms, speaks on behalf of the cucumber.

“Cucumbers are not utilized to their fullest,” Debbie says. “First, they are simply delicious off the vine with salt. They can be juiced and delicious cucumber cocktails can be made. You can also freeze the juice for months.”

Did you know that? Seriously: If Deb Mumford says it’s so, it is so.

“Cucumber is also an excellent source of hydration,” she adds. “Mix cucumber with watermelon, lemon and kiwi with a touch of honey and add it to your water.”

The dog days of summer don’t have a chance of biting with these ideas.

Joey Soto and Hannah Conner raise their hands for choy, specifically Ong Choy, which they grow at their Ramblin’ Sol Farm in the Cream Ridge section of Upper Freehold Township.

“It’s heat tolerant and (requires fewer) resources to grow in the heat than other leafy greens,” the farmers say. Plus Hannah and Joey have a simple and sensational way to prepare it: “Saute with garlic, onion and any other veg in the fridge.”

Elias Bitar, the chef-owner of Norma’s Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Cuisine in Cherry Hill, gives more than a mere shout-out to his pick for most underappreciated vegetable.

“I don’t think it gets any more underappreciated than okra,” Elias says. “I make a stew (of okra) with tons of whole garlic, diced onions, chunky heirloom tomatoes (and put it) over a rice pilaf. Nothing better!”

The key to making this stew happen? “I briefly pan-fry the okra,” the chef notes, “before I make the stew to give it the tiniest bit of traction on the outside.”

Elias shares the success of his okra stew with his farmer partners at Free Haven Farms in Lawnside, Micaiah and Dr. Cynthia Hall.

It’s not that Dillon Gray, who is working on the start-up of his online bakeshop Delectable Delights Baking, based in Lafayette, is averse to the less-exalted members of summer’s produce lineup. It’s just that working on his own business, as well as in the bakery and kitchen at Windy Brow Farms in Fredon, is keeping peaches on his mind these days.

“I’ve grown up spoiled because I’ve always had access to Windy Brow peaches,” he says. He ticks off the cobblers and cheesecakes he makes to showcase peaches and goes into detail about accents of brown sugar bourbon and how he infuses a caramel sauce with peaches. So permission can be granted to join in the lovefest for this Jersey-proud fruit.

But let’s challenge Dillon for next summer: What about a ground cherry-peach pie or cheesecake or coffee cake? Something, perhaps, to show off the husked fruit of summer and turn up the volume on one of the Garden State’s unsung produce heroes.