|
Never miss another recipe... Sign up for our free monthly newsletter today!
Subscribing will not result in more spam! I guarantee it! NEWSLETTER
• Current Issue• Newsletter Archive • Sign Up Now 
Cook'n with Betty Crocker 
Cook'n with Pillsbury 
Cook'n with a Taste of Home 
Cook'n in Italy 
Cook'n in Mexico |
      |
|
 |
Fruit Availability |
|
Print this Recipe Today, fruits that were once considered seasonal are now available throughout the year. However, you will find the best flavor, texture and price for fruits during their peak season. Fruit/Peak Availability: Apples: September to May Uses: Snacks, salads, pies, cakes, tarts, breads, desserts Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Toss with citrus to prevent discoloration of cut surfaces. Fruit/Peak Availability: Apricots: May to September Uses: Snacks, salads, compotes, cakes, pies Storing and Handling: Ripen at room temperature, then refrigerate. Bring out the flavor of bland fruit by baking or stewing. Fruit/Peak Availability: Avocados: April to June Uses: Salads, appetizers, dips Storing and Handling: Let ripen at room temperature until the skin becomes soft to the touch. Rub cut surfaces at once with lemon juice or another citrus to avoid discoloration. Fruit/Peak Availability: Bananas: Year-round Uses: Snacks, salads, quick breads, cakes Storing and Handling: Do not refrigerate. Bananas that are very ripe can be mashed for baked goods or peeled and frozen. The frozen bananas are good for snacking. Fruit/Peak Availability: Blueberries: June to July Uses: Snacks, salads, pies, quick breads, coffee cakes, desserts Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Pick over berries before use and discard mushy ones; pinch off any remaining stems. Toss with a little flour before mixing with cake or muffin batter to prevent all from sinking. Fruit/Peak Availability: Cantaloupe: June to December Uses: Snacks, salads, uncooked desserts Storing and Handling: Ripen at room temperature. Rinse before cutting. Do not cook. If melon is bland, spritz with fresh lime. Fruit/Peak Availability: Cherries: June to July Uses: Snacks, salads, pies, sauces Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Choose red or golden cherries that are darkly colored and firm. For pie and chutney, choose sour cherries Fruit/Peak Availability: Cranberries: September to February Uses: Relish, sauces, quick breads, cakes, desserts Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Tart flavor adds bright contrast to many sweet recipes. Combines well with orange and nuts. Freeze extras for later use. Pick over berries and remove mushy ones; pinch off any stems. Fruit/Peak Availability: Grapefruit: November to May Uses: Snacks, salads, fruit cups, sorbets Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Can be sectioned or cut in half to serve. Fruit/Peak Availability: Grapes: August to October Uses: Snacks, salads, uncooked desserts Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Pick off any moldy or shriveled grapes. Serve them fresh and uncooked. Fruit/Peak Availability: Honeydew melon: August to October Uses: Snacks, salads, fruit cups Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Serve raw. Choose honeydew with a velvety surface and a sweet smell. Rinse and halve melon and scoop out seeds. Cut flesh into slices or chunks, or scoop out with a melon baller. Fruit/Peak Availability: Kiwi fruit: Year-round Uses: Snacks, salads, fruit garnish for cream pie, cheesecake or New Zealand pavlova (meringue and whipped cream dessert) Storing and Handling: Refrigerate unless the fruit feels very hard. Best uncooked. The fuzzy brown skin is edible, but most people pare it away and cut the green fruit into slices or chunks. Or, simply cut the fruit in half across the "equator" and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Kiwi fruit cannot be used in gelatin salads or desserts because the papain enzyme prevents gelling. Fruit/Peak Availability: Lemons: Year-round Uses: Garnishes, condiments, dressings, desserts, cakes, pies Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Both the juice and the peel, or "zest" are used for flavoring. Remove the thin colored part only, not the bitter white pith underneath, with a zester tool, a sharp paring knife or a vegetable peeler. Use a lemon juicer to remove juice. Fruit/Peak Availability: Limes: Year-round Uses: Garnishes, condiments, dressings, pies Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Both the juice and the peel or "zest" are used for flavoring. Remove the thin colored part only, not the bitter white pith underneath, with a zester tool, a sharp paring knife or a vegetable peeler. Use a lemon juicer to remove juice. Fruit/Peak Availability: Mangoes: May to September Uses: Snacks, fresh-fruit desserts Storing and Handling: Let green, hard mangoes ripen at room temperature until the skin changes color and the flesh yields to gentle pressure. Serve ripe fruit chilled. To prepare, cut parallel to the large, flat stone that dominates the center of the fruit. Score the flesh in a diamond pattern, then push the skin inside out. The cubes will stand up like porcupine quills and the edible fruit can be sliced off. Fruit/Peak Availability: Nectarines: July to August Uses: Snacks, salads, pies, quick breads, cakes, desserts Storing and Handling: Ripen at room temperature, then refrigerate. Freestone varieties are best for cooking. Toss cut fruit with citrus to prevent the flesh from turning brown. Fruit/Peak Availability: Oranges: Year-round Uses: Snacks, salads, quick breads, cakes, muffins Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Both the juice and the zest are used for flavoring. To remove the membrane, use a small, sharp knife to pare away the skin and expose the flesh. Make V-shaped cuts between the segment membranes to release juicy, membrane-less segments of fruit. Work over a bowl to catch the juice. Fruit/Peak Availability: Papayas: Year-round Uses: Snacks, salads, fruit cups, desserts Storing and Handling: Be patient and let the papaya ripen at room temper-ature until it is quite tender to the touch, or it will be mouth-puckering. Scoop out the mass of dark seeds in the center. (They are edible, but bitter.) Cut slices of the fruit or spoon away from the skin. Serve raw; spritz with lime juice if desired. Papaya cannot be used in gelatin salads or desserts because the papain enzyme prevents gelling. Fruit/Peak Availability: Peaches: July to September Uses: Snacks, salads, cakes, pies, quick breads, desserts Storing and Handling: Let ripen at room temperature until tender, then refrigerate, especially if the weather is very hot. Choose freestone varieties for easiest preparation. Toss the cut fruit with citrus juice to prevent discoloration. Fruit/Peak Availability: Pears: Nearly year-round Uses: Salads, snacks, pies, desserts, snacks, fresh Storing and Handling: Let ripen at room temperature until they yield to gentle pressure, then refrigerate. (Bosc pears are still crisp when ripe.) Toss cut pears with citrus juice to prevent discoloration. Fruit/Peak Availability: Pineapples: March to July Uses: Fruit salads, upside-down cakes, sweet-and-sour main courses Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. A sweet aroma is the most reliable clue to sweet flavor. To prepare, cut off the spiky green top. Cut the fruit in half top to bottom. Cut each half into lengthwise wedges; trim away the tough core from the top of each wedge. Run a knife between the flesh and the skin removing the black "eyes," then cut the flesh into pieces. Pineapple cannot be used in gelatin salads or desserts because the papain enzyme prevents gelling. Fruit/Peak Availability: Plums: July to August Uses: Snacks, salads, fruit cups, ice cream Storing and Handling: Let ripen at room temperature until the flesh yields to gentle pressure, then refrigerate. Red, green, yellow, black and purple varieties have varied flavor and texture. Most varieties are best for eating fresh. Fruit/Peak Availability: Pomegranates: January Uses: Snacks; sprinkle the fresh seeds into fruit salads or atop rice or poultry dishes Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Cut the fruit in half to reveal a multitude of jewel-like, edible seeds. Pick or pull the seeds from the surrounding white membrane. Fruit/Peak Availability: Raspberries: July to early August; some varieties have a brief second crop in October. Uses: Fruit cups, pies, garnish for cream pies or cheesecakes, dessert sauces Storing and Handling: Refrigerate, preferably in a single layer to avoid bruising. Handle gently and use as soon as possible. Strain sauces to remove the tiny seeds. Fruit/Peak Availability: Rhubarb: April to May Uses: Compotes, dessert sauces, pies (especially strawberry) Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Discard the dark green leaves, which are poisonous. Trim and scrub stalks. Must be cooked. Fruit/Peak Availability: Star fruit (carambola): September to January Uses: Salads, desserts, garnishes, pies Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Star fruit does not require peeling. Delicious eaten fresh. Fruit/Peak Availability: Strawberries: April to June Uses: Fruit cups, salads, shortcakes, pies, cake garnishes, quick breads Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. To prevent berries from getting waterlogged, rinse berries just before removing the green hulls. Strawberries are most often served raw but sometimes are used in baked desserts or quick breads. Fruit/Peak Availability: Tangerines and clementines: December to February Uses: Snacks, salads, fruit cups Storing and Handling: Refrigerate. Clementines are generally smaller and sweeter than tangerines. They are best served raw and the skin can be easily peeled for sectioning. Fruit/Peak Availability: Watermelon: June to August Uses: Snacks, fresh fruit salads Storing and Handling: Refrigerate and serve chilled. There are seedless varieties available but most have seeds that need to be removed before eating. This recipe comes from the Cook'n collection. Try Cook'n for FREE!
Apple-Sweetened Cherry Preserves Easy Rhubarb-Pineapple Jam Razzle-Dazzle Quick Jam Cranberry-Apple Spiced Jelly Microwave Apple Butter Applesauce Orange-Pear Conserve Citrus Marmalade Hot and Spicy Tomato Salsa Homemade Tomato Sauce Spiced Vinegar Spiced Vinegar Salad Dressing Refrigerator Pickle Medley Spiced Pear Chutney Jalapeno Cranberry Relish Marinated Vegetables with Olives Sweet Hot Pickled Vegetables Dill-Pickled Beets Dilled Green Beans and Cauliflower Dill Pickles Tri-Colored Pickled Peppers Bread and Butter Pickles Refrigerator Cucumber Pickles Quick Pickles Cook's Note: How to Can Tomatoes Cook's Note: Nutrition Per Serving for Home-Preserved Foods Cook's Note: Preserving Pickles, Relishes and Sauces Timetable for Canning Fruits and Tomatoes Timetable for Canning Vegetables How Many Servings Do You Need Each Day? Your Daily Nutritional Requirements Uses for the Microwave Types of Charcoal Spices: Flavors and Uses Emergency Substitutions: Baking Emergency Substitutions: Chocolate Emergency Substitutions: Dairy Products Emergency Substitutions: Seasonings Emergency Substitutions: Thickeners Emergency Substitutions: Vegetables Herbs: Flavors and Uses Blends: Flavors and Uses Sugar Syrup for Fruits Storing Foods in the Freezer Fruit Freezing Chart Vegetable Freezing Chart Types of Apples Types of Berries Types of Pears Types of Cheese Fruit Availability Cook's Note: Seven Steps to a Healthy Diet Cook's Note: Freezing Casseroles Food Storage |
|
|
Affiliate Program | Privacy Policy | Other Resources | Contact Us
© 2008 DVO Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Sales: 1-888-462-6656 |
