Fruit Category
Includes berries, citrus fruit, melons, tropical fruit, and tomatoes
Fruits are the matured ovaries of plants, containing the seeds for the next generation of plants. Many plants cunningly make their fruits sweet, the better to attract animals like us to eat them and disperse the seeds. Fruits are often delicious enough to eat out of hand, but they can also be made into tarts, compotes, shakes, juices, preserves, liqueurs, and many other things.
pumpkin
Use the small sugar pumpkin = pie pumpkin for pies; the larger jack o'lantern pumpkin is too watery. Canned pumpkin purée is convenient and a good substitute for fresh.
Learn morepuya chili dried
This is similar to the guajillo chile, only smaller and more potent. It has a fruity flavor that's good in salsas and stews. They are fairly hot.
Learn morequince
This pleasantly tart fruit needs to be cooked before eating. Quinces are high in pectin, so they're commonly used to make jams and jellies. Some cooks simply bake them like apples. They come into season from August to December.
Learn morequince paste
This is a Spanish and South American delicacy that's similar to quince jam, only thick enough to cut into slices. It's terrific which cheese or nuts.
Learn moreraisins
The common raisins we see on supermarket shelves are usually dried Thompson seedless grapes. Golden raisins are amber in color and somewhat tart--many cooks prefer them over ordinary raisins for baking and cooking. Muscat raisins are dark and very sweet, and they work well in fruitcakes. Currants are about one-quarter the size of ordinary raisins, and are typically used in baked goods. Store raisins in the refrigerator after you open the package.
Learn morerambutan
These are similar to litchees and longans, but they're covered with soft spines. Peel before using.
Learn moreraspberry
It's a real challenge to get these hollow, fragile berries to consumers before they spoil, so you'll have to pay a high price for those that make it. Many don't, so check them carefully for mildew before you buy them. A good alternative is to buy them frozen.
Learn moreraw green olives
These are for the rare cook who's intrepid enough to cure olives from scratch. Do not eat them raw.
Learn morered Bartlett pear
This tastes just like a yellow Bartlett, but it's more attractive and more expensive.
Learn morered currant
With their brilliant coloring, red currants make terrific garnishes. They're also pleasantly tart, and often used to make jellies, syrups, and wine. Fresh ones are available in some markets during the summer, but frozen currants are acceptable substitutes for fresh in many recipes.
Learn morered delicious apple
These sweet, soft apples are good for eating out of hand, but don't bake them or use them in pies. Avoid buying them in the summer; they sometimes get mushy.
Learn moreReed avocado
This large, roundish avocado slips easily from the peel, and has excellent flavor and texture. It will stay firm even when ripe, so it's not a good choice if you're making guacamole.
Learn morerocotillo pepper
This is a small, sweet, mild pepper that looks like someone stepped on it. It's fruity-tasting like a habanero, only not nearly as hot.
Learn morerocoto chili
These very hot chiles look like tiny bell peppers and have black seeds. They have an interesting fruity flavor.
Learn moreRome apple
These are best used for baking and for making applesauce. They don't work well in pies.
Learn moreRosa Bianca eggplant
This Italian heirloom eggplant has sweet, mild flesh and a creamy texture. They're hard to find, but knowing cooks scoop them up whenever they're in season.
Learn morerose apple
These rose or green fruits are pear-shaped and are said to taste like rose water. The seeds are poisonous.
Learn moreSanta Claus melon
This is distinguished mostly by its long shelf life--you can store an uncut Santa Claus melon for several months. They have thick rinds, so don't bother smelling them for ripeness--they don't give off much of an aroma.
Learn moresapote
This is a family of sweet, tropical fruits. Varieties include the black sapote = chocolate pudding fruit, the brown-skinned, pink-fleshed mamey sapote = mammee = mamey, and the white sapote = zapote blanco.
Learn moresauce tomato
This tomato isn't as juicy as other tomatoes, which gives it a more concentrated flavor that works well in sauces and stews. These are also the best tomatoes for drying. You may want to remove the bitter seeds before cooking these tomatoes, but save the gel that surrounds the seeds--it's rich in flavor. Varieties include the roma tomato = Italian tomato = Italian plum tomato and saladette tomato. Sauce tomatoes are most flavorful in the summer. During the rest of the year, many cooks prefer canned tomatoes over the bland and mealy fresh tomatoes they usually find in markets.
Learn moreScotch bonnet chili
This extremely hot pepper is almost indistinguishable from the habanero, except that it's a bit smaller and has a fruitier flavor. It's popular in the Caribbean.
Learn moreSeckel pear
These are small pears with red and green skins. They're very sweet and juicy and they'd be absolutely perfect if only the skins weren't a bit too thick.
Learn moreSerrano pepper
These have thin walls, so they don't need to be charred, steamed, and peeled before using. They are moderately hot. When dried, this is called a chile seco.
Learn moreSeville orange
These are too bitter to eat out of hand, but they make a wonderful orange marmalade and the sour juice is perfect for certain mixed drinks.
Learn moreSharlyn melon
When ripe, this has an orange background with green netting. It's very perishable, so don't wait more than two days after getting it home to eat it.
Learn moreshishito chili
This Japanese chile is very sweet and mild with a grassy flavor. It's about two inches long.
Learn moreSicilian eggplants
These are large with purple stripes. They have thin skins and a subtle flavor.
Learn moreSicilian olive
These are large, green, sour olives that are usually marinated with herbs. They sometimes pitted and stuffed with pimento, garlic, or jalapeño pepper.
Learn moreSierra Beauty apple
This is a juicy, crisp and somewhat tart apple. It doesn't hold its shape well when cooked, but it's great for eating out of hand.
Learn moreslicing tomato
These large tomatoes are best for sandwiches and grilling. Varieties include the beefstake tomato and oxheart tomato. The red varieties tend to be more acidic than the yellow.
Learn moresoncoya
Soncoya is a somewhat obscure tropical fruit in the Annona genus. It is similar to the soursop and ilama.
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