Fruit Category

The pulp of these cactus fruits is a brilliant red or, occasionally, a yellowish green, and it tastes a bit like watered-down watermelon. Cooks exploit the color by adding slices of the pulp to fruit salads, or by puréeing it and straining out the seeds. They're quite popular in Hispanic countries and around the Mediterranean.

In a marketing makeover, producers are starting to call these dried plums instead of prunes. Whatever you call them, they're sweet and just loaded with dietary fiber, iron, and other nutrients. You can eat them whole, chop them into sauces and stews, or make a compote out of them.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

These are similar to litchees and longans, but they're covered with soft spines. Peel before using.

This is similar to a mandarin orange, only more acidic.

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.

These are for the rare cook who's intrepid enough to cure olives from scratch. Do not eat them raw.

Very similar to a green Anjou pear.

This tastes just like a yellow Bartlett, but it's more attractive and more expensive.

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.

Red currant jelly is tart and often served with lamb and venison.

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.

These are large red seeded grapes.

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.

These are especially good for baking.

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.

These very hot chiles look like tiny bell peppers and have black seeds. They have an interesting fruity flavor.

These are best used for baking and for making applesauce. They don't work well in pies.

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.

These rose or green fruits are pear-shaped and are said to taste like rose water. The seeds are poisonous.

This is grown in Africa.

This is large brown Greek olive is brine-cured.

These are about the size of a plum and are covered with brown scales.

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.

This fruit looks like a bald, brown kiwi fruit.

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.

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.

This is like a pattypan squash, only it's greener and rounder.

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.

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.