Fruit Category

This Brazilian fruit looks like a squishy apple with an odd-looking stem growing out of it. According to botanists, though, the grayish "stem" is actually the fruit, and it encloses the kidney-shaped cashew nut that we're familiar with. The cashew apple is the yellowish-orange part that's attached to the fruit. This fruit is juicy but somewhat astringent due to a high concentration of tannin. Be careful of the grayish substance that encloses the nut. It contains toxic oils.

This medium-hot Mexican chili is used to make tamales, marinades, stews and soups. It's got a fruity flavor with just a hint of tobacco.

These are often used in Cajun recipes. Green cayennes appear in the summer, while hotter red cayennes come out in the fall. They are very hot.

These are very hot, bright red chilies. Recipes that call for cayenne pepper are likely referring to a ground powder that goes by the same name, or possibly to the fresh version of the pepper.

These sweet Italian olives are large enough to stuff. Black Cerignolas are softer than green Cerignolas.

This is reputed to be one of the best melon varieties of all.

This mild-flavored squash looks like a wrinkled, pale green pear. It needs to be cooked before serving, and for a longer time than other summer squash. You should peel a chayote before cooking it, but don't take the seed out--it's edible and tasty. Cooked chayotes make good low-fat substitutes for avocados.

This South American tropical fruit is shaped like a pine cone and has a gray-green, scaly skin. The soft white pulp inside has large black (inedible) seeds and tastes like a creamy blend of tropical flavors. Hard cherimoyas should be stored at room temperature until they give a little when squeezed, then they should be refrigerated until they're ready to serve.

There are three main categories of cherries: sweet cherries, which are for eating out of hand, sour cherries, which are best suited for making pies, preserves, and sauces, and tart chokecherries.

Along with pepperoncini, this is a good pickling pepper. They are moderately hot, and range in color from orange to bright red.

These are less than an inch in diameter, perfect for adding to salads or crudité platters, or grilling on skewers. There are both red and yellow varieties.

When dried, a chilaca pepper is called a pasilla chile. They are mild.

This hard-to-find and moderately hot Mexican chili is used in soups, stews, tamales, and mole sauces. It imparts a yellowish color to dishes.

Unlike many chilies, these remain bright red even after drying, so they're a favorite for making chili wreaths. They're very hot and somewhat acidic. Don't confuse the dried version with the fresh or powdered versions, which go by the same name.

This excellent Mexican chili is loaded with flavor but hard to find. It's used to make mole negro and bean dishes. It is moderately hot.

When fresh, these fruits are crisp like apples and have a mild, sweet flavor. In the United States, they're most often available dried. Chinese are different than middle eastern palm dates.

These are usually dried, but you can sometimes find fresh dates in late summer and fall. When you get them home, let them ripen on the counter for awhile until they become soft and sweet. Chinese are different than middle eastern palm dates.

Compared to the familiar American eggplant, Chinese eggplants have thinner skins, a more delicate flavor, and not as many of the seeds that tend to make eggplants bitter.

These are darker, milder versions of the chipotle chile.

These dried and smoked jalapeño peppers lend a wonderful, complex flavor to sauces. They're usually rehydrated and canned in adobo sauce, but you can also buy them dried in cellophane bags. They are medium hot.

These are too tart for most people to eat out of hand, but they make delicious preserves.

This resembles a large, bumpy lemon. Its thick rind is used to make marmalade, and its zest is a close substitute to lemon zest.

Both the color and flavor of these Scandinavian berries pale in comparison to the raspberry.

These preserves are sweet and somewhat mild. Look for them in Scandinavian markets.

The most common form of coconut in markets is the dry coconut, with a hard brown shell surrounding firm coconut meat with liquid in the center. Green coconuts = water coconuts are young coconuts with very soft meat inside. They're more often found in the tropics. Select coconuts that are free of cracks or mold, that are heavy for their size, and that have lots of water in them when you shake them. To crack one, hit it along its equator with a blunt instrument, pouring off the water when the first crack appears.

These juicy pears are considered to be the best for eating out of hand, but they're very expensive.

These dark purple grapes have large seeds. They are tangy and sweet. It is often used to make grape jelly.

These are all-purpose apples. Since their flesh is slow to brown after it's cut, Cortland apples are especially good in salads. If substituting another variety in a salad, dip it in acidulated water first to keep it from darkening.

This yellow Mexican chili is used to make soups, stews, and mole sauces. It's fruity and moderately hot and somewhat hard to find.

These are sweet seedless white table grapes. Some think they taste like cotton candy.

This Middle-Eastern summer squash looks a lot like spaghetti squash, only it has a thin, edible skin. It's similar to zucchini, but its larger size makes it a natural for stuffing.

These small apples are too tart to eat raw, but they're loaded with pectin and make great jams and jellies.

These aromatic green olives are marinated in a solution with herbes de Provence.

These tart berries are traditionally used to makes sauces and garnishes for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. It's best to buy them at their peak in October and November, and freeze any that you don't use right away.

See the recipe for Cranberry Juice posted by Veggies Unite!

This is a classic accompaniment to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. It's made of cranberries that have been cooked with sugar and other flavorings, like orange zest, ginger, port, or maple syrup.

This melon-cantaloupe cross is exceptionally juicy and flavorful, but it's hard to find outside of Sonoma County, California.

This large, popular melon is a cross between the Persian and Casaba melons. The rinds come in two colors: yellow and creamy white. The yellow ones taste better. You can buy Cranshaws while they're still a little underripe and let them sit on the counter for a few days. When fully ripe, a Cranshaw will be fragrant and yield slightly to gentle pressure at its blossom end. They're best in the fall.

This is a common red seedless grape.

This is a good apple for eating out of hand, or for making applesauce or pies. Its flesh is slow to brown after it's cut.

This is fresh ginger that has been cooked in a sugar solution and then coated with sugar. It's similar to candied ginger, and the two are often used interchangeably.

They are moderately hot.

These sweet, mild peppers are usually sold while yellowish-green. They become hotter and redder as they mature.

The cupuacu fruit grow on medium sized trees native to the Amazon basin. The fruit is brown skinned with a white pulpy center. Cupuacu has a fruity chocolatey flavor.

These berries are too tart for most people to eat out of hand, but they make terrific preserves and garnishes. They come in three colors: red, white, and black. If color's not important, you can use them interchangeably in most recipes, though red and white currants aren't as tart as black. Don't confuse these berries with the dried fruit of the same name that looks like a small raisin. You can sometimes find fresh currants in specialty produce markets in the summer. If not, frozen currants are a good substitute.

These are about half the size of cherry tomatoes.

These dried Zante grapes look like tiny raisins. Don't confuse them with the fresh sour berry that also called a currant.