FRUITS
Fruits are pure pleasure when they are ripe. Vitamins, minerals, and fibers have no more persuasive salesman than a juicy, honey-sweet peach. Eating fruit is good for everyone, of course: every fruit, like every vegetable, contains all vitamins (except B12' which is found in any dairy product), minerals, and phytochemicals - those nutrients whose health-promoting properties are forever being newly discovered. As always, the best advice is to eat the most fresh fruit you can, and preferably to eat fruit that is local, in season, and perfectly ripe.
SHOPPING FOR FRESH FRUITS
Most of the fruits in these pages can be found at a market in some part of the country-if not the supermar-ket, then a farmers' market, fancy grocery, or ethnic market. As much as possible, buy fruits in their domes-tic season, and buy fruits for canning, freezing, and pre-serving at the peak of the season. Produce is most reasonable in price when plentiful, nutrition is greatest when fruits have not traveled for long, and flavor is rich-est when fruits reach the peak of their reproductive cycle. In the summer and early fall, farmers' markets and roadside stands offer the greatest variety and gener-ally the most flavorful selection. When, in cold weather, it is back to the supermarket, make friends with the produce manager so that when you want to sample a fruit before buying it, he or she will readily give you a taste. The way to shop for fruits is not to make a list at home but to wait until you get to the market and see and smell what is best. This is especially true when composing a fruit mixture. Here is the usual choice in a well-stocked market:
Dependably Available All Year:
apples, avocados, bananas, coconuts, dates, dried fruits, grapefruit, grapes, kiwis, lemons, limes, oranges, pears, pineapple.
Usually Dependably Available (the season will be longer some places, and more fruits will be available both regionally and from imported sources):
January: mandarins
February and March:-
April: rhubarb, strawberries
May: apricots, papayas, rhubarb, strawberries
June. apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, figs, mangoes, papayas, raspberries, strawberries
July: apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, mangoes, nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries
August: blackberries, blueberries, figs, melons, nectarines, peaches, plums, watermelons
September: melons, watermelons
October: cranberries, persimmons, pomegranates, quinces
November: cranberries, mandarins, quinces
December: cranberries, mandarins
RULES FOR FRUIT
1. When possible, buy fruit grown organically. Select domestically raised fruit in its season. Fruit raised in your region is even better because nutrition is greatest when fruits have not traveled for long.
2. Choose healthy-looking fruit-bright, plump, and sound. Become familiar with which fruits ham been waxed or sprayed and urge the produce manager to provide unwaxed, unsprayed fruits.
3. Do not wash fruit until serving tune, then wash especially well any commercially raised fruits or fruits you suspect have been sprayed.
4. To Ripen Fruit: Underripe fruits can be ripened most efficiently in a brown paper bag. Do not crowd the fruits in the bag. Place the bag at room temperature out of the sun. Turn the bag over every day so fruits can ripen evenly. Adding an apple or banana will speed the process because these fruits emit a harmlessgas that enhances ripening.
5. After ripening, most fruits keep best when stored in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper drawer. The exceptions-avocados, bananas, citrus fruits, pineapples, and melons-can be refrigerated, but their quality is best preserved in a dark, cool (50 °F to 65°F)(10°F to 18°FC) place.
6.Wherever you keep them, give fruits a quick check daily. When a piece shows any sign of spoilage-mold or softness or oozing-remove it. Spoilage is infectious and will quickly, ruin surrounding fruits.
7. Peeling Fruit. In general, do not peel fruit if you can avoid it. More often than not, the peel is a rich source of flavor, interesting texture, and valuable nutrients. However, in certain recipes or preparations, peeling is desirable. To peel fruits with loosely attached skin, dip them in boiling water for 20 to 60 seconds, transfer to a bowl of cold water to cool, then slip off the skin.
8. To Keep Fruits from Darkening: When prepareing fruits whose flesh turns brown upon exposure to air, rub surfaces with the cut edge of a citrus fruit (lemon, orange, mandarin, grapefruit, or lime). A quantity of fruit can be kept in a bowl of acidulated water-mix ¾ to 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar into 1 quart water. Do not keep fruit in this bath for more than 20 minutes.
9.When cooking fruit, retain nutrients by cooking quickly and using as little liquid as possible. Save cooking liquids and turn them into a syrup or blend some into your breakfast fruit juice.
10. Because fruits are acidic, all tools and pans should be made of nonreactive materials (stainless steel, enameled cast iron) or nonstick coated.
11. Dried fruits such as raisins, currants, and dried cherries benefit by being plumped before being added to a recipe. Plump them by soaking in warmed or boiling spirits, fruit juice, or any liquid in the recipe they are to be used in for 10 to 15 minutes before use.
IDEAS FOR FRUIT SUBSTITUTIONS
When a fruit called for in a recipe is unavailable, by all means substitute. If the fruits will be cooked, you will have best results using something of the same type, since it will have similar physical characteristics. The following are botanical types within which fruits are virtually interchangeable in a recipe:
Pome Fruits (contain a central core with small seeds): apples, pears, quinces. Quinces must be cooked and take the longest time of the three fruits. Pears cook the fastest.
Stone Fruits (contain a single pit): apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, plums, persimmons,
Berries (contain small seeds with juicy flesh): The brambles (all forms of blackberries and raspberries) are easily interchangeable. Remember that raspberries are hollow and cook faster than solid-centered blackberries. Blueberries, huckleberries, and cranberries make up another group; currants and gooseberries, another. Cape gooseberries, elderberries, and grapes are related to no other berry in this group but can be substituted for others.
Citrus (segments of juicy pulp with tough seeds beneath aromatic, leathery skin): oranges, mandarins, grapefruit, pomelos, lemons, limes, and all their crosses.
Melons (round to oblong fruits with hard rinds and seeds): Dessert melons include cantaloupe, casaba, Crenshaw, honeydew, Persian, and the tropical melons; kiwano is a close relative. Watermelons are another melon group. All melons are interchangeable; watermelons contain 5 percent more water than dessert melons and are coarser in texture.
CHARACTERISTICS OF FRUITS
How to tell when a fruit is ripe? First, use your nose. Most fruits let us know they are ready to eat by emitting a tantalizing fragrance. A pear is not ripe until it smells like a pear. Still, a few mature fruits keep their scent to themselves until you slice one open then you will smell it. With them, use your touch. Hold the fruit. between your palms and gently apply pressure. Even if the whole fruit is not supposed to be soft, somewhere there will be a soft spot that indicates ripeness-the tip of a peach, the dent in a cantaloupe where the stem was. Occasionally your ear will guide you. Shake a coconut-the more its milk sloshes inside, the better.
Every type of fruit has seeds inside, which is what distinguishes fruits from vegetables. Yes, that means peas, corn, cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes are fruits. Over time, culinary custom has overridden botany, and a food is regarded as fruit if it seems more sweet than savory.
Sweetness is a fruit's great attraction. Fruits are rich in fructose, sucrose, and glucose and relatively low in calories because they contain so much water. Most fruits are at least 8o percent water; bananas are 74 per-cent, avocados 66 percent. The water makes fruit juicy and refreshing.
And, of course, fruits are enormously nutritious. They are a major source of vitamins, fiber, minerals, and antioxidant nutrients that protect against disease. Citrus peel and the white membrane beneath it contain more vitamin C than the flesh, as well as valuable pectin. Many fruits are excellent sources of dietary fiber.
The Food Guide Pyramid recommends two to four servings of fruit daily. Thoughtful nutritionists urge a minimum of three to five.
PREPARING FRUITS
For their nutrients and fiber, leave peels on the fruit when you can. However, if the fruit was not organically grown, there is a chance the skin or rind contains pes-ticide residue. Apples may have been sprayed up to a dozen times before reaching the supermarket and then given a coat of wax in storage. Pears, peaches, and citrus fruits may also have been waxed. Apart from their cosmetic glow, edible waxes seal in moisture, which retards spoilage and helps protect fruit in shipping and handling. Waxes also seal in any fungicide or pesticide residue present. Federal law requires markets to post notice of waxed produce, but posting is on the honor system, since there are no funds to enforce the law. Washing with soap or detergent does not remove the wax. If a child is going to eat the fruit or if your diet is rich in fiber, peel waxed fruit, then wash it in clear water. Peeling removes all the fungicide or pesticide residue from apricots, bananas, and pears. Washing in water containing a mild dishwashing detergent can eliminate at least 30 percent of residue. When a child will be eating nonorganically grown berries and fruits that cannot be peeled, wash the fruit in a pint of water containing a few drops of pure soap, then rinse thoroughly.
Wait to rinse fruits until just before serving. The moist tissues of fruit are susceptible to molds, so during storage they must be kept as dry as possible. Virtually all fresh fruits lose their flavor rapidly when soaked in water, so always rinse them quickly and gently and dry at once.
To peel by blanching: Apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, and other fruits with loosely attached skins can be peeled by blanching the way you peel tomatoes. Dip the fruit in boiling water for 20 to 6o seconds, depending on the size and density of the fruit, lift out and drop in cold water to cool, then slip off the skin. The skin of underripe fruit may not come off so easily so either return it to the boiling water for another minute or remove the skin with a vegetable peeler. To avoid discoloration, use sharp serrated stainless-steel knives when working with fruit.
When exposed to air, the flesh of apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, peaches, nectarines, pears, some yellow plums, and quinces turns brown. The fruit may not darken immediately, and if you work quickly, often no treatment is needed. If you are interrupted after treating the fruit, wrap it airtight in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Here are two solutions to help prevent fruit from browning: Sprinkle lemon, orange, lime, grape-fruit, or pineapple juice over the fruit and gently toss to coat all surfaces; or mix in a bowl ¾ to 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar for every quart of water (amounts are not crucial) and add the fruit directly to the water as you peel and cut it. Rinse the pieces in cold water within 20 minutes and shake or pat dry.
COOKING FRUITS
For maximum nutritional value, eat fruit raw. To retain nutrients, minimize the loss of heat-sensitive vitamins, such as vitamin C, by cooking quickly by steaming, stir-frying, or simmering in as little liquid as possible (microwaving is also excellent).
Because of their acidity, fruits discolor when cooked in aluminum and iron pots and pans. Keep to stainless-steel, enameled cast-iron, and nonstick vessels.
Baking: The all-embracing heat of the oven is an incomparable way of cooking soft-firm and firm fruits like apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, figs, pineap-ple, apples, pears, and quinces. Bake unpeeled halves or quarters of soft-firm fruits at 325°F until hot and tender, basting frequently. For every 1 ¾ to 2 pounds prepared fruit, use a mixture of 2 tablespoons each melted butter, honey, and fresh lemon or lime juice.
Broiling: Allow 3 to 6 inches between the fruit and the source of heat, depending on the thickness of the fruit being cooked and its sugar content. A concentration of sugar will cause the fruit to blacken before it is warmed through. It is best to broil thin pieces so that you do not have to turn them. Never take your eyes off broiling fruit.
Cooking Purees: Purees are most delicate if cooked covered over gentle heat in a broad pan so that all the fruit cooks evenly, or in a double boiler, which ensures no scorching. Stir often.
Flamed or Flambéed: For best results, use at least 2 ounces alcoholic spirits and remember that unless the temperature of the fruit is at least 75 °F, you may not get any effect at all. Heat the fruit over mild heat or in a covered chafing dish or electric skillet on low. Warm the spirits too, but do not let them simmer. Sprinkle the fruit lightly with sugar and, after pouring the warmed spirits over the warmed fruit, cover the pan again for a moment before lighting.
Gratinéeing: The appeal of a gratin is its contrast of temperatures and textures: cool fruit beneath warm, creamy topping, with a caramelized top.
Grilling: The grill gives a luscious outdoor flavor to fruits, and it is easy to fit pieces on the grill around whatever meat, poultry, or fish is also cooking. Small pieces should be threaded on skewers so they do not fall through the slats. When skewering, cut the pieces so that all will finish at the same time-soft fruits in larger chunks, firm fruits in smaller ones.
Microwaving: The microwave poaches prunes, pineapple, apricots, and plums quickly and beautifully. Rules are the same as for cooking vegetables, except you will cook fruits until thoroughly tender, not crisp-tender. Use less sugar than you expect to need, since sugar molecules attract the waves, and they need to reach the fruit too.
Poaching: Boiling does not suit fruit; it is too violent a method. But cooking in liquid just below or at a gentle simmer preserves the delicate texture of fruits and is suited to nearly all fruits that can be cooked. For soft-textured fruits, such as berries and peaches, the fruit should not actually be cooked, just heated through. So that the heat will reach all pieces quickly and evenly, soft fruit should be poached in a single layer. Use a skillet rather than a saucepan, and poach in batches if necessary. Poached fruit can be kept in its syrup in the refrigerator for a day or two before serving. You can use the syrup again for a compatible fruit. It will keep refrigerated for up to 1 week. If you prefer, you can remove the fruit from the syrup and boil the syrup over high heat until reduced to a thicker consistency. Cool and return the fruit to the syrup.
Pressure-cooking: Because you have no quick way to stop the cooking and because most fruits have delicate flesh, we do not recommend pressure-cooking any fresh fruits. In addition, apples, rhubarb, and cranber-ries especially tend to sputter and clog the vent. They can be explosive if every vestige of steam is not expelled before removal of the cover.
Sauteing: This gives a buttery finish and slight glaze to pieces and is delicious for firm-fleshed fruits. Allow about 2 tablespoons melted butter for every cup of sliced fruit, turning very gently two or three times with a spatula, until the pieces are hot but still holds its shape, 2 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 2 to 3 teaspoons fresh lemon or lime juice and the same amount or more of sugar, usually light brown, and serve at once. Apples are never more delicious than when slowly cooked in butter with a little sugar until tender and caramelized.
Steaming: This method preserves nutritional content and gives the fruit a silken finish. Place thin (up to ¾ inch) pieces of fruit on a rimmed plate so that no juices will be lost. Use tongs to turn the pieces once. Depending on the fruit, the plate, and the source of steam, steaming may be quicker or take a bit longer than simmering. Dried fruits are a natural for cooking in the steamer.
Stewing: This is cooking fruit in a covered pan in just enough liquid to keep it moist, an excellent method for all sorts of fruits.
FLAVORING FRUIT
When you have had your fill of fruit on its own, enjoy it with powered sugar and cream. Or add a spirit that intensifies the flavor. The spirit can be added in a syrup or directly.
Classic spirits for fruit are wines-dry, sweet, and fortified (like port and Marsala), plain brandy (distilled from grape wine), fruit brandy (distilled from other fermented fruits), and liqueurs (brandy infused with fruit or herbs, then sweetened). A splash of good-qualityplain brandy acids elegance to every fruit. But if there were to be one bottle in the cupboard for fruit, our choice would be maraschino, a smooth liqueur distilled from sweet black cherries. Kirsch, an alternative, is cherry brandy, considerably drier (it is often labeled kirschwasser). Since orange lifts almost every fruit flavor, a second choice would be Triple Sec (most affordable), Cointreau, Grand Marnier, or Dutch cura-çao, liqueurs flavored with the peel of bitter orange, a separate variety.
Vinegar can also lift the flavors of fruit, particularly fresh fruit and particularly fruit vinegars like rasp-berry and strawberry. A good-quality balsamic vine-gar is startlingly good with strawberries and cherries.
FRESH FRUIT CUP OR FRUIT SALAD
You can be sure a mix of fresh fruits will be pleasing when you base it on year-round favorites, then add bright colors and flavors from fruits of the season (good proportions are about 2 pounds foundation fruits and 1 ¾ to 2 pounds seasonal fruits). To keep the mixture from looking like a hash, cut pieces in a variety of shapes, none smaller than bite-sized. Although it should be served to guests within a few hours, you can enjoy the fruits for a day or two (citrus juices and honey keep them from darkening).
MACEDOINE OF FRESH FRUITS
A macedoine is a fresh fruit cup flavored with spirits. Clear cherry-flavored maraschino liqueur is incomparable: with mixed fruit.
Prepare a fresh fruit cup or fruit salad adding ¾ cup maraschino liqueur or 1/3 cup orange liqueur with the honey or sugar. Cover, and refrigerate for about 4 hours before serving for the flavors to blend and mellow.
HEAVY SYRUP FOR CHILLING FRUIT
As the syrup surrounds pieces of fruit, it efficiently transmits the cold. Do not serve fruit so cold, however, that its flavor is obscured.
DRIED FRUITS
The high caloric and nutritive values of dried fruits can be readily grasped if you realize that it takes 5 ¾ pounds fresh apricots to yield 1 pound dried. The fruits are suddenly not so expensive when you realize there is no waste except the pits in dried prunes and that you are getting concentrated food value.
When selecting dried fruits, look for the biggest and brightest, the plumpest, and those with uniform color.
Avoid fruits with blemishes and packages containing bits and pieces of stalks or damaged fruits. Check for unnecessary additives. When a new box or package is opened, do not store the fruits in the opened container. Dried fruits should be stored in tightly covered glass containers in a cool (45°F to 50°F), dark, dry place or the refrigerator. Glass is good because you can see if any moisture is collecting inside because moisture will cause dry foods to spoil. All varieties must be watched for insects. Store dried fruits far from pungent foods like onions and garlic, because the fruits readily absorb other odors. Should sugaring develope (crystals of sugar forming on the surface of the skin) you can dip the fruit in boiling water, drain thoroughly, and dry at once. This is not a concern, but a nuisance. A cool, dry atmosphere will keep it from happening.
Raisins, which, of course, are simply dried grapes, divide into seedless, which grow without seeds, and seeded, which have had the seeds removed. Dark seedless raisins are sun-dried principally from green Thompson Seedless grapes, the same ones we buy at the market. Monukka raisins are made from large green grapes with a richer flavor than Thompson. Golden seedless raisins are also Thompsons but have been oven dried and treated with sulfur dioxide to keep them from darkening. Their flavor is finer and warmer than the dark raisins. Sultanas are also golden, sweet, and seedless but are dried from a yellowish green Turkish grape. They are the standard pale raisin abroad and sometimes can be found in fancy groceries. Seeded muscat raisins are large and intensely fruity sweet. Their flavor comes from greenish gold muscat grapes, which must be seeded. The grapes are dried in the sun, the way dark seedless raisins are, and their color is often deep reddish brown. The finished raisins are treated with vegetable oil to keep them soft. Muscats are the finest cooking raisin available, but the few that are produced are shipped only around the holidays. Buy several boxes and freeze them for the rest of the year. Currants are made not from fresh currants but from the tiny grapes we call Champagne grapes and Europeans call Corinth, hence the name. As their flavors are quite different, when nuance of flavor is important, use the type of raisin called for in a recipe. In something like cookies or a family salad, it is fun to try different sizes and flavors of fruit.
Plumping dried fruits: Unless they are very fresh, raisins and currants profit by being plumped before using. This can be done by soaking them in the liquid in which they are to be cooked such as the liquid called for in a cake for 10 to 15 minutes before use.
Raisins and currants can also be plumped by rinsing briefly, draining, spreading on a flat pan, and then heating, tightly covered, in a 350°F oven until they puff up and are no longer wrinkled. In cooking other dried fruits, do not soak them first unless the processor so directs on the package. The less water used, the more natural sugars will be retained within the fruit.
To reconstitute dried fruits: A rule of thumb is that the longer it took the fruit to dry, the longer it will take to rehydrate it. Add water or apple juice at room temperature. For each cup of dried apples, use 1 ¾ cups water; for pears, use 1 ¾ cups; for peaches, 2 cups water. Soak apples for up to 30 minutes, pears and peaches for up to 1 ¼ hours. Soaking too long can result in loss of flavor and texture. If you must soak the fruit longer, refrigerate it.
To cook: cover and simmer the soaked fruit in the same liquid. Because sugar has the effect of slowing down the absorption of water, wait to sweeten the simmering fruit until after it is tender. A little fresh citrus juice blended into the syrup before serving freshens the fruit. A few grains of salt, too, can bring out flavor. Strain any leftover cooking liquid through a damp cloth and refrigerate it for the next batch of dried fruits.
To use dried fruits (apples, for instance) in a recipe calling for fresh ones, reconstitute 1 pound dried for every 3 ¾ to 4 pounds fresh.
Small dried fruits are often messy to cut or chop. If they are sticky, flour them, using for this purpose, when baking, a portion of the flour called for in the recipe. They also may be more easily cut if the scissors or the knife blade is heated. If you are chopping a large quantity, you may want to use a meat grinder instead. Heat the grinder very thoroughly in boiling water before feeding in the fruit.
Candied and preserved fruits are sometimes substituted for dried fruits. If large amounts of candied fruits are used, allow for their extra sugar content. With preserved fruits, compensate for both sugar and liquid. Should any of the fruits have dried out, steam them lightly sprinkled with wine, juice, or water in the top of a double boiler over, not in, boiling water; or prepare them for stuffing by steaming for 10 to 15 minutes in a colander over boiling water until tender enough to pit.