stories : Entertaining
Cooking with Fall Ingredients
Seasonal produce you should get your hands on now
Acorn Squash
As the name insinuates, this dark green vegetable is shaped like an acorn. Though it’s one of the smallest hard-skinned squashes available, it’s notoriously difficult to cut open, so check out our CHOW Tip for pointers.
Cardoon
A cousin to the artichoke (and also part of the thistle family), the less familiar cardoon has a longer culinary history: It was prized by the ancient Greeks as a delicacy. Its large stalks can be unwieldy to work with, but the cooked flavor—part bitter, part earthy, and distinctly vegetal—is worth the effort.
Chayote
There are many varieties of this gourd, but the most common found in the United States is green, pear-shaped, and looks somewhat like a clenched fist. It goes by many names—including choko, mirliton, custard marrow, and christophene—and in the Caribbean it’s a staple ingredient.
Delicata Squash
This lesser-known hard-skinned squash has sweet flesh that tastes almost like a creamy sweet potato.
Fig
The Smyrna fig was brought to North America by the Spanish and planted up the coast of California by Franciscan monks, creating the common, purple-skinned fig known as the Mission.
Gala Apple
About 2,500 known varieties of apple are grown in the United States, and more than 7,500 are grown worldwide. The Gala, with mottled yellow-red skin and crisp, sweet flesh, is one of our favorites.
Pear
There are more than 3,000 varieties of the pear—one of King Louis XIV’s favorite fruits. We love the Bosc for its crunchy flesh and floral flavor.
Persimmon
The American Colonists made persimmons into puddings, preserves, and wine and other alcoholic drinks.
Pomegranate
The Moors brought pomegranates to Spain around 800 CE, and the city of Granada was named for the fruit.
Red Flame Grape
One of the most popular table grapes, the Flame peaks in the fall and adds fruitiness to salads, sandwiches, and breads.
Sweet Potato
There are four major varieties of sweet-flavored tubers cultivated in the U.S. They’re often erroneously labeled as yams, but the true yam is native to Africa.
Also medlars
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/452923
Out of the all the fruits listed, I feel that the one that is most widely known but never used is the fig. I think that too many people only know of the fig in the cookie but they do not know what to do with it outside snack food. Personally, I love to make almond shar tarts and brulee the figs to put on top... yum! Also, figs are great with some cheve cheese on mixed greens for a salad.
The only problem I have with pomegranate is that it's so hyped. Yes, its an excellent food, one of my favorite fruits, in fact, and it might even have the health properties it's reputed to have... but the hype is driving the price way up. I wanted to buy some to make a pomegranate gelato with my new ice cream machine... but you can't even get it in town here! The closest town near here that still had some available at the super was an hour away.
Still, great list. Cardoon, you say?
Pomegranates are really amazing but if you want to cook with it... sometimes it is just easier to get the juice... save some labor! lol
That's funny, pomegranates are readily available new me, and not particularly expensive, either. Does anyone know where they're most commonly grown? (Also, I totally want to find a chayote now--- the stew looks very good.)
Blame POM Wonderful for overhyping the fruit. It certainly has driven the prices up, though, on the other hand, it has increased availability.
Figs are wonderful I have a tree in my garden and am sad to see them come to the end of the season, if you get your hands on someone try making fig jam or fig chutney or simply roasting them. I have been eating them every morning with natural yogurt.
Pomegranates are starting to pop up everywhere I was charged by weight at the farmer's market today. A medium sized one cost $2.80 but it did taste great. They are widely grown in California and Arizona. Try the fresh pomegranate juice, I find it at the farmer's market it tastes so much better then Pom. Pomegranate molasses is great too.
What about Brussels sprouts-
They're one of my favorites, and they're in season now?
Roasted with olive oil & salt, or prepared any way with Bacon- yum
Chayote are readily available at Mexican or other Latin markets...sometimes when they're on sale, I use them like zucchini.
When are fresh figs available? I tried to find the today at my local Whole Foods and could not. Am I too late?
Yum, I LOVE fall food and produce, especially pumpkin and squash recipes. This is a great sweet potato recipe that's easy to make and good for you--very yummy.
http://buzz.prevention.com/community/...
Yum, I LOVE fall food and produce, especially pumpkin and squash recipes. This is a great sweet potato recipe that's easy to make and good for you--very yummy.
http://buzz.prevention.com/community/...
I love figus have a great sauce with figs and port wine over pork. I also have a great recipe for squash, rice, and herbs stuffed cornish hens with a wine wine and current glaze.
Figs are my absolute fav! We have two fig trees, a black and a white. Here in Ohio they cannot remain outside during our harsh winters so we keep ours in a large planter on wheels and we wheel it into the garage for the winter. The problem is that you must transfer them to larger pots from time to time or they become root-bound and stressed and then they won't yield fruit. As far as our growing season, we're usually done with our fruit harvesting by the end of Sept. They are expensive when purchased in the store. We're seriously thinking about planting ours in our backyard and either insulating it by wrapping moving blankets and plastic around it for the winter, or cutting it down low so we can bury it like the old Italians did every year where my family grew up.