SouthernUtahFoodStorage

Fruits Basket Pictures

RAW OR COOKED

One of the simplest of all desserts is fresh fruits of all kinds, either raw or cooked. One of the simplest of desserts is fresh fruits of all kinds, either raw or cooked. Frozen freeze dried and home dried fruit that have been cooked taste the same as fresh fruit that has been cooked. Try it, you will like it. Use your food storage. You will be glad you did. These same fruits may also be used in many baked desserts and puddings, custards, or gelatin mixtures, but they make superior desserts for otherwise hearty meals when they are served alone.

Raw fruit. Any fruit that is eaten this way can be served that way for dessert. All should be ripe and at the peak of their flavor and beauty. They should all be washed carefully and then served at the temperature at which they are most enjoyed. Most berries have their finest flavor when they are taken from the refrigerator just long enough to be cool but not cold, and a slight sprinkling of sugar added a few minutes before serving draws out enough juice to make the fruit most palatable. Cantaloupes and muskmelons have their most potent flavor and aroma when they are take in from the refrigerator long enough ahead of serving time to be almost at room temperature, but most other melons, particularly watermelon, are generally preferred chilled. Usually a dish of salt or a wedge of lemon or lime to squeeze over the melons the only possible addition necessary for the utmost eating enjoyment.

Peaches, bananas, pears and mangoes are usually peeled and sliced directly into the serving dish and then served at once with either a light sprinkling of sugar, some cream, or a fruit juice such as orange or pineapple poured over them. Peaches may be cooled or chilled. Bananas are always best at room temperature and they should never be stored in the refrigerator. Pears and mangoes have excellent flavor at either room or refrigerator temperature.

Fresh pineapple probably requires more advance preparation than any other fresh fruit. There are several methods of preparation so that either cones of it may be eaten from the fingers or wedges or cubes eaten with a spoon. Generally the addition of small amounts of sugar makes the fruit juicier and more enjoyable to most people. Also the flavor is most characteristic if the fruit is removed from the refrigerator long enough ahead of serving time to be cool but not ice-cold.

Other fruits that are often eaten from the hand, such as apples, pears, and grapes may be arranged attractively and served from a fruit bowl. Then the diners can select their preferred fruit and eat it from the hand or pare and cut it with a knife. Very often a bowl of fruit of this type is served with an assortment of cheese and crackers, and although it is one of the most simple desserts to serve, it can berry correctly follow a very formal meal.

Citrus fruits, such as grapefruit and oranges, can be served for dessert either cut in half to be eaten with a spoon or peeled and cut into sections. Tangerines are usually peeled and the easily divided sections eaten with the fingers. Sugar is commonly used on grapefruit and some oranges, but if you’ve never tried a sprinkling of salt instead, you have a treat in store.

Cooked fruit: A few fruits are even more delicious when they are cooked by stewing, poaching, baking, broiling or frying and some may be cooked by just for an enjoyable variation from the fresh. Stewed fruit is usually cut into slices and either cooked to obtain a mushy sauce or to retain the shape of the slices. Poached fruit is the whole fruit either peeled or unpeeled that is simmered slowly in a syrup. Baked fruits may be pealed if desired and then baked until tender, but with their original form intact. Broiling is often used for grapefruit or oranges with a dot of butter added to give a bubbly golden-brown surface.

Certain varieties of some fruits are more suitable for cooking than others. And the degree of ripeness, conditions of the growing season, as well as the kind of finished product desired will all influence the selection of fruit for cooking. Certain varieties of apple, for example, will cook to a mush readily and are therefore best for sauce, while others hold their shape well and are best for beautiful stewed apple slices or baked apples. In order for fruit to have the best flavor after it is cooked, it must be fully ripened before cooking. Pears, peaches and plums should begin to feel just a trifle soft and should be dripping with juice; berries, cherries, and apples should be fully ripe and bright in color. Fruit that matures in a dry season will require more water for cooking than fruits the grow in a rainy one, and your own experience will be the best guide for the proper amount of water used.

Certain cooking procedures will also influence the appearance and flavor of the finished fruit. Fruits may be left unpeeled if the skins will cook tender, but must often it provides more pleasant eating to have the skins removed. The peel should be removed; however, in the thinnest possible layer, to preserve as much of the flavor, form and food value as possible. If fruit is cooked whole, the core is sometimes removed and seeds or pits are often discarded. Fruit for sauce can be cut into irregularly shaped slices, but they should all be approximately the same thickness so sauce will cook readily. But is the fruit is to be served in pieces, the slices should be neatly and evenly cut for the best appearance and most uniform cooking. A sauce pan that is stained, darkened or pitted should never be used to cook fruit. Most fruits contain a fairly high percentage of acid, and most of the darkening on pans or exposed surfaces in chipped or pitted pans react with this acid. This reaction dissolved some of the darkened portion of the pan giving a grey color and off flavor to the finished product.

When fruit is cooked in plain water, the water tends to soak into the fruit and cause it to puff up or cook to a mush. However when the fruit is cooked in a syrup the fruit tends to hold its shape and remain slightly firm. Therefore, if a sauce is desired, the fruit should be cooked first in water and then a minimum of sugar added so as not to mask the true fruit flavor, and if solid pieces are clean cut edges are desired, the fruit should be dropped into a thin to medium sugar syrup. (Quince, which is a very hard fruit, is the only exception.) When cooking sauce, only enough water should be added to prevent the fruit from scorching and to mush up the fruit, but not so much that the fruit will be watery. If fruit is to retain its shape in cooking, the more water is needed, but still just enough to produce luscious juice that will just barely cover the fruit. The fruit should always be cooked in a covered pan over moderate heat to prevent excess evaporation of liquid and fragrance.

Overcooking will darken the color and dissipate the flavor of cooked fruits. At the instant enough juice is coaxed out o berries, peaches and pears to almost cover the fruit, it is usually cooked soft enough to please most palates. As soon as fruit is soft enough to be pierced easily with a toothpick, it is usually cooked done enough to be enjoyed by most everyone.

In addition to sugar, lemon is sometimes added to cooked fruit to make the colors, particularly the reads, more brilliant and to give a piquant flavor. Sometimes fruits are combines to obtain a red color. A little food coloring, cinnamon candies or mint are sometimes added for both flavor and color. Most cooked fruits can be enjoyed when served either warm or chilled, and topped with cream, whipped cream, ice cream, sauces or served plain.