Fruit Buying Guide – April 2009
Take this sheet with you to the market! Shop as if you have Tommy K at your side!Click here for the print-friendly version
Recommended Selections for April
Best Now
California Strawberries
Have you noticed strawberry prices are down? Well they are, and in fact are likely to stay that way until Mother's Day. Strawberries are mainly coming from California and Florida right now and I suggest going for the California. California are at their peak harvest time while Florida are finishing up. There are many new varieties being grown in California, try them and I think you will be happy you did. Growers spent years developing varieties that would ship well and look good, only to disappoint with flavor. Today that is not the case, most varieties being grown today have a satisfying flavor. Are they just like Tristar berries found at the local farm, nooo. But they are really good and if you avoid them because you were disappointed years ago, I think you are making a mistake. I serve them to my kids, simply washed and sometimes with vanilla yogurt as a dip and my 8 year old will not stop eating them until they are all gone!
When buying berries, be picky! Mostly sold in 1 lb plastic containers, be sure to look carefully into the package, flipping it over and looking at the bottom too! Avoid wet and or moldy berries. Always store them in the cold and wash just before use as washing shortens the shelf life.
Strawberries are also great in a smoothie, here is a smoothie recipe I like, I always put a scoop or two of protien powder into each blender full. Bananas go very well with strawberries.
Since it is spring, here is a somewhat fancy fresh strawberry daiquiri recipe appropriate for a dinner party, poolside style recipe will come this summer.
Argentinian Bartlett Pears
Also known as Williams Pear, this bell shaped pear is very yellow when ripe and very green when unripe. Usually you will find them green at the market; that is OK as they will ripen fine at home. If your house is really dry, then store them in a paper bag to speed the ripening along. If you don't do this, you may dehydrate a perfectly good pear. Let them ripen to a golden yellow and then eat them out of hand, or slice them up. I sometimes peel them as the skin can be gritty. My kids love these pears! We regularly serve them to the kids at dinner as a side dish. Argentina is in peak production and quality is excellent, so look for them NOW!
California Navel Oranges, again!
Did you know that March and April are nearly always THE best month’s for California navels? Well this year is no exception, and the prices are reasonable – a great combo! When navels are at their best they seem to have a deeper sweetness, a refreshing, light honey-like flavor. Packaged by nature in an easy to remove wrapper, the seedless navel is a convenient and delicious snack. My favorite size navel is a 72 size which means there are 72 per case, this size has an average diameter of just about 3 inches, I think they tend to be the most perfectly mature. Simply look for navel oranges that are large in size rather than real big, medium or small. Most often any size will be excellent, however this year, if you have a choice avoid the really big ones. Navels should be firm, if they can be squeezed easily that is a sign of dehydration. With age, all fruit begins to dry out, so good firm navels are best. You likely know already that navel oranges are an excellent source of antioxidants like vitamin C, offer an array of healthful Flavonoids, and contain lots of system cleansing fiber. But, did you know that navels are an excellent source of folic acid, a crucial B vitamin, essential in fighting heart disease and preventing birth defects? Other good orange choices at the market are the super sweet DELITE mandarins, look for the DELITES in a fancy blue 3lb bag.
Here is a great salad recipe that I have enjoyed, give it a try!
Ensalada Valenciana, a salad of Valencia Spain, courtesy of Daisy Martinez of the Food Network.
Ingredients: 1 head Romaine lettuce 2 large navel oranges ¼ cup white wine vinegar 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon fresh thyme ¾ cup olive oil Kosher or fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 medium red onion, cut in half, then into ¼ inch slivers 1 cup Calamata, oil cured, or Sicilian olives, pitted
Directions: Choose fresh looking romaine and separate into individual leaves. Trim the center, thick ribs from the romaine leaves, and tear the rest of the leaves into bite sized pieces. Wash and dry the lettuce, preferably in a salad spinner. Cut the tops and bottoms off the navels using a knife. Trim off the skin, removing as much white pith as possible. Remove the sections from between the membranes. You are to peel the membranes off the sections. Work over a small bowl to collect any juice released from oranges. Set these segments aside in a small bowl. Wisk the collected orange juice (if you didn’t collect any, make a little) with vinegar, honey, and thyme. Wisk in the olive oil in a thin stream until blended. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss the lettuce, onions and olives together in a serving bowl with the dressing. Scatter the orange segments over the salad and serve.
Avoid Now
Tommy Atkins and Ataulfo Mangoes
When the small yellow, kidney shaped Ataulfo variety mangoes are right, there is nothing better.Possibly the best fruit on the planet. But, it is too early! Wait at least until late April. If you would like mango, right now the best choice are two less common varieties called KENT and HADEN. Look at the case and see what it says. Tommy Atkins is the variety most stores carry as it is much more red in color, HOWEVER the Tommy Atkins is the variety that is very stringy and thus annoying to eat. Instead the KENT is very green in color and stays that way when ripe, you will know it is ready when it yields to gentle pressure all over. The HADEN is also full green when unripe. A trained eye can tell the difference as the HADEN has small white barely visable "freckles." The HADEN, mostly from Haiti now, turns a golden yellow when fully ripe. Both the KENT and HADEN varieties are delicious now, with HADEN having the edge for the first couple of weeks in April. Both also offer the benefit of not being stringy at all, buy one and see for yourself. This is why this site exists, because the less atractive mango is the best one and someone should let you know!!
Store mangoes on the counter, never in the fridge. For a real Mexicano touch, try squeezing a little fresh lime juice atop your sliced mango. Also stop slicing your mango like a "gringo" and follow this simple method as pictured:
Cut mango from top to bottom, alongside the pit. Gently cut a grid design into each cheek, careful not to pierce the skin. Then simply "pop" inward to expose the mango chunks.
Nectarines, Peaches and Plums
Like a friend that refuses to get the message that the party is over and it's time to go home, the South American stonefruit crop has out stayed it's welcome. Please avoid these and get yourself hungry for them again when summer begins. This makes me think of how great the feeling must have been, prior to the arrival of winter fruit, when you had to wait 9 months between peach crops! If you insist on buying, look for a white fleshed nectarine and eat it firm, this would be the best of the lot.
Try Now
Key Limes
The Key lime is a small round, usually golf ball sized fruit that can vary in color from yellow to green and either way is aok. Key limes have a bit more acid than regular "Persian limes" and have a distinct flavor that makes them very useful in culinary and cocktail recipes. These limes are true flavor enhancers, they are the MOST popular lime in the world (except the USA)for good reason. You know the WOW factor of Key Lime pie is how the pie seems to dance on the tongue, this is the Key Lime's gift to mankind, Tongue Dancing!
Here is a "real" Key Lime pie recipe found at the site GourmetSleuth.com, CLICK HERE!
And for the more liquid minded a Key Lime pie Margarita found at Recipezaar.com,CLICK HERE!
Autumn Royal and Kyoho Grapes
Seedless green grapes are pretty weak NOW and although red seedless are very good, why not try something new in grapes?
Autumn Royal are an elongated black seedless grape that is very flavorful and super crunchy, one of my favorite grapes, and they happen to be the best choice in grapes available NOW! There are only two varieties of black seedless grapes available now, and the other is very soft, you will easily see what I am talking about. Feel them, crunch one if need be, the very hard and crunchy Autumn Royal will be sure to please. I serve them with a sharp cheese on a platter for company or just off the vine for the kids.
Kyoho are a large round black seeded grape. The Kyoho are a Japanese variety Concord, grown in Chile. If you like Concord grapes you will love these. The only problem here is that they are so delicious that most people I give them too, eat so many they get a belly ache. So, you are warned! Eat only up to half a pound in one sitting, that's it! The Kyoho are just so sweet, it is hard to stop once started. Finding these gems can be tough. If you have an International market or Asian market in your area that is your best bet.
Actually the Autumn Royal grapes are addictive too, except more like healthy jelly beans.
Specialty Citrus
Winter months offer an incredibly wide selection of citrus fruits, many of which will soon be gone till next season. Pomelo, UNIQ and UGLI Fruit, Meyer lemons, Cara Cara navels, Blood oranges are the main ones that come to mind. Many of these varieties are actually still very good, however you need to be careful and PICKY when buying specialty citrus. The enemy here is dehydration, by April most people are about full of citrus and thus retail sales are a bit slow on these items and so the fruit sits on the shelf a bit too long at times. This drys the fruit out, so look for bright and firm fruits. When citrus dehydrates it gets spongy. But why not enjoy a farewell for the season blood orange salad.
Fruit Odds for April
These are the percentage chances of blindly buying excellent quality fruit off the store shelf this month. Click on the headers to re-sort the list.
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Have you tried the Rita's water ice flavor "Passion Fruit"? It tastes just like the real thing, try it!
I have tried the Passion Fruit flavor, and I agree. My Fav is the Mango! Or how about real Italian Gelato made with real fruit, there is a place in Philly called Capogiro, they gelato is amazing, here is a link to the stores:
http://www.capogirogelato.com/
Tom Kovacevichs last blog post..Fruit Buying Guide - May 2009