Best Fruit Now

Take this sheet with you to the market! Shop as if you have Tommy K at your side!
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Recommended Selections for September

• Best Now
• Avoid Now
• Try Now
• Fruit Odds

Best Now

Gala Apples

One of my favorite things about being in the fruit business is that I regularly enjoy fresh fruit at it's best. I imagine most people have a heavenly fruit experience a few times a year, max, right? I am a totally spoiled fruit brat. Usually when I stumble upon perfection, which is pretty much weekly, I eat the fruit until I catch myself and start thinking - "hmmmm, four mangoes, isn't that enough big boy?". Well yesterday's fruit indulgence was freshly picked local Gala apples - I ate four medium sized Galas in a row; that must be my magic number. Galas will be running great all month, go out and find some NOW! My favorite are the small to medium sized gala apples, warm or cold, it doesn't matter.

Check out the Best Fruit Now channel on YouTube for great recipes and much more!

Here is a fantastic recipe from chef Melissa:

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Fresh Figs

Fresh Figs are having a great season; go out and try some today before they are finished. Figs are one of the few fruits left that are not available year round. Black, Brown, or Green can be found excellent, some areas of the country will often offer better quality of one type. California Black Mission are my personal favorite; I eat several every week while in season. I also have a young Black Mission tree in my yard that has yielded an incredible amount of delicious fruit all summer. I assure you I am the most "regular" person on the planet. The key to buying fresh figs is buying the ones that were picked right. Very often, especially early in summer, figs are picked too early and thus are much less flavorful. Look for figs that are soft and leaky - a ripe fig will tempt you by proudly exposing it's inner honey. Perfect looking figs usually mean messy looking figs.

Here is a little more info on fresh figs and one of my favorite recipes, Fresh Figs stuffed with Blue cheese and wrapped in Prosciutto. Recipe is courtesy of Melissa's World Variety.

Asian Pears, especially the Hosui

Asian pears come in many shapes and sizes. My favorite NOW is the Hosui, the small brown skinned pear pictured. The skin can be a bit tough. You may want to consider peeling off the skin, I have gotten pretty good at using a pocket knife to accomplish this, however if you are even only slightly dangerous to yourself with knife in hand, then certainly call a friend, your mother, or perhaps use a potato peeler. Skinless, the Hosui makes an excellent addition to any salad, sliced or cubed. These pears, and yes they are true pears, despite some yo yo's calling them apple pears, can be held for weeks at room temperature on your counter.

I highly recommend serving Hosui Asian Pears with a Camembert cheese and a crisp Chardonnay. Here is an article from Wine Skinny.com that discusses just that:

Asian pear complements

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Avoid Now

Donut Peaches

Donut peach season is long over and I have been seeing them in many stores, be pawned off to unsuspecting shoppers like stale bread re-dated. Too bad all peaches do not come with "best used by" dates on the bottoms, this would save alot of people much money and disappointment.

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Grapefruits

The beloved grapefuit, fawned upon by the most mature of consumers, at this point should only be mourned upon by the dearly beloved. Grapefruit may be found good in the Southwest US. So, unless celebrating the Little League World Series win in Chula Vista, CA or elsewhere that you can eat one nearly fresh off the tree, I suggest you do what I do and HOLD OFF on the grapefruit till the new crop Florida fruits become edible. This, frankly, is usually about a month after harvest begins.

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Try Now

Seckel Pears

The Seckel pear is also known as a Sugar pear and for good reason, especially NOW. These small, russet-colored fruits have a very sweet, spicy flavor. The Seckel's firm flesh makes it excellent for both cooking and canning. The Seckel is best enjoyed out of hand in it's hard and crunchy state. If you have weak teeth then instead go for the Bartlett pear, also great NOW. The Bartlett is much larger and ripens to a beautiful yellow and literally melts in one's mouth...two totally different experiences, both excellent.

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Champagne Grapes

This is a variety of grape that may also be called Zante Currant. Champagnes usually come packaged in a clamshell and are very small. They are called Champagne grapes only because they make a nice garnish to a glass of champagne. Regular red and green seedless grapes are very good NOW too, so maybe try some Champagnes in addition to your regular purchase of seedless grapes. Store all your grapes in the fridge and wash just before serving. Look for green stems and avoid wet berries.

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Fruit Odds for September

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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Tagged as: asian pears, be a smart fruit buyer, donuts, figs, fresh fruit recipes, fruit recipes, galas, grapefruit, hosui, melissa's world variety, seckel pears, shop smart, video recipes