Category "fruit"

How do I ripen unripe oranges and grapefruits?

Sometimes when I buy oranges or grapefruits I find out that they are rather unripe when I get them home. How do I ripen them?

How to recover jam that has set too hard?

Every time I make jam I always manage to set it too hard. Is there any way to recover it once it's done this?

How do I pick a watermelon at the supermarket?

Lately, every watermelon I bring home form the organic section of the supermarket has not been sweet.  Among the small, seedless varietie

How to keep fruits and vegetables fresh

I enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables, but the problem is that they seem to go back extremely quickly. It isn't realistic for me to go shopping multiple times a

what's a good technique for freezing blueberries?

I'm taking a trip to the berry patch today. I'd like to get say 3 pounds of blueberries and freeze them. The problem is that when you defrost them, they're all

When is the right time to pick blueberries?

My neighbor brought over a fresh batch of blueberries. Some are sweet and some are sour. He told us to come over and pick some whenever we wanted, but I don't

How much sugar should I put with the fruit in a pie or crumble?

I just made a plum and apple crumble, which was delicious but I was worried it was going to be too sweet because when I was pouring the sugar in straight from t

mysterious green middle eastern plums

I was on a trip to the middle east a year or so ago around mid spring. I was offered what looked like a green plum. The taste was very sour and hard (not sof

Which types of apples are considered to be "quick-cooking" apples?

In my great-grandmother's recipe for Open-Face Apple Pie, she writes, "Cut apples in eighths if they are not quick-cooking." I assume that this means some apple

Do bananas ripen better in rice sacks?

Okay, I know the title is a little ridiculous, but I swear I am not making this up. When I was a kid, my parents bought a lot of rice and a lot of bananas (amo

What are ways to extract the juice from a pomegranate?

Is there an efficient way to extract the juice from a fresh pomegranate?

When should I pick elderberries?

Having made lots of elderflower cordial from the bumper crop of elderflowers in the hedgerows near my home in June, I can now see that we are also in for a bump

Storing fresh peaches for a long time

We just picked a bunch of peaches off our peach tree this morning. There is additional fruit left on the tree and we already have more than we can eat in the ne

I would like to try grilling fruit - any suggestions? [closed]

I had a catered lunch the other day that had grilled fruit (apples, pineapples) it was great and I wanted to try it at home. Are there any ti

What's the best way to clean and dry blueberries?

I buy organic blueberries which come in a little plastic container. I like to wash them and put them in a tupperware container. After I wash them I place them

Fruit/nut allergy - cooking for

In this thread about cooking for people with allergies the first commenter (rightly, IMHO) suggests splitting up that general effort into more allergy-specific

Can any harm come of eating watermelon seeds?

Is there any harm in swallowing watermelon seeds? Or will they simply pass from one end to the other?

What is "Zest" - In particular: lime/lemon zest?

I saw a recipe that asked for Lime Zest and was wondering what it was?

Cause of watermelon rind rotting (at room temperature)

I bought a large seedless watermelon 2 days ago, and I made sure to check for the following: Yellow underbelly Hollow sound Solid rind When I got home I left o

Are Asian Pears Bitter? Mine Was

I bought an Asian pear the other day and let it ripen for about a week since it was still very firm when I bought it. When I ate it, I found it to be very bitt