Entries tagged with 'fruit'
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The Grocery Ninja leaves no aisle unexplored, no jar unopened, no produce untasted. Creep along with her below, and read her past market missions here. I remember my friends all thought me very odd when I brought jam and cheese sandwiches to school—despite the fact that numerous Asian pastries and desserts play on the sparky contrast between salt and sweet. Now with the rise in popularity of salt-spiked desserts (caramels, chocolate ganache, oatmeal cookies, anything with dulce de leche), it feels like I've been retroactively vindicated (though I was probably still kooky in a lot of other ways). But this appreciation for flavor contrasts got me thinking about other unlikely culinary marriages—like watermelon and salt. I've been told "it's a...
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The Grocery Ninja leaves no aisle unexplored, no jar unopened, no produce untasted. Creep along with her below, and read her past market missions here. It's no secret that I love my housemates (both sets in Providence, Rhode Island, and Ithaca, New York—and yes, I know how lucky I am). I usually talk about my Russian housemate here in Providence because he's the one who spends the most time with me in the kitchen, procrastinating on "real work." But this week, having carted a paper bag of pawpaws back to Provy from the Cornell Orchards store in Ithaca, I have to say I may love my Agentinian housemate most. I crept into the house all apprehensive, holding my precious pawpaws...
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This week's Cook the Book feature highlights How to Pick a Peach by Russ Parsons. With the disconnect between consumer and producer that's developed in recent years, Parsons says that basic skills shoppers once had—knowing what's in season when and how to choose the best fruit or vegetable on offer—have atrophied. His book, with its detailed rundown on everything from apples to winter squash, will make you a produce-aisle expert in no time. As with all weekly Cook the Book features, we've got a number of copies to give away. Ten (10) winners will be chosen at random from among the commenters below. All you have to do is answer the following: What's your favorite fruit or vegetable for 1.)...
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Looks like Di Bruno Bros. in Philadelphia has gotten its hands on a shipment of mangosteens. In the coming weeks, Di Bruno Bros. (1730 Chestnut Street; 215-665-9220) will carry a very, very limited supply of the fruit, at an intriguing/slightly frightening price of $45 per pound (the average mangosteen weighs about a third of a pound). That's about $15 a 'steen, for those of you slow on the math tip. [via Don Luis] Earlier: Mangosteens in the U.S., The Mangosteens Are Coming...
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I'm somewhat glad that I don't know what mangosteens taste like; otherwise I might shell out $11 just for one piece of the fruit primarily grown in Thailand. Gersh Kuntzman only indulged in two pieces at a gourmet greengrocer in Brooklyn, lest he wanted to refinance his house. Although Kuntzman happily tore into his $45-a-pound fruit, his wife was less impressed: "Face it, at $45 a pound, this mangosteen should come in a limousine with a chauffer who also cleans our kitchen. Besides, the joy of eating a mangosteen is eating it in Thailand. Imagine sending a Bagel Hole bagel to your brother in North Carolina. It’s not even worth the bother." I think I'll skip out on trying a...
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Photograph by Jonathan Jacobs Is nature trying to tell me something through this atypical crevice formation? That maybe I shouldn't sink my teeth into the flesh of something that is happily squinting and grinning? Or is the watermelon somehow elated to receive its fate of swimming in my stomach's digestive juices? I'll go with the latter....
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I knew Japan was the birthplace of square watermelons, but the concept of watermelons vaguely shaped like human heads with bulging eyeballs is new to me. PingMag takes us into the world of strangely shaped watermelon breeding, where pyramidal watermelons will set you back $650 and the human head-shaped ones may cost you your soul. The heart-shaped cucumbers are much more accessible at around $2 for one cuke and probably taste more like their normal-shaped counterpart than the molded watermelons....
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While walking around Cartagena de Indias in Colombia, Lo M came across this beautifully haphazard fleet of watermelon slices. If only I could find the same thing here....
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Yesterday, a box of Batch's Best Family Farms Bing cherries arrived at Serious Eats world headquarters via Chefshop. Because these cherries are picked and air-shipped the same day, they cost a lot more than the cherries we get at our local supermarkets. But much like the Gold Bud peaches I have written about, these cherries are worth every penny. They are firm, juicy, and sweet, with just enough acidity to let you know you are eating a perfect cherry. These cherries make me very happy, and I think they will make you very happy, too....
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Photographs by Shimin Wong It’s been called “God’s gift to vegans” by devotees who love its naturally rich, creamy texture and pronounced bittersweet flavor. It’s also been accused of reeking of stale gym socks, sewage, and onions (all at once) and is persona non grata on public transport. Locals have a healthy respect for it—those spikes are sharp and will draw blood! And no one really dares test the myth that chasing it with alcohol will cause one’s bowels to explode. Since the durian, this “king of fruits” has been much written about, along with its “queen," the mangosteen, I won't dwell on how, like grapes, they come in different varietals, with "aficionados" assessing them the way wine connoisseurs...
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