Question of the Day, Sunday, June 28, 2015

micknsnicks2mom

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fruit season is already well underway here in New York state. this is one of my favorite times of the year, and also a busy time for the fruit farms/orchards in the areas surrounding my little hamlet. fruit is in my thoughts very often these days. so......

For today's Question of the Day, let's talk about fruit --

What fruit is available in your country, state, or region? What fruit is grown locally?

Do you grow any fruit?

What is your favorite fruit(s) -- in any form (ie, fresh, dried, canned, etc)? Any that you don't like?

How do you like to eat your fruit? For example, fresh/raw, dried, canned, smoothies, juiced/made into juice, baked -- like in pies/cakes/crisps/etc, jams/jellies, or other ways?

Do you preserve any fruit to use when they're not 'in season'? And if so, how (ie, freezing, canning, dehydrating, jam/jelly/fruit butter making, etc)?

i'll start! i live in a rural agricultural area, so there is a lot of locally grown fruit available here. i'll see if i can list the fruit grown in my area -- strawberries, raspberries (red, black, and yellow), blueberries, plums/pluots, peaches, pears, apricots, grapes (both 'table'/for eating raw, and those grown for wine making), some melons (in my general area, though not in my immediate area -- that i know of), and tons and tons (literally) of apples. though we grow many kinds of fruit in my area, we're also able to buy other kinds at our grocery stores.

i grow strawberries, have a raised (garden) bed of about 4 ft x 6 ft with them in it. last year i thought i'd lost almost all of my strawberry plants to either chippies (chipmonks) or rabbits, who grab the berries and haul off the plants with them. last summer i only had two strawberry plants left. but the 'runners' (ie new growth, that make more plants) and the established roots must have had things well under control, because this spring/summer i have 9-10 plants -- all produced a good amount of strawberries this year.

i'd have to say that blueberries and apples are my favorite fresh fruits, though i like almost all kinds of fruit. i really like bananas, asian pears, and pineapple a lot too. i like canned fruit and dried fruit too. the only fruit i can think of that i don't like is pomagranite. i mean, what's up with pomagranites? you eat the seeds, with the thin coating of fruit pulp coating them. i tried a pomagranite once, and just did not like it at all. i don't like the POM pomagranite juice that's in the grocery store either. i guess it's like my dad used to say, 'more for me' -- more available for those who do like pomagranite. i've never tried persimmon, so i have no idea what they taste like or if i'd like them.

i like to eat fruit just about all ways it can be eaten, with only minor exceptions. i love to eat fresh fruit raw, and in the fall i'll keep a good sized container of raw chunks of apples in the fridge to snack on throughout the day. i also very much like fresh fruit served with yogurt. i like to eat dried fruit too, but mostly it's (dried) banana chips that i add to my homemade granola. i absolutely adore dried figs, but they're pricey here when they're available. i also like yogurt covered dried berries very much. i do eat canned fruit, but it's almost always in jello that i make. i do a lot of baking with fruit -- mostly in cakes, crisps, occasionally pies, and added in to some blondie (blonde brownies, with no chocolate/cocoa in them) recipes.  i also will occasionally make a fruit smoothie, and like fruit jams/jellies -- homemade and store bought. i don't make juice from fruit usually, and for some reason i only like blueberry pie or crisp if it's warm or heated back up.

i do preserve some fruit. i freeze, can, and make jams/jellies/fruit butters. i'd like very much to be able to dehydrate some fruit too, but haven't bought a food dehydrator yet -- it's on my wish list. this year i made freezer jam for the first time. i was able to harvest enough fresh strawberries from my plants to make one full batch of strawberry freezer jam. freezer jam is my new 'thing' this year that i'm all excited about. i plan on making several more batches of freezer jam with other fresh fruits as they come in season here too. there are several things i very much like about making freezer jam -- it's fast, easy, no dealing with canning, and the jam tastes really wonderful in a slightly different way. i'd say the easiest way to explain the taste difference is that freezer jam has a much more like fresh fruit taste, as opposed to the cooked fruit taste of jams that are canned. this is because the fruit in freezer jams is not cooked.

i'll be very interested to read what fruit you all like and about the different kinds of fruit available in different countries, states, or regions.
 

Columbine

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I'm not sure what fruit is grown locally - meat and grain farming predominates round here. The shops and markets have a pretty good selection though - there's very little we can't get at some point in the year, except for a few exotic fruits (fresh dates, dragonfruit etc etc).

We do have wild blackberry bushes in hedgerows though, and there's tons of wild garlic around here (not a fruit, I know, but very pretty). We tend not to go foraging...too many dogs like using them for their business. Our lab loves wild blackberries though, and regularly helps herself on walks :lol3:

We have an apple tree in the garden. Growing up, we had plum trees too, and tried some strawberries one year. Our current garden doesn't lend itself to much front growing though.

I like most fruits. My favourite at this time of year is flat white peaches. They don't have a long season though. I don't see the point of pomegranate either :lol3: I don't like mango or lychee, and I'm not keen on oranges - too much pith! I don't like gooseberries either...something about the texture puts me off!

I tend to only eat fresh fruit...just as it is. I don't like playing around with it too much. Semi dried dates can get slightly addictive though - I don't buy them that often for that very reason :anon:

I make a lot of fruit desserts for dad (he can't live without a proper dessert on the go :rolleyes: ). I mostly make crumbles and fruit crisps, but occasionally do pies, or even a cheesecake or pavlova. I also make all kinds of fruited cakes (dad always has to gave a cake or flapjack in the house too :lol3: ). His favourite is gingerbread with crystallised ginger, glacé cherries and dried cherries.

We freeze a lot of fruit. We'll buy fruit in season and freeze it for cooking with. I've occasionally made jams and chutneys/pickles, but it's not something I do a lot of.
 

Kat0121

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Here in Florida, citrus is king. We have citrus groves everywhere but pretty much everything is grown here. We have farm stands all over the place. Mango trees are everywhere here

I do not personally grow any fruit. We had a fig tree for a while that DH's grandfather gave us. A possum ate all the figs and then the idiot from the lawn service ran the tree over with the mower and destroyed it. 


 I love mango, granny smith apples, peaches and most berries. I hate bananas and kiwi. I like grapes but not when they are in canned fruit cocktail. I like fruit raw best. Smoothies are good too. 

I do not preserve or can anything. We have most produce available year round. 
 

sivyaleah

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New Jersey has a few crops which we're known for and all kinds of berries are excellent here; strawberries, blueberries,cranberries. We have a climate which support a great amount of fruit. - even figs will do well if properly protected ins winter. Some do well even without.  And don't get me started on the peaches!

I eat all fruits, although I stay away from mango because I'm allergic to the skin (same botanical family as poison ivy which many don't know). I am not big on canned fruit tho, except maybe mandarin oranges.  Maybe I'd use canned pineapple if I needed it for a recipe only because fresh can be iffy at times (usually underripe) and it is a PITA to break down.

We don't grow any at the moment but I have done strawberries successfully.  Our current home doesn't have the land to grow anything larger.

I don't preserve, but I probably would if we were growing our own.  I do sometimes make a "quick jam" which can be refrigerated for about a week or two without it going bad.
 
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denice

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I don't know that Ohio is known for any particular fruit.  I like all fruits except apricots and plums, it's a texture thing.  Sometimes if peaches are a bit too ripe they have that same texture.  My favorite fruits are strawberries and watermelon.

I like all fruit fresh and with no adornment, except of course for apple  and cherry pies and crisps.

I will use frozen fruits in the winter mainly in smoothies.  I will mix the frozen fruit with a little vanilla nonfat Greek yogurt and almond milk.  It's funny, I don't care for almond milk in my coffee or on my cereal but I do like it in smoothies.  Using the frozen fruit gives that thick texture almost like a milk shake without diluting things with ice.
 

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i love fruit!  Peaches are a big thing here.  I was just thinking; I need to see if we can go to the local place that lets you pick your own.  We pick apples in the fall.  We can get local berries, melons, etc.  

In my yard I've got strawberries; just planted this year.  We are getting a few here and there.  My mother has blackberry bushes.  I'd love to do some raspberries in the future too.  
 
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micknsnicks2mom

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clementines have as close to no pith as you can get, pretty much just a thin skin to them. they're very small, sweet, very easy to peel, and are generally seedless (though i've had some that did have seeds in them). in my area, clementines are available in the grocery stores around mid-november through sometime in january or so each year.

oh, yes! i could see dates being slightly addictive.

awww, that's so nice that you bake for your dad! i'm sure he's very happy with your fresh home baked desserts on hand. i always have some sort of dessert on hand too. many times, it's something made with fruit in it. i only ever have one serving per day, just enough to take care of my sweet tooth but not too much.

i vary how much and what kinds of fruit i'll freeze each year, and also what jams/jellies i'll make. i like variety. i always feel that having fruit that i've frozen, that i can pull out and use when it's not in season, is a special treat. i feel the same way about homemade jams, jellies, fruit butters, and the like.
 

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Yeah, it is pretty around here. I guess I'm pretty lucky.

Clementines are available here year round, but they're often disappointing...probably because they're stored a long time. They're good when in season though.

Those apple and pear trees sound amazing. I'd never heard of anything like that before.

I can't not bake for dad. Homemade desserts are one of his biggest pleasures in life (he's very easily pleased in some respects :lol3: ), and since he's been diagnosed as coeliac it's really hard to buy ready made things (most bought gluten free desserts aren't that nice).
 

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This area is known for its orchards and vineyards. We have our own orchard with the "standard" fruit trees - various kinds of apples, pears, cherries, plums, peaches and walnuts - plus grapes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries and currants in the yard and/or at the orchard. The big problem is that I'm allergic to almost all fruit with pits! :lol3:
 
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micknsnicks2mom

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Here in Florida, citrus is king. We have citrus groves everywhere but pretty much everything is grown here. We have farm stands all over the place. Mango trees are everywhere here

I do not personally grow any fruit. We had a fig tree for a while that DH's grandfather gave us. A possum ate all the figs and then the idiot from the lawn service ran the tree over with the mower and destroyed it. 


 I love mango, granny smith apples, peaches and most berries. I hate bananas and kiwi. I like grapes but not when they are in canned fruit cocktail. I like fruit raw best. Smoothies are good too. 

I do not preserve or can anything. We have most produce available year round. 
ahhh, florida! one of the states i always think of when i'm thinking about lots of fruit being grown year round. when i've traveled through florida, i've missed seeing the citrus groves, probably because i drove on a highway through the everglades area and was along the east coast of florida -- the beaches.

farm stands are wonderful! are there farmer's markets in/near some of your towns or cities too?

i guess the possum knew good fruit when he came across it! what a shame, that the lawn service ran the fig tree over with the mower.

yes, fresh grapes are much different than those found in canned fruit cocktail.
 
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micknsnicks2mom

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New Jersey has a few crops which we're known for and all kinds of berries are excellent here; strawberries, blueberries,cranberries. We have a climate which support a great amount of fruit. - even figs will do well if properly protected ins winter. Some do well even without.  And don't get me started on the peaches!

I eat all fruits, although I stay away from mango because I'm allergic to the skin (same botanical family as poison ivy which many don't know). I am not big on canned fruit tho, except maybe mandarin oranges.  Maybe I'd use canned pineapple if I needed it for a recipe only because fresh can be iffy at times (usually underripe) and it is a PITA to break down.

We don't grow any at the moment but I have done strawberries successfully.  Our current home doesn't have the land to grow anything larger.

I don't preserve, but I probably would if we were growing our own.  I do sometimes make a "quick jam" which can be refrigerated for about a week or two without it going bad.
cranberries! to my knowledge, we don't grow cranberries here in New York state. i found a very interesting youtube video about how cranberries are grown, and it's set in New Jersey (which i learned is one of America's top three cranberry states) --


that was a very cool video! i never really thought about how cranberries are grown, and it's interesting how the fields/bogs are flooded twice -- once during the winter as protection against the cold, and the second time when harvesting the cranberries. i also learned, through looking into on the internet, that cranberry bushes can be grown by individuals -- given the proper soil and conditions.

oh, i did not know that mangoes are in the same botanical family as poison ivy. that might very well put a lot of people 'off' mangoes, if they knew that.

mmmm......mandarin oranges! i love them, and have a big #10 can of them in my pantry right now. i like canned pineapple -- and i know that pineapple as well as kiwi aren't supposed to be put in jello/gelatin, because the gelatin won't set properly. there's a list of 8 different fruits that will ruin jello, including ginger root (which is actually a vegetable, but commonly considered an herb or spice, and can even be a candy when it's been processed into sugar-coated crystallized ginger).

my dad traveled to the dole pineapple plantation many years ago, and brought back a small crate of fresh pineapples. they tasted so good!

there's so much fresh fruit being grown around my immediate area, that i don't really need to grow any myself. it sounds like this may be the same for you, in your area...?

oooooo! what is 'quick jam'? and, may i ask how you make it!
 

sivyaleah

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<snip>...there's so much fresh fruit being grown around my immediate area, that i don't really need to grow any myself. it sounds like this may be the same for you, in your area...?

oooooo! what is 'quick jam'? and, may i ask how you make it!
Yes, very similar to here for sure.  I would love to be able to grow my own in spite of the good quality I can buy.  It's a rewarding thing to do.  Unfortunately, physically I'm in no condition to care for orchards lol.

A quick jam, is just boiling down the fruit with sugar - ones with high natural pectins works best.  Just cook down until it is a consistency you like and refrigerate in a closed container.  It won't keep as long as canned jams/jellies but it is good for a week or so.  I do it in small batches anyway so it never goes bad.

BTW - I forgot to mention before but I've also made fruit "leather" from scratch.  Far superior to the dried fruit sheets you get at the market but wow, you need a LOT of fruit to make a very small amount.  So, not something I do frequently at all.  Last time I made it I did a strawberry one and ate it all in like 5 minutes.  Really, just not worth the effort lol.
 
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micknsnicks2mom

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i have relatives who live in Ohio, and enjoy pumpkin show each year.

i really like that way of making a smoothie, and that it's nice and thick like a milk shake. i'll remember that the combination of frozen fruit, vanilla yogurt, and almond milk make for a thick smoothie!
 
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micknsnicks2mom

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i love fruit!  Peaches are a big thing here.  I was just thinking; I need to see if we can go to the local place that lets you pick your own.  We pick apples in the fall.  We can get local berries, melons, etc.  

In my yard I've got strawberries; just planted this year.  We are getting a few here and there.  My mother has blackberry bushes.  I'd love to do some raspberries in the future too.  
oh! i love the pick your own places! i've never been apple picking, but i go blueberry picking every year -- one of my favorite outings! i might go raspberry picking this year too.

back when i lived in rochester, i'd walk to the big farmer's market on thursdays. rochester's farmer's market is open on tuesdays, thursdays, and saturdays -- tuesdays there weren't very many vendors, saturdays were insanely crowded -- so i usually didn't go that day, and thursdays were the day i usually went -- because there were a good amount of vendors and it wasn't overly crowded. anyway, some of the cantaloupes and honeydew melons i bought there were huge as well as incredibly sweet.

oh, very nice! do you have june bearing or everbearing strawberry plants? mine are june bearing, and my original plants were given to me by a neighbor who was thinning her strawberry patch. i'd thought about planting some more berries and possibly some apple trees, but since there is so much fruit grown in my area i don't think i probably will. there's also a produce auction about a quarter mile down the road from me. it's year round, and fruit/vegetables auctioned are locally grown as well as brought in from as far away as florida. in the winter months the produce auction is held once a month, while in the summer months it's held once a week.
 
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micknsnicks2mom

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Yeah, it is pretty around here. I guess I'm pretty lucky.

Clementines are available here year round, but they're often disappointing...probably because they're stored a long time. They're good when in season though.

Those apple and pear trees sound amazing. I'd never heard of anything like that before.

I can't not bake for dad. Homemade desserts are one of his biggest pleasures in life (he's very easily pleased in some respects
), and since he's been diagnosed as coeliac it's really hard to buy ready made things (most bought gluten free desserts aren't that nice).
i can understand that! it must have been about 5 years ago that the navel oranges at the grocery store (a very good grocery store) simply had no flavor to them. i only bought one 8 lb bag, and after that i haven't bought oranges again. i'm thinking i might buy some oranges from the lions club this year though -- they sell oranges and grapefruit that've been brought up from florida, as a fund raiser.

they really are amazing trees. they've got the 3 and 5-in-1 apple (http://www.marthassecrets.com/tropical/plant/five_in_one_apple_tree_grafted) and pear trees, and also 'fruit cocktail' trees (http://www.marthassecrets.com/tropical/plant/fruit_cocktail_tree_grafted).

homemade desserts certainly are the best. i'm glad your dad has your homemade gluten free desserts to enjoy!
 
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micknsnicks2mom

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This area is known for its orchards and vineyards. We have our own orchard with the "standard" fruit trees - various kinds of apples, pears, cherries, plums, peaches and walnuts - plus grapes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries and currants in the yard and/or at the orchard. The big problem is that I'm allergic to almost all fruit with pits!
your area sounds like it must be very pretty!  wow! that sounds like a great variety of fruits you grow. oh no! so that means it would be the cherries, plums, and peaches you may not be able to eat.
 
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micknsnicks2mom

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Yes, very similar to here for sure.  I would love to be able to grow my own in spite of the good quality I can buy.  It's a rewarding thing to do.  Unfortunately, physically I'm in no condition to care for orchards lol.

A quick jam, is just boiling down the fruit with sugar - ones with high natural pectins works best.  Just cook down until it is a consistency you like and refrigerate in a closed container.  It won't keep as long as canned jams/jellies but it is good for a week or so.  I do it in small batches anyway so it never goes bad.

BTW - I forgot to mention before but I've also made fruit "leather" from scratch.  Far superior to the dried fruit sheets you get at the market but wow, you need a LOT of fruit to make a very small amount.  So, not something I do frequently at all.  Last time I made it I did a strawberry one and ate it all in like 5 minutes.  Really, just not worth the effort lol.
oh, thank you! i like the idea of making a quick jam every so often.

i've never even tried fruit leather before. oh, i've seen it in the stores but just never tried it. i think food dehydrators can be used to make fruit leather -- i'm sure still needing a whole lot of fruit to make it.
 
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