Cooking With Fruit

Gathers recipes for main dishes, side dishes, and desserts featuring a variety of fruits, from apples and avocados to rhubarb and strawberries

High in fiber, low in fat, fruit is an essential part of a healthy diet. But how to incorporate it beyond the usual apple in the lunchbox? The answer of Boston-area fruit growers Payne and Speyer is to use it in every meal, from breakfast to entrees. Each chapter of their book covers a different fruit, and features various recipes that will put that fruit in everything from pancakes to consomme. The authors also provide a brief history of each fruit, information on its nutritional value, and tips on how to select, store and prepare it. There is even information about cultivation for the ambitious. The emphasis is on using fresh fruit--but some recipes call for dried or canned. Payne and Speyer's recipes are an excellent way to increase your consumption of fruit, whatever the reason. They include such classic recipes as figs and prosciutto, and intriguing diversions like sole with pears. One chapter concerns exotica--e.g., persimmons and lychees.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Most fruit cookbooks focus mainly on desserts, and recent reference books on the subject are generally concerned with unusual varieties; but Payne and Senior cover all the familiar fruits and provide recipes for all courses of a meal. Their readable introductions give background, nutritional data, and information on selection, storage, and preparation; the simple but appealing recipes offer a wide range to choose from. The section on exotic fruit is short, but Elizabeth Schneider's Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables ( LJ 5/15/86) is the standard in that area. A very useful resource, this is highly recommended.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.