[Sca-cooks] fruit varieties for cooking

[Kirsten Houseknecht]

i will also point out that many of the historical varieties are still able
to be bought by mail order.... and as saplings.
i have two in my postage stamp.. err.... backyard.

a Roman variety (as in from Imperial Rome..) and a medieval variety.  i
usually lose them all to bugs, birds, and various blights, but every now and
then i get a few off them.  i bought them from Miller Nurseries.

Kirsten Houseknecht
Fabric Dragon
kirsten at fabricdragon.com
www.fabricdragon.com
Philadelphia, PA     USA
Trims, Amber, Jet, Jewelry, and more...

I worry about you, wear a reflective sweater...
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <ekoogler1 at comcast.net>
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2004 8:12 AM
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] fruit varieties for cooking


> With many fruits, there are varieties that are better for cooking.  One
thing is how well they stand up, flavor-wise, to being cooked.  Often, it is
also how well they retain their character, shape, etc.  For example, the
best apple for most uses is the Granny Smith...and I understand that, while
it is not a period variety, it closely resembles one.  Perhaps others on
this list can answer that one better.  And, as shoppers become more
sophisticated in their tastes, grocery stores are beginning to carry a
greater variety of everything...the very idea of finding, for example, blood
oranges in lovely downtown Prince Frederick, MD even 5 years ago was
impossible.  Now, they can be found, in season.
>
> So far as cherries are concerned, you want to use the sour ones because
adding sugar to a sweet cherry will make it overly sweet and you lose the
characteristic flavor of the cherries.  Depending on what you do with
them...and what you're looking for in this case is "mush", you'll still get
"mush", but it will retain the character of "cherry".
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Kiri
>
> > Hmmm. There are particular varieties of apples that are better for
> > cooking, and I believe pears as well. Do most fruits have varieties
> > that are widely agreed to be better for cooking?
> >
> > Unfortunately, I'm not sure these cooking varieties are easily
> > available, any more. Maybe I just don't recognise which varieties in
> > the fruit section of my grocery are specifially for or best for cooking.
> >
> > Stefan
> > --------
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