Unusual Fruits & Vegetables
While we like to try new foods, especially ones that are supposed to have excellent qualities but aren't conducive to mass-farming. You may already be familiar with some of these. We found that even if we wanted to try them, sometimes we don't know what to do with them or how to eat them. To us, it's like looking through an Asian market with a good produce section - so many culinary adventures we don't know how to create. This is the same when starting out with cheeses beyond those five varieties in the supermarket.
Below are some of the less common fruits and vegetables that we offer and some pointers about how to prepare them. Check Mindy's blog entries for recipes or visit us at our markets as we sometimes hand out printed recipes when selling the fruit.
Below are some of the less common fruits and vegetables that we offer and some pointers about how to prepare them. Check Mindy's blog entries for recipes or visit us at our markets as we sometimes hand out printed recipes when selling the fruit.
Arnonia Berry - also called the chokeberry, is native to the forests and wetlands of eastern North America. Most varieties have a deep purple pigment that can be used as a food colorant. They can be eaten fresh but are sour and rather astringent and therefore usually processed. They can be used in jams and jellies, ice cream, candy, tinctures, tea, juice blends, baked into breads or pastries, and wine.
Currant - currants aren't really an unusual fruit, but we've included them because most Americans don't know what to do with them or even what they taste like. Red, pink, and white are one specie with less acidic fruit making them more desirable for eating fresh. Black currants, a different specie, have high vitamin C and a strong unusual flavor that is acidic. The small glossy berries native to western Europe are very attractive and grow in raceme (small hanging clusters). Dried currants sold in stores are usually from a dried grape cultivar and not currants at all. Any of them are a nice addition to fruit salad, berry mixes such as those added to yogurt, baked in pies like blueberries, made into sorbet or jam or jelly, served with game (especially the black currant), or as a garnish. There are many traditional European recipes for dishes with currants. They are usually available July through September.
Goji Berries - also known as wolfberry, is native to China and other parts of Asia. The fruit are elongated bright orange-red berries with the number of seeds varying with the variety. They are grown in large numbers in China where they are dried before selling; they are also reported to have a myriad of health benefits. (If taking prescription medications or pregnant, talk to your doctor before consuming.) The fruit are rich, sweet, and high in fiber and vitamin C, vitamin A, antioxidants, iron, and other minerals. Use these berries as you would others - eat them fresh, mix with other berries, mix into yogurt, use to make juice, or add to ice cream. Dried berries are good to eat plain, mixed with trial mix or yogurt, or cooked with pork or turkey.
Gooseberry - this small fruit is native to Europe, northwest Africa, and parts of Asia. The fruit are green, white-ish, yellow, or shades of red, pink, and purple. They have a unique delicious flavor similar to muscat grape and are a good source of vitamin C. Gooseberries have been quite popular in the past and are good to eat fresh, in pies and desserts, jams, dried, canned in syrup, or pickled.
Honeyberries - This berry is native to the northern hemisphere, a member of the honeysuckle family, and are elongated blue fruit with one flattened end. Their flavor is hard to describe but pleasing with a thin skin and fruit that melts in your mouth. Use them as you would blueberries - eat fresh, frozen, or in yogurt, pastries, jams, sauces, candies, ice cream, or pie. They are usually available in spring and early summer just before the beginning of strawberry season.
Jostaberry - this cross between a black currant and a gooseberry has sweet-tart dark round fruit. They are good fresh, for jams, jellies, preserves, sauces, and any ways a gooseberry or currant might be used.
Kiwi, Hardy - not to be confused with fuzzy tropical kiwi, these hardy ones are smooth-skinned and smaller about one ince long. Their flavor is like the fuzzy kiwi. They are very high in vitamin C and good eaten fresh like grapes, made into fresh fruit pies or tarts, fruit salsa or salad, added to ice cream, made into jam or jelly, or prepared in a fruit dessert or salad. They are usually available August and September. Fruit that is picked a little under-ripe can last up to two months in a cooler.
Lingonberry - these small red fruit are native to the northern hemisphere and very popular in Scandinavia were they grow wild. The tart berries are usually sweetened and cooked before eating as jam, compote, juice, smoothie, juice, syrup, or just mashed with sugar. Preserved fruit is often eaten with wild game, meatballs, Swedish pancakes, potato pancakes, or as a part of many traditional Swedish and Norwegian recipes.
Medlar - this small fruit has been popular since before renaissance and medieval times. It is indigenous to southwest Asia, southeast Europe, and was introduced to Germanic territories by the Romans. Botanically between a pear and a Hawthorne, the fruit look like over-grown brown rose hips with a calyx on it's crown (blueberries also have a calyx). The fruit needs to blet (ripen) for 2-3 weeks in storage (sometimes on the tree) so that the fruit inside is mushy. The flavor is similar to cinnamon applesauce with a hint of vanilla or a wine-like taste (there are about a dozen different cultivars). They are usually eaten fresh, but can also be made into jams as they are high in pectin and jellies, which makes a good accompaniment to wild game. They can also be roasted with butter and cloves for special winter dessert for fruit connoisseurs. If we bring these to market, it is usually very late in the fall or early winter.
Paw Paw - this native North American fruit that produces tropical-like fruit in temperate areas. The fruit is custard-like with a row of large black seeds. The flavor is like that of banana with hints of vanilla custard, mango, pineapple, or citrus depending on the variety. They are best eaten fresh - cut in half and eat with a spoon or peel and eat like a banana. They can be cooked, added to smoothies, frozen, or added to ice cream.
Persimmon, American
Pineberry
Quince
Serviceberry
Yacón - the root is a sweet vegetable native to Andes (South America). It has a distinctive flavor described as somewhere between celery and a Granny Smith apple. It is high in fiber, high in water, and low in calories. It contains high level of inulin which is a form of sugar humans cannot easily digest. It is also reported to promote healthy digestive bacteria while inhibiting bad bacteria. They store well and get sweeter with storage, which can be up to eight months in cool dry conditions. To eat, they should be peeled or have the skins scrubbed off. They will brown when peeled (like apples), so a little lemon juice is often sprinkled over it. They are good to slice and eat fresh or added to fruit salads, stir-fried, roasted, baked, made into pies, or sliced and dried into chips. We usually harvest with the first frost.