Fruits, nuts and seeds are some of nature 's most bountiful and interesting created. Without foods offer such a difference color, textures, scents and flavors. They are also supremely healthy foods, bursting with natural energy-giving sugars, minerals and vitamins. Most fruits, nuts and seeds, eat would be cooked with can able to eat raw are enjoyed all over the world.
Preparing and Cooking of Pears
The majority of pears is eaten raw, by themselves or with a robust cheese such as Stilton or Roquefort. Pears Savarin, halved fruit filled with Roquefort mashed with a little butter and served chilled with double (heavy) cream and paprika, is a popular appetizer. Pears also make a good addition to winter salads. Whether or not to peel pears before eating raw is a matter of preference, but they should always be peeled before cooking. Pears discolor quickly once they are peeled, so rub the cut surface with lemon juice or place in a bowl of water acidulated with lemon juice. If the recipe involves cooking the pears in wine or sugar syrup, the fruit can be put directly into these to prevent them turning brown. Most varieties of pears are suitable for cooking, but some are specifically designated cooking pears, although commercial production of these is now decreasing. If appearance is important, choose even-size, classic, pear-shape pears such as Comice, Conference or Williams (Bartlett). For whole poached pears, simply peel with a stainless steel vegetable peeler, leaving the stalk on. Use an apple corer to core the pears if you want to stuff them with nuts or dried fruit. Poach in port or red wine spiced with cinnamon, cloves and thinly the pared lemon rind, or in a vanilla-flavored syrup. For sauteed or grilled (broiled) pears, peel and quarter the fruit and scoop out the cores with a melon baller. Saute over a low heat in unsalted (sweet) butter or grill (broil), turning once, watching very closely to avoid the fruit scorching. Pears can be used in a wide variety of desserts, including tarts, mousses, souffles, sorbets (sherbets) and ice creams. Pears go particularly well with nuts, especially walnuts and almonds, in both sweet tarts and savory winter salads.
Like apples, pears complement games, particularly duck and hare, while venison garnished with pears is a German specialty. For additional luxury, the pears may be cooked with pear brandy, also known as Williamine, or pear liqueur. Pears can also be roasted with small game birds and then rubbed through a sieve and served as a sauce. A slightly more unusual, but delicious combination is lamb and pears, slow-cooked in a casserole. Pears also feature in soups, most famously with watercress and also with garden peas. Fruit vinegar's are coming back into fashion and steeping pears in vinegar to flavor it has a long history in country and farmhouse cooking, The vinegar is a rich golden color, It can be used in salad dressings, as part of a basting mixture when roasting rich meats, especially duck, or for dog lazing the cooking juices after pan-frying liver or duck to make a sauce. Pear chutney is also a traditional rural favorite, not least because you can use hard, windfall pears that would otherwise have to be thrown away. Pears can also be steeped in brandy for several weeks to make a liqueur for drinking after dinner. A more modern variation of this is to steep the fruit in vodka.
QUINCES
These highly aromatic fruits are known as apple or pear quinces, according to their shape. Unripe fruits have a downy skin, while ripe quinces have the smooth texture of a pear. Raw quinces are inedible, but they make excellent natural air fresheners a quince kept in the glove compartment of a car will shrivel, but will not rot, and will fill your vehicle with the most delicious aroma for up to six months. Quinces are not readily available in stores, but can be found growing in gardens. They keep well and are best stored in a bowl.
GRAPEFRUIT
This is one of the largest citrus fruits and can vary in diameter from 10-18 cm/4-7 in. Most grapefruits have deep yellow skins, but the flesh can range from very pale yellow (confusingly called white). Through rosy pink to deep pink (known as ruby). Generally speaking, the pinker the flesh, the sweeter the grapefruit will be. Grapefruits are an excellent source of dietary fibre and vitamin C. When buying, choose a fruit that feels heavy for its size, as it will be juicy. The skin can be thick or thin depending on the variety, but it should be plump and firm, if it is puffy and coarse, the flesh will be dry. Avoid grapefruit with bruised or damaged skin. You cannot ripen grapefruits once they have been picked, but they can be kept in a cool place or in the refrigerator for a week. Grapefruits can be squeezed for their juice, or eaten for breakfast Segmenting a grapefruit is simple all you need is a curved, serrated grapefruit knife. Run the knife between the skin and flesh, then use a small sharp paring knife to cut carefully between the membrane that separates the segments.
POMEGRANATES
This attractive, apple-shaped fruit has leathery, reddish-gold skin. Inside is a mass of creamy-white edible seeds, each encased in a translucent sac of crimson pulp. Pomegranates have been a symbol of fertility since ancient times. Venus, the goddess of love, was said to have given pomegranates as gifts to her favorites. Pomegranate seeds are rich in vitamin C and are a good source of fibre. Buy fruit that feels heavy for its size, as it is likely to be full of juice. The fruit will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. Dried pomegranate seeds are used in Middle Eastern cooking.
POPPY SEEDS
These are the seeds of the opium poppy, but without any of the habit-forming alkaloids. Poppy seeds can be blue (they are usually described as black) or white. The black variety looks good sprinkled over cakes and breads, and they add a pleasant crunchiness. Black poppy seeds can be used to make delicious seed cakes and tea breads, and they are used in German and Eastern European pastries, strudels and tarts. They combine well with creamy cheeses. In India, the ground white seeds are used to thicken sauces and curries, adding a nutty flavor. In Jewish cookery, they pound to a paste, sweetened with honey and used to coat dumplings and bagels. Poppy seeds-on their own or combined with breadcrumbs are also useful for adding a color contrast to pale dishes such as noodles.
SUNFLOWER SEEDS
These are the seeds of the sunflower a symbol of summer and an important crop throughout the world. The impressive golden-yellow flowers are grown for their seeds and oil, the leaves are used to treat malaria and the stalks are made into fertilizer. Rich in vitamin E, the pale green teardrop-shaped seeds have a semi-crunchy texture and an oily taste that is much improved by dry-roasting. Sprinkle sunflower seeds over salads, rice pilaffs and couscous, or use in bread dough's, muffins, casseroles and baked dishes.
PEANUTS
Actually a member of the pulse family, peanuts bury themselves just below the earth after the plant has flowered. They are a staple food in many countries and are widely used in Southeast Asia, notably in satay sauce, and in African cuisines, where they are used as an ingredient in stews. They are one of the ingredients of the Indian paans, a mixture of chopped betel nuts and other nuts, spices and shreds of coconut that is wrapped in betel leaves and offered to guests after a meal. In the West, peanuts are a popular snack food, mostly eaten roasted and salted. They are also used to make peanut butter, which, in turn, can be used as an ingredient for example in peanut butter cookies. Peanuts are highly nutritious, but they are also particularly high in fat, so should be eaten in moderation.
CASHEW NUTS
These are the seeds of the "cashew apple"- a Brazilian evergreen tree with bright orange fruit. Cashew nuts are now widely cultivated in India and other tropical countries. They have a sweet flavor and crumbly texture. They make delicious nut butters, or can be sprinkled into stir-fries- Chinese chicken with cashew nuts is a hugely popular dish or over salads. They also feature in a variety of Indian dishes, including lamb curries and rice with prawns (shrimp), as well as in cakes and biscuits (cookies). Cashew nuts are never sold in the shell because they have to undergo an extensive heating process to remove the seed from its outer casing. The cashew apple is eaten on its own with a little sugar, as it is rather tart, or made into jams and jellies.
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