COOKING

"Precious Stone" Fruits

by Tarla Fallgatter

Copyright © 1998 Tarla Fallgatter. All rights reserved.

No food satisfies all the senses in quite the same way as fruit does-especially stone fruits. The sight of a well-displayed stall of fruit in a Mediterranean street market is enough to stop you in your tracks. The feel of the smooth, velvety skin of a fresh peach, the smell of an absolutely ripe apricot, the sound of a crunchy plum when you bite into it-fruit provides a feast for all the senses, not just our tastebuds.

Stone fruits all come from a single genus, Prunus,in the rose family, and contain a large seed surrounded by a hard coat. The apricot and peach are natives of China; the cherry, of Europe and West Asia; and the plum, the Caucasus.

Plums

The plum is such a luscious and sought-after fruit that in the English language a secondary meaning of its name is "something superior or very desirable," as in sugarplums, for example, and plum pudding.

Not all plums are called "plums" when you buy them; they may go simply by their variety names, like the Czar or the Victoria, both raised in the nineteenth century. Greengages are named after the eighteenth-century Sir William Gage, who brought the French Reine-Claude over to England, where it acquired its new English name. There is also the small yellow Mirabelle plum, and the dark Quetsche. Dried plums, of course, are available all year round, and in England go by the French word for a fresh plum,prune,whereas the French for prune is pruneau.

Plums come in a wide range of sizes, shapes and colors. A plum can be as small as a cherry or as large as a baseball, either very round, elongated, or heart-shaped. Color varies from yellow to green to red to blue to purple to black, with combinations in between. The flavor of a good, ripe plum has a luscious sweet-tart balance that distinguishes it as one of the finest fruits.

Plums were known in Egypt; prunes have been found among the provisions for the afterlife stored in the tomb of Kha, the architect of Thebes. The trees spread through most of Europe, perhaps during the ancient invasions of the twenty-second century BC, or perhaps they were spread by birds.

The plums used for drying, having come from Damascus to Tours and Brignoles, ended up in Agen; Agen prunes are the very best sort. For a while, the plum was called, in French, "robe de sergent," sergeant's coat, its color being that of the uniform worn by police officers before 1789. Fittingly enough, as its oval shape is much like that of a rugby ball, it chose as its new home the southwest of France, where a great deal of rugby football is played. It is not very juicy, but has a high sugar content.

The Agen plum, grown all over western France, is not picked; the trees have to be shaken. The fallen fruits are then sorted on cloths that have been spread under the trees. Before they ripen, the plums have already been thinned on the tree in order to encourage larger fruits. Once the plums are gathered they are set out to dry for several days, and turned frequently.

The Quetsche, the pride of Alsace, is a delicious plum. Elongated like the Agen plum, it is juicy and fragrant. The true Alsatian Quetsche, when bought in France, should have its place of origin specified on its packaging. If it is anonymous, it may well have come from Italy, where the variety has much less flavor, scent and sugar.

When selecting plums, look for plump, shapely fruit that is well-colored, firm to the touch, and without cracks or blemishes. If they are particularly soft or hard, look elsewhere. If they are still somewhat hard, keep them out but, once they are ripe, refrigerate them and they will hold for four or five days.

There are a few varieties of plum that might come your way. They include:

Agen. A French plum used only for excellent quality prunes.

Damson. A plum with a dark skin and flesh used only for preserves.

Friar. A large, black-skinned, amber-fruited, sweet, juicy, eating plum also recommended for preserves and sauces and tarts.

Greengage. A small, yellow-to-green, soft and juicy, very sweet plum with yellow flesh and a number of offspring forming the greengage (or gage) family.

Italian or prune plum. A small, oval plum with bluish-purple skin and firm, golden flesh, especially used for prunes.

Mirabelle. A small, French, aromatic, yellow plum good for cooking and making jams, and the basis of the fruit brandy of the same name.

Red beauty. A plum with bright-red skin and yellowish flesh used as a dessert or snack fruit.

Santa Rose. A reddish-purple plum with yellow flesh and a slightly tart taste.

Sloe. A bitter European plum used in jams and for flavoring gin.

Try the sweet, succulent plutot (a cross between plums and apricots) developed by Floyd Zaiger, perhaps the leading developer of apricot hybrids, next time you see one in the market. Their appearance differs by variety. Some are greenish, others are purplish, and one is yellow.

Plums are used for compotes, desserts, jams, jellies, sauces, snacks, and tarts, and dried as prunes. They are free of fat and cholesterol, low in sodium, and each one contains only about 33 calories.

Plum yields: 1 pound = 6 to 8 2-inch plums; 3C slices or chopped.

Here is my favorite recipe for spiced plums. It's delicious over vanilla ice cream or at breakfast time:

Spiced Plums

2-1/2 lb. fresh plums, halved, pitted and sliced

Apricots

Originating not in Armenia, which was once a common theory, but in the mountains of northern China as early as 2200 BC, apricots spread along the silk route through Central Asia to the Mediterranean. Ancient Persians called them "eggs of the sun," and first-century AD Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote of praecoces.Shakespeare used the fruit as a means of seduction; his Queen of Fairies plied her beloved with "apricocks" in AMidsummer Night's Dream.

A warm, ripe apricot picked off the tree is sheer delight but, like the peach, it is generally picked slightly unripe for export, ripened in the packing crate so most shoppers end up with hard, mealy, tasteless apricots. No wonder annual per capita fresh apricot consumption in America is a pathetic 3.5 ounces and barely 5% of the entire population of the United States has had the chance to taste a really fresh, ripe apricot. Your best bet is to live next to an apricot orchard in California, Turkey, Spain, Greece or maybe New Zealand. The closer you live to the growing area, the more tree-ripened the available apricots will be.

The best fresh-market apricot in most areas is called Royal. Royals are medium to large, rich yellow with a bit of blush, and decidedly round with only a minor indentation on one side. Choose fruit of proper color that is apricot-scented and beginning to soften. Reject any that are pale or rock-hard and, of course, any that are bruised, shriveled, or rotting. Most growers agree that the best-tasting apricot is the blenheim, but it is low-yielding and too fragile to ship. They are delicious when eaten right off the tree and perfect for drying.

Because it takes care to choose and mature perfect apricots, it seems only fair to enjoy them naked and unadorned. But apricots do blend nicely with other fruits. Apricots have always been a great favorite in patisserie, halved apricots make delectable tarts, and apricot glaze is used endlessly.

Apricots may be served as a compote or the cooked fruit pureed and used in fruit foods, ice creams, sorbets, soufflés or sauces. In the Middle East, apricots are a popular ingredient with lamb. They also combine well with duck or chicken-try adding chopped apricots to a poultry stuffing.

Apricot kernels are similar to almonds and, like almonds, contain small amounts of prussic acid which is destroyed by roasting them. They cost less than almonds and have many uses. The Italian "amaretti di Saronno," a delicious cookie tasting somewhere between a macaroon and a biscuit, owes its flavor and texture to apricot kernels.

Fresh and dried apricots are a good source of dietary fiber, are rich in potassium and have a high vitamin A content.

Apricot yields: 1 pound fresh = 8 to 12whole; 2-1/2C sliced or halved.

Peaches

From the way we use the word "peach" to refer to good tidings and positive people, it is pretty clear we're in favor of it. This love affair has been going on for some time, for the peach has been around more years than we can count. It probably arose in China (along with the apricot) and found its way west. The Romans called it the Persiona plum, or Prunus persica, and the name has stuck as its scientific designation. The peach is close kin to the nectarine-so close, in fact, that either one can be grafted onto the stock of the other.

Peaches come in a bewilderment of varieties, with new ones constantly appearing. However, they will all have a more or less fuzzy skin. They will all also have flesh that is either yellow, pink or white and will either adhere closely to the peach pit or stone (clingstone peaches) or freely drop away from the stone (freestone peaches). Either clingstone or freestone is fine for munching out of hand, but the freestone is far easier when it comes to slicing. To remove the stone, slice the peach in half around the stone through the groove, and twist the two halves against each other. One half will come away. Pry the stone out of the other half with a knife.

To skin peaches, many cooks advise you to immerse them in boiling water for about 30 seconds, as you would a tomato, after which the skins should come off easily. This is effective but it does slightly cook the fruit. This is not important if they are to be cooked anyway, but if eating them raw, peel them with a very sharp knife to retain maximum flavor.

Look for peaches that are smooth and round and firm, free from any blemishes, with a good white or yellow color, and perhaps a slight blush.

Peaches are generally picked before they are ripe and are shipped slightly green. Look out for immature peaches. They will have a washed-out look and a somewhat plastic taste. Better by far to buy peaches that have a little give to them and eat them right away; fully ripe peaches can't be expected to keep well for more than a day or two.

In addition to fresh, peaches come canned, dried and frozen. In one or more of their various manifestations, they can be used just as they are (or with cream and sugar) for dessert, baked into cobblers and pies and tarts, used to enrich fish and meat dishes, preserved in brandy or syrup, or made into jam, jelly, chutney, preserves or salsas. Fresh peaches, raspberries and vanilla ice-cream combine to make the classic dish peche melba, created by chef Escoffier in honor of the Australian opera singer, Dame Nelly Melba. It is said that once, when Madame Recamier, the great French beauty of the early nineteenth century, was ill and refusing all food, her life was saved by a dish of peaches in syrup and cream, which brought back not only her appetite, but her will to live.

Did You Know?

The Chinese have long revered the peach as a symbol of long life and immortality, and still celebrate the blossoming of the peach tree as a sign and symbol of spring, the season of renewal and growth. To this day, they give and receive a peach on special occasions. Brides in some countries wear wreaths of peach blossom, just as Western brides wear orange blossom; it still symbolizes virginity and fertility. "Georgia peach" may be a misnomer; the state that grows the most peaches is California. Peaches contain both vitamins A and C.

Peach yields: 1 pound = 4 medium; 2-3/4C sliced; 2-1/4C chopped.

Nectarines

"What a nectarine!" and "nectariney-keen" never made it into English slang, not even "nectarines 'n' cream," though that fruit is just as fine and luscious as its well-honored sibling. No less an authority than renowned horticulturist Luther Burbank believed that peaches are a variant of the parent nectarine. A common notion is that nectarines are the product of a peach/plum cross. Not true! Peaches and nectarines are both ancient fruits from China that are so closely related that seeds from either of them can produce trees that bear either fruit (and occasionally both, or even, very rarely, both in the same fruit). In general, nectarines have a tendency to be smaller and sweeter than peaches, with a slight flavor difference that has been calledvinous.

The differences are growing slighter as modern agriculturists are breeding peaches with less fuzz. Nectarines are smooth plum-skinned varieties of peach with a flavor so fine that it is named for nectar, the legendary drink of the classical gods. They come white and orangey-yellow, just as peaches do and, as with peaches, the white ones taste better. Like other peaches, nectarines may be clingstone or freestone.

The origin of the nectarine, first described by a European writer in 1587, is a mystery. By 1629 there were six varieties of it in England and the name "nectarine" was already in use, but the fruit did not appear in the U.S. until the nineteenth century.

When ripe, nectarines are best eaten raw and unpeeled as an inexpensive dessert fruit. In cooking, the delicate flavor and firm texture are lost. Slightly underripe nectarines can be gently poached in syrup for a short time and then chilled. Nectarines can be used in the same way as peaches, with the advantage that they need not be peeled. Select nectarines as you would peaches: look for a healthy skin without greenish highlights, a little give without being mushy, and no blemishes or spots.

Nectarine yields: 1 pound = 4 small, 3 medium; 2-1/2C chopped.

Cherries

Would that life were just a bowl of cherries. Sharp, sweet, fleshy fruit with juice that stains the lips, the fingers and everything they come in contact with, cherries are a summertime treat worth waiting for. There are two main types: sweets and sours. The first are eaten raw or cooked; the second are usually cooked, in desserts or to accompany savory dishes. They are also dried and used for snacks, or as you would raisins in baked goods.

There are said to be over 300 varieties of sweet cherries and 600 varieties of sour cherries, but it is rare to find more than two or three types for sale at a given time.

Most commercial sweet cherries are produced in the Pacific Northwest; Michigan and other states also produce some sweet cherries and a lot of sour cherries which are canned plain or in pie filling or frozen in large quantity for bakeries. Cherries start to be available in May and are abundant by July.

The Bing, a very large, firm, juicy cherry which is almost black when fully ripe, is one of the best known; other popular varieties include Lamberts, Vans and Rainiers.

When shopping for cherries examine the stems, if present, as these are good indicators of freshness. They should be green and flexible. Dry, brown, brittle stems tell you that the cherries were picked some time ago. Red varieties are ripe when they are deep red, white and yellow varieties when they are flushed with pink. Avoid fruit that is too soft, or bruised or split.

There is nothing better than cherries eaten raw. However, they do find their way into a great variety of cooked dishes from all over he world. In classic recipes, cherries are often served with duckling and other poultry such as quail. Any dish described as "Montmorency" will be accompanied by cherries, originally of the Montmorency variety, from a small town of the same name just outside Paris.

There are also the common chokecherry, whose astringent, pea-sized cherries make good jelly, jam and homemade wines and cordials, and the sour or morello cherry, a dark, almost black, sour cherry with colored juice, or the red variety with colorless juice called amarelles. This is the species used for black cherry jam, Black Forest gateau, cherry pie, liqueurs, and cherry brandy, like kirsch, which comes from the area including Alsace, the Black Forest and northeast Switzerland. It is a dry, white spirit with a characteristic flavor, but tasting nothing of cherries. In cooking, it is used with fruit, in some cakes and in a cheese fondue, which it also accompanies in the glass. It is a totally different drink from maraschino, which is sweet and again often used as a flavoring with fruits and sweets. Apart from being made from a different variety of cherry, the stones are crushed for maraschino (but not for kirsch) and honey is added to make the fermentable mash. The taste of maraschino contains a dash of bitter almond from the stones and is quite unlike that of kirsch.