Fall fruits are perfect for roasting, adding to soups, stews, and salads. They can lend a warm fall-spice sweetness or balance rich food with their tartness.
October's seasonal fruit:
Cooking with seasonal produce (and accounting for cooler weather) lets us get creative, making some truly outstanding food. I've compiled some ideas to inspire you this month.
Make the most of the season's last blackberries with perfect fall recipes
Blackberries are tart, which adds brightness to a lot of richer, autumn dishes. The tart (and sometimes slightly bitter) flavor pairs well with roasted meats & veggies and cuts through the fattiness of cheese & butter.
Add apples & pears to dinner
Apples and pears are pretty interchangeable in recipes from soup to salad. Use them to:
- Add a touch of sweetness to soups, and work especially well when pureed into winter squash soups
- Roast alongside a tray of veggies (and precooked sausage for a really fast dinner)
- Add to salads (along with cranberries or pomegranate too)
- You can even add them to pasta (along with some bacon)
Roasted grapes are the best way to enjoy fall cooking
If you haven't roasted grapes yet, you are in for a treat. They go with darn near everything, if you want my opinion 😉 Try roasting grapes with:
- A roasted chicken
- A steak salad
- Sweet potatoes
- Add as a crostini topping
Cranberries are for more than just Thanksgiving sauce
Try using fresh cranberries in unexpected ways - you might be adding them to everything before you know it 😉
Here's a few recipes to get you started.
Add pop with pomegranate
I love pomegranate arils (seeds) - they burst with a super sweet, tart flavor. They make everything more interesting, from salads to cheesy enchiladas.
Fresh figs are delicate, but worth it
Ripe, delicious figs are soft and slightly wrinkled. They don't ship well so they are hard to find. But if you do come across them, buy a few or buy a bunch, but use them fast.
- Figs love cheese: add to a cheese tray or a salad
- Roast with chicken or pork
- Make into a jam and spread on steak-bites or crostini
Produce guides for October fruit
Learn how to pick & store all of these fruits, as well as helpful tips on using them.
- Apple guide: includes tips on the best apples for pie, sauce, etc)
- Pear guide: also describes the most popular varieties & their uses
- Blackberry guide: includes Upick resources, and check out "Why blackberries are bitter & how to fix it"
- Grape guide: talks about how harvest timing affects sweetness as well as different varieties
- Cranberry guide: includes information about the different flavors of bright vs dark red cranberries
- Pomegranate guide: shares a resources to learn how to seed them yourself
- Fig guide: includes different varieties
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