How to Cook with Winter Fruit

Winter fruit is the delicious fruit that's available to you locally, during the winter. There are many different ways that you can cook with winter fruit. Common winter fruits include apples, bananas, grapes, mandarin oranges, and passion fruit just to name a few.^{[1]XResearch source} You can use winter fruit in savory or sweet dishes. While winter fruit may be fruit that you're already used to eating, following specific techniques and researching the fruit will help you maximize their use in your kitchen.^{[2]XResearch source}

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Exploring Your Options

1
Discover lesser known winter fruit. Look online for lists of winter fruit and discover fruit that you've never had before. Some less popular winter fruit include rhubarb, pummelo, persimmon, and passion fruit.^{[3]XResearch source} Go to a larger grocery store and look at their winter fruit selections to see what you have available locally. Experiment and taste different winter fruit in their raw form to see how they taste.
- Determine if the fruit you're eating is bitter, sweet, or sour, and keep it in mind when you use it as an ingredient.
2
Research the health benefits of the winter fruit you're eating. One factor that may help you narrow down your cooking options with winter fruit may be their health benefits. Different fruits offer different vitamins and nutrients. This is especially important for those on a strict diet or those with dietary restrictions due to a health condition.
- Oranges are loaded with vitamin C and help prevent cold and flu viruses.
- Pomegranates are a rich source of iron, phytochemicals, antioxidants, polyphenols and Vitamin C. They are also good for your cardiovascular health.
- Bananas are a healthy source of potassium and can help you maintain a healthy blood pressure.
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3
Practice cooking with different winter fruit. Different types of winter fruits will have different cooking times and will react differently in recipes. The best way to get an understanding of cooking with these fruits is by practicing. Use them in your favorite recipes that utilize fruit already, such as pies.
- For example, the Asian pear require longer cooking times than conventional pears because of their crunchy texture.^{[4]XResearch source}
4
Substitute existing fruits in your favorite recipes. You can use winter fruit in a variety of recipes, especially those that already call for fruit. Try finding equivalents for fruit in your favorite recipes.
- For example, a recipe that calls for oranges can be replaced with a winter fruit like clementines.
- Replacing raisins with dried cranberries is also another good option.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Cooking Savory Dishes with Winter Fruit

1
Make a grilled cheese sandwich with pear slices. Savory sandwiches surprisingly taste great with pear slices. The pear adds a sweetness, lightness, and crunchiness that is often left absent from a grilled cheese sandwich. To create this grilled cheese, layer your cheese and pear on a slice of bread. Place your bread in a hot, greased skillet with butter or spray. Place another slice of bread over it and set the heat to medium low. Cook the sandwich for three minutes or until the bread is crispy and brown. Flip the sandwich over and cook it for another three minutes.^{[5]XResearch source}
- You can also add a protein like ham or roast beef to your sandwich.
2
Make a salad using winter fruit. Elevate your typical salad by adding sweet and sour flavors with winter fruit. All you need to do is slice up the fruit and put it in your salad. Great winter fruit choices for salads include blood oranges and sliced pears. Experiment with sweet and sour dressings, such as ginger dressings in combination with these fruits.^{[6]XResearch source}
- You can also make a black bean salad using a can of black beans, avocado, and chopped persimmon.^{[7]XResearch source}
3
Use winter fruit as a marinade. You can use citrus winter fruit as a glaze on top of proteins like fish, beef, and chicken. Marinating your food with blood oranges will impart a sweet flavor to your protein.^{[8]XResearch source} To use winter fruit as a marinade, use freshly squeezed juice from a citrus fruit that you prefer and combine it with spices like garlic powder, salt, red pepper flakes, oregano, or pepper. Have your meat sit in the marinade for a couple of hours or overnight, so it absorbs the flavors of the citrus and spices. This will result in juicier and tastier proteins.
- You can fruit like oranges, lemons, or passion fruit.
- To make a more advanced marinade, you can also combine things like vegetable oil and red wine vinegar to the marinade.^{[9]XResearch source}
- Adding a citrus winter fruit glaze to fish will impart a tangy, sweet and sour taste.^{[10]XResearch source}
4
Use winter fruit as a garnish to your meals. Thinly sliced pieces of apple or rhubarb can impart a crunchy and fresh texture to the savory dishes that you cook. In addition to creating a different flavor profile, sliced winter fruit as a garnish can also be colorful and aesthetically pleasing. Choose garnishes that go with your main course. Get creative and make the garnish look aesthetically pleasing by finely slicing it or presenting it in a creative way. You can also add things like blood orange slices as another simple garnish that will enhance the flavor of the meal.
- Sweeter fruit like pears and apples go great with poultry while citrus fruits like oranges and lemons go great on fish.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Making Desserts with Winter Fruit

1
Make a winter fruit salad. A winter fruit salad consists of fruits like kiwis, oranges, bananas, apples, and pears. Cut up the winter fruit into pieces, then add them to a large mixing bowl. Too add sweeter and more robust flavors to your fruit salad, consider mixing in honey or agave nectar.^{[11]XResearch source}
- This is a healthy and fresh dessert that uses the winter fruit as the star ingredient.
A winter fruit compote is similar to making an apple compote, except it has other winter fruits incorporated into it. To cook the compote combine two chopped apples with a half cup (75 g) cranberries, raisins, apricots, pineapple, a can of peach filling, 3/4 cups (177.4 mL) of orange juice, and a cinnamon stick into a slow cooker. Set the cooker to low and let it sit for 5 to 6 minutes. The result will be a smooth and tasty winter fruit compote.^{[12]XResearch source}
. Bake your fruitcake as you would any other fruitcake but use winter fruits in it. Things like clementines, figs, and kumquats taste delicious in fruit cake.^{[13]XResearch source} Other options include pears and dried or frozen cranberries.^{[14]XResearch source}
Lemon upside down cake utilizes lemons, a common winter fruit, as the star ingredient of the recipe. To utilize the lemons, create the cake as your normally would, but create very thin slices of lemon to put on the top of the cake before you bake it. The lemon will add a fresh winter fruit taste to your cake.^{[15]XResearch source}
You can easily use winter fruit in a tart to create a delicious and sweet winter fruit dessert. Make the tart the same way you usually would, using a pie crust or dough to act as the base of the tart in a pie dish. Combine 8 ounces (226.79 grams) of mascarpone, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and fresh winter fruit as your filler or topping. This will create an easy to make and delicious fresh winter fruit tart.^{[16]XResearch source}
You can bake a winter fruit pie as you would normally bake an apple pie. Instead of just using apples, however, consider adding other winter fruits like pears, raisins, and cranberries.^{[17]XResearch source} Experiment with different combinations of flavors until you bake a winter cake that you enjoy.
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