YumSugar

Coming Soon: Apples That Don't Rot?

YumSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:00:03 -0800

Can you imagine leaving a piece of fruit in the crisper and being able to take a bite out of it after four months? That's the idea behind a new variety of apple that's being tweaked by researchers at Queensland Primary Industries. The RS103-130, as it's called, can stay fresh for at least 14 days without refrigeration, and keep in a refrigerator for four months.

Scientists are touting many benefits behind the fruit's longevity, which comes from incorporating a gene from a black-spot resistant apple. For one, the RS103-130 requires less fungicides; it would also need less cold storage, cutting down on energy costs.

As far as the most important factor - taste - is concerned, developers say the fruit is very sweet, and has come out on top in preliminary taste tests. Does the RS103-130 apple sound convenient, creepy, or both?

In Season: Figs

YumSugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:00:10 -0700

Fig season is like pre-Fall in the fashion world, a tasty little teaser that helps bridge the gap between Summer and Autumn. Perhaps it's partly because the season is so fleeting that this fruit tastes so sweet, but when figs are just right, they taste downright sinful. When people tell me they don't like figs, I say, they just haven't had a good one yet.

This soft, fleshy fruit with a thick but edible skin comes in many colors and forms. In North America, the most common types are Mission figs, Brown Turkey, and Brunswick, which have dark skin and a pink-purple middle; Calimyrna, the green-and-pink beauties like the fig pictured above; and Kadota, another green-skinned variety. Learn how to select fresh figs, and how to prepare them when you read more.

When buying figs, choose fruits that are firm but not hard, with a slight amount of give. Pick figs that feel juicy and rich, rather than dry, and be sure to handle them gingerly until you're ready to eat them, as they bruise easily. They are delicious on their own, but figs also play nicely against salty cheeses and cured meats. Here are some recipes to try:

Wrap them in prosciutto for figs in a blanket hors d'oeuvres.
Poach them for an elegant but simple dessert.
Smash them into panini with nut butter and banana.
Use them as a sweet topper for a salty pizza.
Bake them in a fig and goat cheese scone.

How do you plan to cook with figs this season?

VeggieTrader Turns Lemons Into . . . Carrots?

YumSugar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:50:19 -0700

Home gardens are all the rage, and if you have friends who grow their own produce, you probably end up eating a lot of it too. One downside to getting down and dirty in the garden is that you often have way too much of one thing (kale, anyone?) and not enough of another. Enter VeggieTrader, a new website that wants to help gardeners swap their surplus fruits and veggies for crops that might not have come up so well. Using the free service, growers can sell their extra apples or pears for a bit of cash, and folks without gardens can log on and look for local produce. Though I've heard of community produce swaps, VeggieTrader is the first site I've seen attempting to facilitate swaps on a large scale. It's still relatively small, but it looks worth exploring. If you're interested, here's how it works. Or, if you have a lot of friends who garden, why not host your own produce swap and make it an excuse to throw a party?

Is It a Tomato or Squash?

partysugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:50:28 -0700

In terms of produce, the end of September is a time that straddles Summer and Fall. Late-season heirloom tomatoes are juicy and plump, while early-season butternut squash are way too tempting. To celebrate the plethora of produce that can be found in markets, I've put together this fun quiz. I'll list a variety of tomato or squash and you tell me which it is. Ready, set, go!

Source: Flickr User nim

Take the quiz

Hybrid Produce: Love It or Hate It?

YumSugar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:50:21 -0700

After returning from the farmers market with pluots and apriums aplenty, Party, another coworker, and I got into a debate over hybrid fruits and vegetables. Personally, I love pluots, especially juicy, green Flavor Queens that possess none of the tartness of a typical plum. But Party begged to differ. "I like the way a peach tastes. I like the way a plum tastes. I don't want to taste them together," she bemoaned. Where do you stand?

Source: Flickr User clayirving

Northeastern Tomato Blight Caused by Home Gardening

YumSugar — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:50:39 -0700

A fast-spreading fungus has ravaged tomato crops across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, wiping out this year's crop and causing the price of heirloom tomatoes to skyrocket by 20 percent. But the cause of the pandemic is something that's much more innocent than you might think.

In a recent New York Times column, renowned farm-to-table chef Dan Barber discusses the aggressive disease, known as late blight, that has wiped out 70 percent of this year's heirloom tomato crop. He argues that there are three contributing factors that caused the intense blight. First, a rainy Summer, moderate temperatures, and lots of humidity; second, infected tomato starter plants sold to home growers; and third, the explosion of home gardeners.Ironically, the very community that's engaged in eating locally has set the stage for one of the worst heirloom tomato harvests in history. Barber argues that, despite what Slow Food believers might advocate, future farming must involve nonheirloom plant varieties bred to resist diseases.

The blight isn't limited to new home gardeners; even seasoned pro Martha Stewart has lamented that she lost 70 percent of the 50 different tomato varieties in her garden this year. Have you fallen victim to this year's tomato travesty? What do you think of Barber's argument?

Definition: Sea Beans

YumSugar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:00:08 -0700

Mysterious green plants known as sea beans have becoming increasingly prominent at farmers markets and restaurants. Although their scientific name is salicornia, they are frequently referred to by many names, including pickleweed, glasswort, drift seeds, sea asparagus, sea pickles, and marsh samphire.

Their vivid green stalks, which grow on salt marshes and beaches, have a crunchy texture and a briny flavor with a vegetal aftertaste that's been likened to asparagus. They can be eaten raw, but have a high sodium content, so often they are blanched to remove some of their saltiness. Sea beans can also be sautéed, steamed, pickled, and even battered and fried.

Photo by flickr user foodistablog

Best Conventional Food Bets

YumSugar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:50:33 -0700

In a perfect world, everything we eat would be free of genetic modifications, hormones, or synthetic pesticides: In addition to surpassing their conventional counterparts in nutritional value, organic foods produce less waste and improve ecosystem sustainability. But organic food comes at a steep price, literally - one that can be 10 to 40 percent higher than conventionally produced products. So if you have to skimp on some organic products when shopping at the market, what items are safe bets to purchase conventionally? Click through to find out.

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How Do You Clean Produce?

YumSugar — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:00:50 -0700

Source

Beets: Love Them or Hate Them?

YumSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:50:13 -0700

Recently PartySugar and I got into a discussion about beets. While we both love them, we agreed that they're definitely a point of contention, as many people we know dislike them (our president included). How do you feel about these sweet root vegetables?