Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with fruit Questions tagged with 'fruit' at Ask MetaFilter. Sat, 08 Mar 2014 08:32:01 -0800 Sat, 08 Mar 2014 08:32:01 -0800 en-us 60 Nuts and dried fruit mixed? Can nuts and dried fruit be mixed in a container with no decrease in quality or shelf life? I want to make up a "snack jar" filled with a mix of raisins, cashews, figs and shelled sunflower seeds to snack on. Is ok to combine this mixture or should I keep them in separate contains to keep them fresh and tasty?,2014:site.258357 Sat, 08 Mar 2014 08:32:01 -0800 dried fruit life nuts resolved shelf snack BillyAnne Giving the gift of mail-order fruit. I want to ship some fruit as a gift to a friend (within the US). I know that apples and pears from Harry and David are tasty, but I'm interested in other options. I'd like some combination of:<br> <br> 1. Small scale farms/co-ops, or at least not owned by private equity (as Harry and David is).<br> 2. Somewhat reasonable prices- I don't mind spending some money, but I'd like better value than 6lbs of organic fruit for $70 (plus shipping) if it exists.<br> 3. Organic options available.<br> 4. Fruit grown in the US.<br> 5. One time gifts available, not CSAs or fruit of the month clubs.<br> <br> I don't know if I'll find something that hits all my goals, and I'm flexible about all of them. I don't mind using a smaller company or farm without a web option, I'm happy to call. <br> <br> I know about<a href=""> Isabelle's Orange Orchard in Louisiana</a>. This is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for, but they lost all their fruit this year in a hard freeze. Googling yields a lot of fruit of the month clubs, as well as some more corporate options. Basically, the closer to the farmer the better for me. Thank you!,2014:site.258076 Mon, 03 Mar 2014 10:19:58 -0800 fruit fruitgift gift mailorder cushie Decadent veggies: what is your best recipe? The boyfriend and I will be attending a holiday dinner with his brother, who professes to hate all plant-based food except grains, rice, and potatoes. He has thrown down the gauntlet and asked us all to produce a vegetable based dish that he will actually enjoy. Please save us from defeat by sharing your most delicious vegetable and fruit-based dishes. Main meals, side dishes, appetizers, and desserts all welcome, and the dish can include other food groups, as long as the fruit or vegetable is prominent.,2013:site.254095 Sat, 21 Dec 2013 13:15:46 -0800 decadent Fruit resolved vegetables rpfields Eating damaged fruit I want to use more fruit and make it easier to process. I have composted a couple hundred pounds of fruit this summer. I hate the waste. We have a pear tree from which a certain squirrel eats half of each unripe fruit and throws the rest on the ground. Later in the season the fruit from the upper branches (30-40 feet) falls, impaling itself on twigs, or smashing on the ground, pulping a quarter of the fruit into the dirt. Some fruits have worms or slug damage after sitting on the ground. I pick what I can reach with a picker and if I am present when a ripe, un-bitten fruit falls and smashes, I eat that. But is there a better way? I've been using unbroken fallen fruit, which still requires a lot of sitting around with a paring knife to remove bruised and wormy parts. Would it be safe (and tasty) to collect <strong>all</strong> of the fruit that falls, even if it has animal bite marks or the skin has been broken, and process it quickly? I'm thinking of rinsing in water, then boiling to make some kind of pear butter/mush, and sending it through a Foley food mill to remove skins, stems, and seeds. This would then be frozen or canned with additional ingredients. It would be much quicker than carefully examining each fruit. Would it taste terrible? Would it kill me?,2013:site.249966 Wed, 09 Oct 2013 12:30:52 -0800 canIeatit foodsafety fruit pears peartree preserves resolved windfall SandiBeech Making a fruit infused gin - what brand should I buy? My CSA has damsom plums in it this week and I decided to make damsom plum infused gin. <a href="">Damsom Gin</a> I am unsure which gin I should buy however. I think it would be a waste to buy a very high end brand since I am going to throw a bunch of fruit and sugar into it, but I don't know if the super cheap stuff would be a good choice either.<br> <br> If anyone has made this before or has infused fruit into alcohol at all I would love some suggestions.,2013:site.248671 Tue, 17 Sep 2013 14:26:05 -0800 brand damsom Damsongin fruit gin infused plum price resolved Julnyes What you gon' do with all that pulp? All that pulp inside your trunk? What recipes do you have for the leftover pulp from a juicer? I've been using a juicer a lot lately. I've found out that I can get about 20% more juice if I take the leftover pulp and juice it again. No difference in flavor or consistency, just a bit more juice. The pulp ends up being a bit drier and more compact. I don't care, since I threw it away anyways and got more juice. I am, effectively, throwing away food and I hate that.<br> <br> Here are things I juice in order of quantity:<br> carrots<br> apples<br> oranges<br> spinach<br> celery<br> pineapples<br> cucumber<br> <br> I used to just juice everything together, but since I may actually have a use for it, I can juice the items individually so they don't mix together. <br> I'm open to other cheap veggies/fruits ideas that produce a good ratio of juice to cost.<br> <br> Here are things I don't like:<br> unhealthy Cakes<br> unhealthy Muffins<br> unhealthy Cookies<br> Using the pulp to make butter and sugar laden food just totally kills the purpose of juicing. But if they are damn good, I'll use them.<br> <br> <strong>The primary goal here is healthy recipes. The secondary goal here is bang for the buck or value. The third goal here is not needing a horde of new ingredients to make more food (but I am negotiable on that if its really freaking good).</strong> <br> <br> And yes, I have seen <a href="">this</a> question here before. I also don't need recipes for dog food, or composting as I live in an apartment.,2013:site.248028 Fri, 06 Sep 2013 14:56:14 -0800 bake baking cook cooking dry fruit fruits healthy juice juicer juicing leftover pulp recipes vegan vegetable vegetables vegetarian karathrace Fruits &amp; veggies you a) can eat raw, and b) don't have to refrigerate Office full of "Why no, I didn't see any baby carrots in there *crunch crunch gulp*" fridge thieves. I can lock food at my desk, but I want FRESH fruit and veg, not just peanuts and raisins! I want to snack only on fruits and vegetables (and some nuts) at work. We have a fridge, but this office is notorious for "Has anyone seen the bag of super-awesome grapes I bought yesterday?" kind of disappearances. I have a lockable drawer at my desk, and I'd like to put fruit and veg in there that I can snack on. We have knives and such here, so I can cut things up, and I can bring ziplocs to separate stuff, but what are the fruits and vegetables that won't rot in 3 minutes inside a non-refrigerated drawer? Can you keep a cucumber in a desk drawer? What about oranges? <br> <br> Suggestions, please!,2013:site.247997 Fri, 06 Sep 2013 07:15:01 -0800 fruit healthyeating healthysnacks lunchatwork nofridge satanicfoodthieves vegetables tzikeh Cheap eating in my future? What kind of apple trees do I have? What sort of apple trees do I have in my backyard? I'm in Northern California. Photos: Apple: <a href="">one</a> <a href="">two</a>, Tree: <a href="">one</a> <a href="">two</a>,2013:site.246827 Sat, 17 Aug 2013 10:37:54 -0800 apple appletrees fruit trees porn in the woods Will it cause my body problems to stop drinking fruit juices? Is it healthier to drink fruit juices or to avoid them? I'm trying to lose weight, and I'm planning to cut as much refined sugar from my diet as I can. I usually have a glass of juice with breakfast. I know that these juices are high in calories/sugar, so I'm thinking of cutting them out of my diet. <br> <br> But I also have the impression that fruit juices are supposed to be good for you, especially orange juice. I cannot tell if this is accurate or if this impression comes from good marketing. Is it healthier for me to avoid fruit juices or to drink them?,2013:site.246560 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 11:13:32 -0800 diet fruit health juice resolved sugar JDHarper Fruit-centric poems and stories for children Do you know of any stories or poems for young children (ages 3-10) that are about orchard fruits--or at least feature fruit or fruit trees prominently?,2013:site.244439 Wed, 10 Jul 2013 07:29:29 -0800 children's fruit orchard poetry resolved stories shibori Seeking a variety of dates Dates are pretty tasty, but I only see US-grown Medjool dates at the store. Wikipedia claims there are many more varieties. Where can I find other kinds of dates in or near San Francisco? I am looking for the names of specific stores you have been to, or varieties you have eaten. Please also tell me random date-related anecdotes from around the world.,2013:site.243976 Tue, 02 Jul 2013 02:11:27 -0800 date dates fruit palm ryanrs Edible plants to grow in the shower? I have a large bathroom/shower room. It is a Japanese bathroom where the whole room gets wet and has a drain in the middle. I am looking for edible plants that like that type of wet/humid/warm environment. The room has a large northerly facing window but does not get any direct light. Maybe some kind of tropical fruit?,2013:site.243682 Wed, 26 Jun 2013 22:57:26 -0800 fruit gardening indoor plants Infernarl Dried Apriocots = Gas Pains from Hell? Why did eating a bunch of dried Apricots cause me to have the worst gas pains of my life? I did do some research and discovered that dried fruit often gives excess gas. But this seemed excessive even knowing that. I am just curious what may have cause the worst gas pains I have ever felt.<br> <br> The details are that I overindulged in dried apricots (ate maybe 20 pieces, not sure if each was a whole apricot) and later that night...OUCH. I didn't feel particularly full after eating them, and didn't have dinner after. But several hours later that night I had horrible trapped gas which last at least an hour. I felt like my appendix was about to burst, and almost went to the hospital, when I realized that it was gas. I rubbed and patted my stomach for over an hour while in extreme pain, until finally most of the gas released and I felt ok.<br> <br> I was just wondering if anyone has ideas about what caused such an extreme reaction? (never had anything like it happen before, nor do I want it to happen again!) I had taken antibiotics a few days earlier due to some bacteria/infection (I am in India currently). Could it be related to that?'<br> <br> Obviously, I know I ate too many of them...but I've overeaten before and never had pain like this.<br> <br> (I don't think the apricots had any added sugar)<br> <br> And just a tip: don't eat a whole bunch of dried fruit in one sitting!,2013:site.242142 Mon, 03 Jun 2013 01:19:26 -0800 apricots dried fruit gas trapped bearette Apple tree rehab We recently bought a house with neglected apple trees and I would like to learn how to care for them. We bought a house in Columbia County, New York which has eight or so very neglected apple trees. The previous owners left pictures of the house from the 1930s where it is called "The Orchard" so I feel a little responsibility to try and take care of the apple trees and to replace them if mine are too far gone.<br> <br> My main question is how to care for these trees to get them bare fruit. <br> <br> I would love to be the beneficiary of hard-won MeFi advice, but I am hoping for some outside resources too. I would love a class on fruit tree care, someplace between New York and Albany. Second best would be a book or comprehensive resource. Third best would be a YouTube link.,2013:site.240505 Mon, 06 May 2013 19:55:14 -0800 apple appletree fruit tree treecare shothotbot Choosing a dwarf fruit tree for a garden I have a large container in my back yard that I want to use for a dwarf tree. The container is at least 3 by 3 feet and gets full sun. It's very important that the tree stay short - four feet is best, five feet would be ok. I want to get tasty fruit from it. I want it to stay healthy and require minimal maintenance. Please give me species recommendations and tips. I like apples but I can get organic apples fairly cheaply so I don't really need an apple tree. I don't like apricots or plums. I do like pears and cherries. I live near Seattle. I will probably almost ignore this tree except for picking the fruit. <br> <br> Would it be worth it for me to go to the local garden store and pay big bucks for a tree as opposed to ordering from territorial seed catalog?,2013:site.238289 Sun, 31 Mar 2013 18:01:04 -0800 Fruit fruittree gardening tree bq Garden of Lost Fruit? In The Fruit Hunters by Adam Gollner, he mentions "Bologna's Garden of Lost Fruit" as a fruit-focused tourist destination (p. 35). Googling for this name only brings up a Google Books snippet of the book, and trying to translate it to Italian doesn't seem to give anything useful either. What is this place called in Italian, and where can I find it?,2013:site.238211 Sat, 30 Mar 2013 04:22:20 -0800 bologna fruit garden gollner italian italy lostfruit Yiggs What ideally would a "juicing" produce box contain? You like to juice! Say you were to purchase a box of seasonal produce to juice for the week, what proportion of greens/fruit/veggies would you want this box to contain? Give me all of the adivice/opinions. I can find recipes on the internet for individual juices, but I'm not sure how to piece it together for, say, a box that would yield 12 oz juice per day for a week.,2013:site.235513 Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:31:11 -0800 fruit greens juice juicing notsteroids producebox seasonal veggies mandymanwasregistered Decent garden center south of Pittsburgh? I'm going to help my brother install a raised bed and some fruit trees/bushes in a couple of weeks. We're probably going to be putting in some raspberries/blackberries, blueberries, and maybe a few fruit trees. I do not want to purchase diseased/generic junk at a big box. Is there a decent garden center in the West Newton area? Bonus points for tipping me off to somebody who can deliver a yard or three of garden soil/compost. Many thanks!,2013:site.235298 Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:13:40 -0800 compost fruit garden Pittsburgh Camofrog Japanese fruit identification What is this Japanese fruit: four brown seeds inside tennis ball size fruit? My mom remembers eating this fruit when she was an exchange student to Japan, in 1966. She can't remember the name, but does remember that it had four shiny brown seeds in the center, round and flat where they rested against each other, about 1/2 inch across. The fruit was the size of a tennis ball and it was sweet. It wasn't citrus, but may have been yellow or orange in color. We have a reasonable selection of fruit from Asia in Seattle, but she hasn't come across this fruit since she lived in Japan.,2012:site.231667 Sat, 22 Dec 2012 11:01:56 -0800 Asia Asianfruit fruit Japan Japanesefruit Margalo Epps Will pomegranate seeds hurt my young daughter? Are pomegranate seeds safe for my 8 year old daughter to eat? I heard that pomegranate seeds were really healthy and I bought them for me, but my 8 year old daughter loves them. She eats spoonfuls of them. But now I'm reading that they have something in them like estrogen? I don't want to hurt her with high estrogen. Do any of you have a better understanding about this than me. <br> <br> I just don't want to be giving her something that could harm her.<br> <br> Thanks.,2012:site.230978 Wed, 12 Dec 2012 14:48:03 -0800 brownbag child estrogen food fruit girl health healthy pomegranate seeds lynnie-the-pooh What is it? What is this <a href="">seed/fruit/nut</a>, found at low elevation in northern California? The two pieces on the left are halves; they came out of the rind pieces at the top right. The smaller thing at lower right is a whole one, without rind. They are very firm, like an apple or more so, and the inside has no strong taste or smell.,2012:site.229576 Sat, 24 Nov 2012 18:26:02 -0800 fruit nut resolved seed bricoleur Why isn't my candied orange peel turning translucent consistently, dammit? Whenever I make candied orange (or other citrus) peel, it always takes longer than recipe-writers seem to expect for the peel to become translucent, and some never becomes translucent at all. (a) What gives? (b) Is the not-translucent peel cool to store and eat? I do the whole multiple-simmerings-in-water thing, but am not super diligent about timing for that, so perhaps that's a factor. I also leave all the pith on---perhaps that, too, makes a difference.,2012:site.229117 Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:41:39 -0800 candying citrus fruit preserving resolved kenko Recipe incorporating preserved cumquats? I preserved a lot of cumquats in liquor. The liquor is nice, but the cumquats themselves too are sour and bitter to eat. Is there a recipe I could use them in? I'm thinking something like a fruitcake, but I don't know how to incorporate them.,2012:site.223323 Wed, 29 Aug 2012 04:54:30 -0800 cumquat everclear fruit kumquat liquor preserves rum vodka Joe in Australia Brooklyn fruits? What fruit tree is blooming behind my apartment in Brooklyn? There's two huge fruit trees in a garden about two doors down from me in my new apartment in Brooklyn. I don't have access to this garden so I can't get close enough to really see, and I don't know anything about what grows and when in this area. <br> <br> The trees themselves are 3-4 stories high, with canopies that span at least 15-20 feet from what I can tell. The fruit is currently the size of a child's fist (about plum sized--though not plum-colored). The leaves are pretty droopy right now, but seem like they are probably kind of longish, thin-ish, oval-ly, about 3-4 inches long. The trees get full, all-day sun. I just moved in here, so I don't know what the trees look like in any other season or before bearing fruit.<br> <br> At first I thought they were peaches because of the color which is, ya know, kinda peachy/pink with yellowish-green less ripened shades, but then I thought, "wait, this isn't Georgia, do peaches even grow here?". Then I thought maybe apples, but it seems maybe too early in the season for them to be that big/colorful? I have no idea.<br> <br> I tried to get a photo, but the distance and the fact that it was taken through a window didn't allow for one of very good quality. <br> <br> Any idea?,2012:site.222071 Sun, 12 Aug 2012 10:37:09 -0800 brooklyn fruit ID identification tree trees greta simone How to clean a book, soiled with fruit flesh (peach)? How can I clean <a href="">this soiled book</a>? The mess was caused by a ripe peach being mushed against the book. This happened yesterday (~30hrs ago), and I didn't notice the mess until it had dried.<br> <br> What you're looking at in <a href="">the pictures</a> is the dried juice/skin/flesh of a peach that got pressed/rubbed against my (new!) book.<br> <br> No juice has spread 'into' the pages and the soiling is contained to the outer edge of the pages (the 'textblock'?). There is some <em>very</em> slight cockling/rippling of the pages on the affected area.<br> <br> How can I clean this book to bring it back to its prior glory? Can I get rid of the cockling?<br> <br> <em>(I've looked at <a href="">the Dartmouth Book Repair Manual</a>, but am a total newbie and don't know which sections I should be looking at… or in what order.)</em>,2012:site.221695 Tue, 07 Aug 2012 03:56:11 -0800 books cleaning fruit resolved fakelvis