Weeks after picking it up, I'm still cooking with Waters' book Chez Panisse Fruit. The pears you see above, once they become ripe in a few days, will be added to a salad of endives and walnuts. Something simple from the pears chapter that didn't involve poaching in wine. (Alice loves her wine. It's almost to a point that it may be prudent for someone to slip a piece of paper with the address of an AA meeting on it into her pocket.)Booziness aside, I notice how often I reference it. This weekend I purchased far too many Sun Crest peaches. Like Hercules toiling at his labors I strained to figure out how to solve my dilemma (the burdens I bear!). Instinctively I reached for her book; like brushing my teeth in the morning or checking my e-mail it's habit now.
I didn't find a recipe that matched my mood, though I did bookmark the recipe for pickled peaches. Instead I used a recipe in the plums section and adapted it for a rustic crisp with a few drops of almond extract. The book is ripe with inspiration in its juicy prose; so much that makes your mouth and mind water over the possibilities.When I have fruit that tastes amazing I find myself wanting to share it. Similarly, why not do the same for a book about fruit? In light of this I'll be giving away a copy of Alice Waters', Chez Panisse Fruit.
To play simply leave a comment and tell me what your favorite fruit is. On August 21 I'll reveal the winner. You must be in the United States as I have learned in the past that shipping to Johannesburg or Stokholm will break me. Please only enter once. If you don't have a blogger/gmail account and have to be Annonymous, please sign your name, otherwise how will you claim your fabulous prize if you win?
Blood oranges!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately both they and their juice are difficult to find around here. :(
Mmmmm peaches for me!
ReplyDeleteApples- I love raw apples, apple pie, applesauce, and apple butter.
ReplyDeletemy obsessions vary by season, but OMIGOSH BLACKBERRIES.
ReplyDeleteFavorite fruit? That's so hard... avocados for just eating, taste, and versatility. Italian prune plums for baking. And berries in general for snacking.
ReplyDeleteP.S. You get the creative blog award just for being fun to read and having great pics. Don't feel you have to acknowledge it, it's just there if you want it.
http://lianabrooks.blogspot.com/
When I was tiny, I knew the names of fruits, but I when I wanted cantaloupe, I asked for "fruit."
ReplyDeleteI still like cantaloupe best.
It may sound like an odd choice but I'm partial to black chokeberries.
ReplyDeleteWe had several trees in our yard growing up. My uncle would come up once a year to harvest the berries to make wine. As kids, we liked to experiment with ways to take the edge off the bitterness and sweeten them up. We'd squeeze the juice into lemonade, dip rhubarb into sugar and chokeberry juice. (And it became a tradition to give a Dixie cup full of raw chokeberry juice to the new kid in the neighborhood and watch his face explode.)
It's not something I get to eat a lot of nowadays but I like it mainly for the memories it unlocks.
Mangoes!
ReplyDeleteWell, if we are talking fruits in the technical sense, then there is none but the tomato in my eyes. If we are talking sweet, then a nice juicy nectarine will do just fine.
ReplyDeleteWow, thank you for such a generous contest!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many wonderful fruits - cherries, raspberries, even lemons. So hard to choose. But my absolute favorite has to be ... (drum roll) ... peaches!
I don't live in the US but I can provide you with an US address to send the book to, should I be the lucky one.
Easily blackberries!
ReplyDeleteHimalayan blackberries. Not the commercial grown ones, they're no good. Ones where you wear nasty old jeans and long sleeves on a hot August day because otherwise the thorns will scratch you all to hell.
ReplyDeletePassion fruit, hands down! I only wish I had an easier time finding it around here (anyone have tips for Bay Area sources?). For now I've found a place that sells the frozen pulp, but it's just not the same.
ReplyDeleteOther than Asian Pears, I'd be hard-pressed to name a fruit I *don't* like. And for general eating out of hand, any berry or any fruit with a pit is tops. But that one fruit with a little something special? Figs.
ReplyDeleteBlueberries! Especially when you add them to the currant jelly recipe in Chez Panisse Fruit!
ReplyDeleteCherries! Can't get enough.
ReplyDeleteStrawberries win hands down for me! I love them so much. We're lucky to have access to very sweet strawberries here.
ReplyDeleteNot in the US currently, but do have a US address that you can ship it to. Hoping that's fine with you!
This is so generous of you! My favorite foot are clementines :)
ReplyDeletePeaches!
ReplyDeleteStrawberries!
Pomegranates.
Texas Canteloupes (muskmelons, really)
blueberries, peaches, apples .....
ReplyDeleteit varies w/ the season.
jacquieastemborski AT comcast DOT net
love peaches
ReplyDeletejasondonoho@gmail.com
Home grown yellow nectarines. With the skin a bit tangy, but the meat is sweet. :)
ReplyDeleteRaspberries ! As a kid, we would eat straight from the neighbor's bush till we were run off or made ourselves sick, whichever came first:)
ReplyDeletePink Guava! It is great!
ReplyDeleteIt is a toss-up between fresh pineapple, mango, and dark cherries. Put those three things in front of me and I'll polish all of them off. YUM!
ReplyDeleteallynmc at gmail dot com
Bananas year round, and fresh Georgia peaches in summer!
ReplyDeleteHard question, but I'd have to say mango.
ReplyDeletePeaches , peaches, peaches!
ReplyDeleteI have never met a fruit I didn't like, but in these days of fruit being grown for shipping and storage qualities rather than taste (high Brix), it is increasingly difficult to find the juicy kind of fruit you can remember dripping down your arms as you ate them... Some local peaches come close, very close.
ReplyDeleteI love pomegranates. The word is fun to say. It's the origin of our word for grenade, which is bizarre. We make grenadine from them. Yum. Some people think that pomegranates were the fruit in Garden of Good and Evil that got Adam an Eve kicked out.
ReplyDeleteBut I love to sit and slowly work my way through one, eating them seed by seed, or tossing the seeds on a salad, or crushing a few into my martinis... Love them!
I love all kinds of fruit, but I can always eat cantaloupe melons (love it with prosciutto!).
ReplyDeleteMango or nectarines...
ReplyDeletethe strawberry is one of my oldest favorites. then along came the lemon and the lime. oh my.
ReplyDeleteOranges--any kind! As for your abundance of peaches,they make wonderful smoothies, even if they are overripe.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite fruit changes by season, but some of my favorites are: sour cherries, peaches, nectarines, really good strawberries, and a tart, crisp apple.
ReplyDeletePLUMS! I adore plums in yogurt with cinnamon, in a delightful clafoutis, or simply snacking on them while watching the day whistle by! Mmm, so delicious.
ReplyDeleteI don't like prunes though. How strange.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBlackberries! Definately my favorite!
ReplyDeleteOjai Pixie Tangerines. My grandparents had a tree in their backyard... just smelling orange blossoms reminds me of how my cousins and I would fight over the tangerines and leave the Valencias untouched. Little bursts of seedless flavor, and without the sticky stains of orange juice as they were so easy to peel.
ReplyDeleteStrawberries, fresh off the vine and still warm... Mmmm..jammy strawberries....
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up, we had some trees on the border of one of our fields that my grandma called "wild plums". They were about the size of golf balls, and they had a really great yellow skin that took on little bit of a red blush when they were just perfectly ripe. I've never seen them anywhere else, though, which is sad.
ReplyDeleteThose little fruits were rockstar.
peaches - freshly picked!
ReplyDeleteMangoes...or watermelon!
ReplyDeleteOoh - hard to choose! Dark cherries like Bings are always great and my family is always happy when I make a cherry pie. My favorite recipe is for a lovely spicy dark cherry chutney that goes great with pork!
ReplyDeleteI must admit I LOVE blackberries too - and have a nice small hedge of them in my veggie garden - I'm so lucky!!
mango!
ReplyDeleteblueberries and avocados - on their own or in a salad together with just a light dressing... how can you not be inspired by the smooth, creamy texture of the avocado or the brilliant burst from the blueberry? both are sunshine.
ReplyDeleteMango. Sadly, it's hard to find a good mango here. :(
ReplyDeletecantaluope yummy!
ReplyDeletesuperbutterfly12@yahoo.com
I read through everyone's answers, and now I'm just craving every kind of fruit! I noticed pineapples didn't receive so much love, but they top my list along with strawberries.
ReplyDeleteAsian pears! Juicy, crisp, and sweet...so refreshing and light. I love them.
ReplyDeleteStrawberries and pears! Good with cheese, paired with wines, with other snack-esque foods or in salads... But best of all when eaten all by themselves. Yum.
ReplyDeleteoh man. that's a really tough question!
ReplyDeleteblackberries are high on the list, as are nectarines, and quince. mmmm.... yums!
bananas! hard to pick though!
ReplyDeleteI love most fruits, but I'd have to say my favorite is pluots. We had a pluot tree in the yard growing up, and now I am happy to stock up at the farmer's market every week!
ReplyDeletePears!! Especially when they are part of a pear pie with Gruyere cheese on top.
ReplyDeleteI love persimmons but I'm totally enamored by the cherimoya and wish I didn't have to take out a loan to try one :)
ReplyDeleteStrawberries!! Especially in strawberry-rhubarb pie. My mom says that when I was a kid, I would take a basket of strawberries under the kitchen table and eat them all, neatly lining up the stems on a ledge underneath. Then, when she (for some obscure reason) looked under the table, voila! Who ate those strawberries? lol
ReplyDeleteBlackberries and peaches!
ReplyDeleteBlueberries..fresh ones ofcourse! I love them in anything and everything - smoothies, sauces, pies, cakes...u name it.
ReplyDeleteSiri
I have to pick on favorite? Goodness...peaches in the summer are definitely at the top.
ReplyDeleteCherries.
ReplyDeleteKatrina Deaton
katrina.deaton@yahoo.com
peaches.
ReplyDeleteor wait, strawberries.
no, definitely peaches. millions of peaches. peaches for me. millions of peaches. peaches for free.
Pick just one?? You're tough! I guess it would have to be the raspberries grown by the (literally) little old lady down the road!
ReplyDeleteLove peaches, nectarines, berries--all kinds!
ReplyDeleteYou are so sweet to be sharing, just like fruit!
Piegirl aka MissusPie
I'd have to say blueberries or huckleberries. We used to pick them wild when I was younger.
ReplyDeletecranberries!
ReplyDeleteStrawberries! And despite them giving me hives, I can't resist them!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to pick, but my favorite is a tie between a perfectly ripe cantaloupe and blueberries.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could name some obscure fruit but I'm a mango girl all the way. However, I will declare that Manila (Ataulfo) mangoes are supreme!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love fresh figs, I can get them fresh from the farmers market around June and July, sometimes early August, and thats it. I look forward to it every year!
ReplyDeleteNectarines!
ReplyDeletePeaches!
ReplyDeleteHave to go with golden raspberries. Haven't had them in years, and I can almost taste them right now...
ReplyDeleteKiwi.
ReplyDeleteThe sad part: I'm terribly allergic to them. Every time I eat a couple pieces of Kiwi my mouth, tongue, and lips swell up (and not the cute "bee sting" swell look). It's quite painful...but god I love Kiwi.
Usually I'll try to stay away from it, but every once and a while I'll endure the pain just for the taste of the sweet tangy "forbidden fruit."
asking what my favorite fruit is would be like asking who my favorite child is if i was a mother... it's so hard to pick!
ReplyDeleteif we're talking sweet fruits, raspberries. if it's all fruits, it's a tie for tomatoes and avocados!
Raspberries!!!
ReplyDeletewild strawberries
ReplyDeletei'm horrified that no one has mentioned mangosteens. sure, they might horrify my wallet, but they're phenomenal.
ReplyDeleteworking in a vineyard one summer i became the beneficiary of the most giant and amazing nectarines i'd ever seen from the orchard next door. the orchardist had spliced branches onto a tree to create his 'own' voluptuous nectarine and to this day, nectarines are my favorite fruit of summer:)
ReplyDeleteblueberries, preferably picked by your own hands that morning... or that moment. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to say apples (gala, to be specific), but I also love Rainier cherries and clementines.
ReplyDeleteraspberries, raspberries and more raspberries!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is hard! I'd just die if I had to cut fruit from my diet. Give me dried apricots over a Snickers bar any day.
ReplyDeleteBut favorite? Cherries. On the stem.
They make such a satisfying pop as your teeth break the skin, and the pit is perfectly smooth to the tongue.
But you do have to be careful to not spit the pits down the shirt of nearby unsuspecting boys.
-Margaret D
Lemons! Straight up!
ReplyDeleteFavorite fruit is....grapes, I suppose. Or maybe blackberries. It's definitely a berry of some sort though. Or maybe stone fruit.
ReplyDeleteGah, it's hard to choose.
Berries, always berries. Specifically fresh raspberries from the u-pick on Sauvie Island. And if I'm feeling exotic, goji berries.
ReplyDeleteAn apple a day...
ReplyDeleteFavorite fruit? Hmmm, well Rhubarb is a vegetable, eaten as a fruit so can I pick that? I'm teaching my wife's family to love it too. But I really wish I was living in a place where I could eat figs all the time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for offering the book up. I guess this is a way for you to find all of us lurkers out here.
cheers.
It used to be pears. Lately, cherries. I'd say rhubarb but it requires the addition of sugar... so... apples!
ReplyDeleteI admit it: I can't pick only one.
Your picture is really beautiful on this post.
favorite fruit...hmmm....hard to pick one...can i pick two?...mangoes and um, can i pick three?...mangoes, blackberries and small red grapes, oh and a perfectly ripe nectarine.
ReplyDeleteWhite nectarines. Clean -- no fuzz, crisper than a peach, softer than an apple.
ReplyDeleteERC
Blueberries, no doubt!! I'm eating some right now with toasted pecans... the combo goes so well together for some reason!
ReplyDeleteGooseberries!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Vancouver and when we had an especially cold and rainy winter, I knew there would always be some delicious gooseberries to reward me for my patience.
alphonso mangoes. There's simply nothing else like them.
ReplyDeletePomegranates. First, for flavor and texture (I like to think of them as adult Gushers). Second, I strongly associate them with the vineyard in Amador County where my husband and I were married. Lastly, I love interactive food...food that makes you take your time. It can be a social or personal thing, sitting down to seed pomegranates.
ReplyDeletenectarines!
ReplyDeleteI love a perfectly ripe apricot, they are so hard to find on the East Coast.
ReplyDeleteLimes. Sour, sweet, bitter, a little salty, maybe even a little umami: each ones seems to possess every quality the tongue can detect. The aromatic, floral scent, the snap and brightness that creates an almost painful pleasure. Whether adding zing to savory noodle soups, whipped into thick, mouthwatering curd and served over fresh summer strawberries, or sliced into wedges and sprinkled with salt and hot chili oil, limes possess a snap and brightness that no other fruit can match. Limes taste energetic, vibrant, and alive.
ReplyDeleteThere are two things in the world that taste like green to me: the grassiness of fresh raw corn and the sunny sparkle of limes.
Figs! How can you go wrong stuffing this fleshy beauties with creamy chevre and wrapping them in prosciutto. Dreamy...
ReplyDeleteStrawberries, well, pretty much any berry!
ReplyDeletemy grandmother had this HUGE fig tree in the back yard and for breakfast, we would go pick figs and pour off the fresh cream from our cow's milk.. honey, there is no better...
ReplyDeleteBlackberries!!!
ReplyDeleteOh man, I eat them by the load.
Ohhh I want some now.
It really does vary by season.... Two of my newest obsessions that I've discovered in the past year are quinces and figs - both ancient treasures that I really never appreciated before.
ReplyDeleteHow can you pick just one favorite?
ReplyDeleteFigs, Raspberries, Rainier Cherries, Persimmon, Lychee, Mangosteen, Rhubarb, Blood Oranges, Cara Cara Oranges, Kumquat, Loquat, and Guava!
Each are favorites at their peak of season and availability. . . .
Traveling in Oaxaca, Mexico I had the most incredible tiny bright red juicy cherries - not sure what they were called and haven't seen them since.
I grew up in California (went to UC Davis), and my fave fruit was the Japanese persimmon tree we had in our yard growing up. They are virtually impossible to find in the store (at least ripe ones are), now that I live in Seattle...
ReplyDeleteA good Texas peach with the juice dribbling down my chin.
ReplyDeleteMy current favorite is blueberries, but this is subject to change on a whim; any stone fruit will make me very happy, but so will apples, melons, pineapple ...
ReplyDeleteI think you get the idea; if it's fruit, I'm there!
Raspberries. Good ones always remind me of my childhood when I would eat them right from the bush in our backyard.
ReplyDeletesgp67 at yahoo dot com
Strawberries and Avocado's
ReplyDeleteBlackberries out of NorCal are HEAVEN!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite fruit? Sweet white peaches! Sometimes I have to eat them hunched over the sink or all my clothes would be stained with dribbles of peach juice.
ReplyDeleteHaving spent 5 years in Fresno, California, I learned to have a whole new appreciation for citrus (being from Seattle, it died quietly) - I wait with baited breath every year for Oro Blanco Grapefruit. The sweetest grapefruit ever. Amazing as a sorbet, ridiculous as a topping raw on creme fraiche cheesecake, and above all - eaten out of hand from the Torey Farms stall at the Vineyard Farmer's Market in Fresno on Saturday mornings!
ReplyDeleteMy cravings rotate with the season but if I had to choose just one, Cherries!!
ReplyDeletenmn3-at-u.washington.edu
Figs - right off the tree. Yum. Watermelon is divine if you're lucky enough to find a good one.
ReplyDeleteMangoes, followed very closely by pineapples, kiwis and basically anything but melons!
ReplyDeleteHard to pick! But maybe white peaches.
ReplyDeleteMangoes! Tasty with sticky rice and coconut cream sauce.
ReplyDelete(Hope's my name, btw:))
blackberries.
ReplyDeletei can use them in dessert, or even as a sauce on a steak, very versatile, love their flavor!
I'm the mother of a 10 year old 'Peach Monster', so peachesit is! What a delicious looking book. I have an address in the US, so please may I be considered for the draw? Thank you!
ReplyDeletehi...newbie to your site...just reading tartlette blog from january '07 & she mentioned your site...so here i am...
ReplyDeleteWHITE PEACHES!!!
thanks!
Peaches from the tree in my yard. I just had 3 of various sizes with a little homemade granola. The neighbors tell me the former owner planted the tree from the seed of a delicious peach he ate.
ReplyDeleteStrawberries. Hands down.
ReplyDeleteHmm, probably apples. They are so versatile and I love the crunch of a raw one.
ReplyDeleteRainier Cherries. Picked from trees in Hood River, Oregon.
ReplyDeleteManila mangoes!
ReplyDeletelove me some fresh blueberries!
ReplyDeleteTiny, country strawberries in England during late July and August.They are bright red, thumb-sized gems that taste unlike any strawberry you have had before. They ARE the reason why Strawberries are mentioned so often in classical literature set the UK (all the way back to Shakespeare and beyond!).
ReplyDeleteToughie... mango, crunchy red grapes, watermelon probably all tie for first.
ReplyDeleteI love pretty much all fruits ... but if pressed to pick a favorite I would have to say pomegranates.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe mangoes.
Or fresh raspberries.
Or peaches.
Or whatever happens to be in season ... Clearly I have a problem ;)
peaches, mangoes, apricots and strawberries always give me a great time
ReplyDeleteI love the Packham pear...it's scent is pearier than the peariest pear, and it has a shape that only a mother could love.
ReplyDeleteMangos! My parents are Cuban and I was raised in Miami, so this is a natural choice. With peaches in a close second.
ReplyDeletePeaches hands down - I have a tree full of them just waiting for the perfect time!
ReplyDeletealexisellis@wildmail.com
Rasberries for sure - when I buy them I always have to get two baskets because I know I'll eat one of them on the way home. I have no will power when it comes to rasberries!
ReplyDeleteeding.megan@gmail.com
I don't think I can choose! Raspberries? Fresh figs? New England apples? Blenheim apricots? Seascape Strawberries from Harry's Berries? Fresh picked blueberries? Or my beloved underused plums?
ReplyDeletePitangas are my favorite. I grew up in Brasil, and studied here and in Israel, and am probably moving to Israel next year so my favorites are by countries.
ReplyDeleteUS--bing chairies, raspbarries
Brasil--Pitangas, Starfruit, Mangos fresh off the tree at boarding school
Israel-- pommagranite, dates, dragonfruit.
strawberries :)
ReplyDeleteApples, maybe. Or nectarines. But any fruit, really.
ReplyDeleteHmm....
ReplyDeleteI'd have to say of fresh fruit my favorite is the Mango and dried I like Hunza Raisins the best.
Thanks for the contest!
-Andrew (amw246@gmail.com)