Fruit Category

These are extremely hot.

These golf-ball sized eggplants are more bitter than American eggplants. They come in different colors, but they're usually green with yellow or white striations. They're often used in hot chile or curry dishes. Remove the bitter seeds before using.

This is a sweet green table grape. It is also commonly used for making raisins.

These are seeds from the toddy or jaggery palm. Sap from the same tree is used to make jaggery (a kind of sugar), wine, and vinegar. You have to cook them before you can eat them. People in Indian and Southeast Asia roast and split the seeds, then suck out the yellow gelatinous pulp inside. It's available frozen or canned in Indian and Southeast Asian markets. Be careful if you pick your own: the red fruit surrounding the seeds contains oxalic acid, which can burn your skin and do even more damage if eaten.

To make your own: See the Tomato Juice Recipe posted on Recipesource.com.

This squash has a gorgeous rind, but ho-hum flavor. It makes a good centerpiece, or you can hollow it out and use it as a spectacular soup tureen.

These are long, green, and hot chili peppers. Turks like to grill them and serve them with meat. Don't confuse this fresh pepper with the spice called Turkish pepper.

This grapefruit-mandarin cross looks like a grapefruit in an ill-fitting suit. It's sweet and juicy, though, and simple to eat since the peel comes off easily and the fruit pulls apart into tidy segments that are virtually seedless. Americans pronounce the name "ugly," but in Jamaica, where it's grown, it's pronounced "HOO-glee." Some marketers have tried calling it "Uniq fruit®," but the name hasn't caught on much. Ugli fruit are available from December through April. Most specimens are much uglier than the one pictured here, but don't let that deter you. Select fruits that are heavy for their size, and that give a little when you press them.

This is a dried ground chili pepper used in Turkey on meat dishes. It is medium spicy and has a smoky flavor.

To make your own: See the Mitch's V-6 Vegetable Juice Cocktail Recipe posted on Fabulousfoods.com.

For best flavor, tomatoes should stay on the vine until they're fully ripened. This is a tall order for growers, who prefer to pick tomatoes while they're still green and sturdy, and then gas them with ethylene until they turn red. Vine tomatoes, on the other hand, are picked after they begin to "break" or turn red, which allows them to develop fuller flavor. Expect to pay more for the special handling required to bring these to market.

There are about 50 varieties of watermelon on the market. They all taste about the same, but they vary in size, flesh color, and in whether they are seeded or seedless. Picnic melons are largest, while icebox melons are round and compact. Many stores also carry yellow-fleshed, white-fleshed, and seedless melons. The rind should be heavy for its size, and free of bruises, soft spots, or cuts. To check for ripeness, look at the pale side of the melon (where it rested while it was growing)--it should be yellow, not white. If your market sells halved watermelons, inspect the flesh--it should be firm, brightly colored, and free of white streaks. Seeded watermelons should have dark brown or black seeds. To store, wrap watermelon slices loosely in plastic and refrigerate for up to two days. Uncut watermelon can be stored at room temperature (preferably in a cool spot) for up to two weeks.

This eggplant comes in different shapes and sizes and, except for the exterior color, is interchangeable with their purple cousins, the American eggplant and the Italian eggplant.

This tropical fruit has sweet, creamy pulp that's wonderful in fruit salads or shakes. They arrive in the summer. Since they bruise easily when ripe, they're usually sold while they're still hard. Take them home and let them ripen on the counter for a few days until they yield to a gentle squeeze. Remove the peel and seeds before serving.

This tart apple is great for eating out of hand or for making cider. It keeps for a relatively long time.

This Asian squash-like fruit has a mild flavor similar to a cucumber. It should be peeled, seeded, and cooked before eating. Don't confuse it with sweet melons like Honeydews or cantaloupes, which sometimes also go by the name "winter melons."

These are especially good for baking.

Winter squash come in many sizes and shapes, but all have hard outer rinds that surround sweet, often orange flesh. Winter squash arrive late in the growing season and they have a long shelf life, so they've long been a staple in winter and spring, when other vegetables are harder to come by. Unlike summer squash, winter squash must be cooked. They're usually baked or steamed, and then sometimes puréed. Select squash that are heavy for their size.

These fresh yellow peppers are long, curved, and very hot.

These melons are small, about the size of medium papaya. They taste like cantaloupe, but with firmer flesh.

This category includes yellow straight-neck squash and yellow crookneck squash. They're interchangeable with zucchini.

These are easily confused with milder banana peppers. Sample before using. They are moderately hot.

These are especially good for baking.

This is closely related to the blackberry.

These clusters of tiny grapes are often used as a garnish.

America's most popular summer squash, zucchini can be served raw, sautéed, baked, grilled, and even shredded and baked in a cake. Green zucchini is the most popular, but some grocers also carry a bright yellow variety. There's also a globe-shaped round zucchini that's easy to stuff.