A of Fruits

Apple

Royal Gala - from pale, golden yellow with slight red blush to solid brightly blushed. Normally slightly sweet than Red Delicious.

Johnathan - half to 3/4 scattered red stripes and blushed. Aromatic, fairly juicy, sweet.

Bonza - green/cream background with 50-60% blush. Sweet.

Golden Delicious - greenish yellow becoming golden yellow. Sweet and aromatic.

Red Delicious - greenish yellow with red stripes or completely crimson to dark red. Sweet, juicy, highly aromatic.

Granny Smith - green to greenish yellow. Hard, crisp, tart flavour.

Fuji - blushed pink/red. Firm, crisp, juicy and a distinct sweet flavour.

Braeburn - glossy, striped red with re blush over yellowish ground cover. Good, sweet, very juicy.

Pink Lady - background green changing to yellow with lovely pink or light red blush. Sweet tart flavour, crunchy.

Sundowner - (see above photo) mainly green to full red with lenticel spotting and little russet around stalk. Storage improves sugar level and makes apple sweet and flavoursome.

Lady Williams - Deep red. Tart flavour earlier in season, sweet and generally improves with storage.

Selection

Choose firm fruit, avoid bruises and blemishes.

Storage

Store in refrigerator in a vented container to retain crispness and freshness.

Uses

Eat fresh, salads or platters. Baked whole, pies, tarts, crumbles, sauces, cakes and muffins.

Preparation

Brush cut surfaces with any type of citrus juice to prevent discolouration.

Cooking

Tart or medium acid varieties are best for cooking. Sweet varieties are more suited to eating fresh or in fruit salads and platters.

Serving suggestion

1. Add chopped apple to salads, particularly potato salad, coleslaw and red cabbage.

2. Fill steamed, hollowed, golden nugget pumpkins with mixture of cooked chopped onion, finely chopped apple, baby spinach leaves, feta cheese and pine nuts, bound together with beaten egg.Top with grated reduced-fat cheese and cook 15 mins at 190C until golden brown.

Freezing

To prepare, peel, core, slice and place in a bowl of water with 1 tbsp lemon juice to prevent browning.

Dry-freezing, unsweetened: Drain and blanch in bowling water for 1 min. Drain and plunge immediately into a bowl of iced water and then drain again and pat dry on paper towels. Pack into containers or bags. Remove the air. Seal, label and freeze. Keep up to 9 months.

Dry-freezing, sweetened: Drain and blanch in bowling water for 1 min. Drain and plunge immediately into a bowl of iced water and then drain again and pat dry on paper towels. Mix with caster sugar, using 1/2 cup to 450g fruit. Pack into containers or bags. Remove the air. Seal, label and freeze. Keep up to 10 months.

Puree freezing: Stew fruit in pan with just enough water to cover the base until pulpy. Sweeten to taste. Beat with wooden spoon until smooth. Puree in blender. Leave to cool. Place in bags, remove air , seal, label and freeze. Keep up to 12 months.

Thaw and serve

Allow to defrost at room temperature for 2 hours before use. Puree can be reheated from frozen for apple sauce.

Apricot

Varieties include: Watkin, Godldrich, Storey, Moorpark, Sundrop, Katy, Trevatt, Hunter, Caselin and Divinity. Skin colour varies from yellowish green to deep orange. Flesh is yellow to deep orange with a large inedible seed.

Selection

Choose plump, firm (but not hard) fruit.

Storage

Store in refrigerator in a vented container to retain crispness and freshness.

Uses

Eat fresh, salads or platters. Baked whole, pies, tarts, crumbles, sauces, cakes and muffins.

Preparation

Brush cut surfaces with any type of citrus juice to prevent discolouration.

Cooking

Tart or medium acid varieties are best for cooking. Sweet varieties are more suited to eating fresh or in fruit salads and platters.

Serving suggestion

1. Add chopped apple to salads, particularly potato salad, coleslaw and red cabbage.

2. Fill steamed, hollowed, golden nugget pumpkins with mixture of cooked chopped onion, finely chopped apple, baby spinach leaves, feta cheese and pine nuts, bound together with beaten egg.Top with grated reduced-fat cheese and cook 15 mins at 190C until golden brown.

Freezing

To peel the fruit, plunge in boiling water for 30 secs, drain and peel off the skins. Alternatively halve and remove pits. Brush flesh with lemon juice to prevent browning.

Dry-freezing, sweetened: Mix with caster sugar, using 1/2 cup to 450g fruit. Pack into containers or bags. Remove the air. Seal, label and freeze. Keep up to 12 months.

Puree freezing: Put fruit in a bowl of boiling water for 30 secs, Drain and peel off the skins. Halve, remove pits and then strew with just enough water to cover the base of the pan until very soft. Puree in blender. Sweeten to taste. Leave to cool. Place in bags, remove air , seal, label and freeze. Keep up to 12 months.

Thaw and serve

Thaw in fridge overnight. Puree can be reheated from frozen.