Favorite Varieties

[zoramargolis]

This evening, as an appetizer, we had some La Quercia prosciutto with Sharlyn melon. (Really delicious!) Cranshaw used to be my favorite melon, but for a number of years now, I have been of the conviction that nothing can surpass a ripe Sharlyn. The one we had this evening was perfect. The Sharlyn is oval, with a yellow-green, netted shell and white, fine textured flesh. At it's best, it has the smooth, melt-in-the-mouth qualities of a Cranshaw, juicy and very sweet with an intensely complex flavor having floral and lychee notes. As with all melons, the way to choose them is find one that yields to gentle pressure and has an intense aroma. Don't be fooled and buy a casaba or canary melon-- they look somewhat similar, but taste nothing like a Sharlyn. I found mine at the Giant in downtown Bethesda.

I have other favorite varietals, especially when it comes to tomatoes, but other than Sungold yellow cherry tomatoes, I haven't had any good ones yet this year.

I noticed that Wheatland Farm has started bringing cucumbers to Dupont--but didn't have any of the Persian/Middle Eastern variety, which is my favorite.

Care to contribute your favorite varieties and why you prefer them?

[ol_ironstomach]

Reminded of a comment that Don made in a recent beverage article, has anyone found the much-anticipated Alphonso mangoes yet?

[The Hersch]

Speaking of MANGOES (I hope this link works). Maybe next year we'll be feasting on the Indian mangoes Madhur Jaffrey invokes so beautifully.

[Poivrot Farci]

has anyone found the much-anticipated Alphonso mangoes yet?

The importation of whole Alphonso mangoes is illegal, consquences of fears of foreign bugs found within and curdled dimplomacy. Canned plup can be readily found in Indain stores.

[qwertyy]

I love the mini bananas found in almost every tropical country around the world. I never even imagined a banana could taste juicy before having one of these delicious little items.

And every time I return to the US, I excitedly buy up the mini-bananas I find at Fresh Fields... only to be sorely disappointed by bananas that taste exactly like the large ones.

Somebody's got to start importing these tasty babies. I could probably support the trade on my own!

[The Hersch]

The importation of whole Alphonso mangoes is illegal

As the Madhur Jaffrey article I linked to above and even the NYT article you link to make plain, this is no longer true.

[thistle]

I'm going to abstain on the melons, cause I don't like them (I LOVE apricots, but I can't grow them here), I have lots of figs, but I'm still on the fence with them-they just don't taste like Fig Newtons.

I will second the Sungold tomatoes, that's the only one growing for me this summer, it's at least 7' high, & I've been picking a handful everyday for a couple of weeks.

That's it for me-my 'Tasty Jade' cucumber is misshapen, but I have harvested a few 'Biker Billy' jalapenos, I'm waiting for the habaneros to ripen. I have lots of herbs- for the veggies I buy at the store & market-maybe next year, my garden will be better...

[tfbrennan]

More prosaically, Pink Lady apples. Tart and sweet at the same time. Available winter through spring.

[ol_ironstomach]

Maybe next year we'll be feasting on the Indian mangoes Madhur Jaffrey invokes so beautifully.

Thanks for posting that link; I hadn't checked on its seasonality. April and May (sometimes late March), so perhaps next year.

[The Hersch]

More prosaically, Pink Lady apples. Tart and sweet at the same time. Available winter through spring.

That's the fall crop, though, right? They are wonderful apples, splendid for eating out of hand and also for pies and tarts.

[hillvalley]

Donught peaches. I'm not a huge peach fan but give me a donught peach and I am a happy woman

[tfbrennan]

More prosaically, Pink Lady apples.... Available winter through spring.

That's the fall crop, though, right?

Yes, US-grown (California up through Northwest) are harvested from mid-October on. New Zealand and other Southern Hemisphere ones would arrive in the States early spring through summer. It seems I've only come across US ones in the grocery stores.

[zoramargolis]

Donught peaches. I'm not a huge peach fan but give me a donught peach and I am a happy woman

I am not that crazy about white peaches--they can be too sweet, without enough acid for balance. But a ripe, drippingly juicy mid-summer yellow peach is the queen of the stone fruits. Actually, I love them all, but peaches are my favorite.

Apricots are almost always a disappointment--too often they are mushy, not sweet enough, and lacking in juice. I am completely spoiled however. Back in the late 1970's, we moved into a small cottage in Santa Monica that had a very old, neglected apricot tree in the backyard. The house had been built in the early 30's and the tree undoubtedly was planted soon after the house was built. No idea what variety it was. It had not been pruned or fertilized in many years, and part of the tree was rotted and hollowed out, but it still leafed out. We pruned it some, and provided some fertilizer spikes and watered it, and the next year we had a massive crop of fruit. The branches were so laden that we had to prop them up with two-by-fours. And the fruit, when it ripened had exquisite, ambrosial aroma, floral and spicy and comples, sweet flavor. When you bit into one of the apricots, the juice ran down your chin and arm. We indulged ourselves in what was for us the height of decadence--sprawled in lounge chairs under the tree, reaching up and plucking them off the low-hanging branches and cramming them into our greedy mouths. I made tarts and a ton of jam, too. We got another crop like that the next year, and then nothing. Those final seasons were the tree's last hurrah. But every apricot I've eaten since, has been a disappointment.

[thistle]

Wow, what a way to go, if you're an apricot tree!-I bet you really enjoyed its last harvest, I think ripe apricots fresh from the tree have got to be one of life's greatest treats.

I just found out that the nursery I've purchased all my fig trees from (for the last 2 years), Paradise Nursery, in VA Beach, will be closing up shop next year. I have 6 figs now, hope I can get a few more from them before they close. I have a great admiration for folks in the nursery & plant business, it's difficult, not always financially successful, you have to LOVE plants & try to be a good businessperson, I hope someone will buy their business & keep us in figs...!

[ol_ironstomach]

In case they don't, you might take a look at Edible Landscaping waaaay out in Afton, VA. One of my friends ordered several berry bushes from them a few years ago and has been very pleased.

[Ilaine]

Apricots are almost always a disappointment--too often they are mushy, not sweet enough, and lacking in juice.

Got some very tasty apricots last week at the Annandale Farmers Market. Didn't get the name of the grower but she's from Pennsylvania, probably does the rounds. Also had nice Santa Rosa plums.

Which reminds me, Vintage Virginia Apples is having a summer fruit tasting this Saturday, August 5. I've never made it to this before but intend to make it this time.

http://www.vintagevirginiaapples.com/

We manage to make it to their apple tastings and other apple events most years. I bought from them an Esophus Spitzenberg, a Roxbury Russet, an Albemarle Pippin and a Hewe's Crab -- it will be three years this autumn. The Hewe's Crab is bearing now, the Esophus Spitzenberg has a couple of apples, the Roxbury Russet is still tiny and pathetic, and one of my kids mowed down the Albemarle Pippin, so I need to buy another.

They do have very nice trees, very nice apples, and are just lovely people, very generous with time and advice, and give good value for money.

Planning on making crabapple jelly this week, will report.

In case they don't, you might take a look at Edible Landscaping waaaay out in Afton, VA. One of my friends ordered several berry bushes from them a few years ago and has been very pleased.

The people at Edible Landscaping are good people, motivated and honest.

Their nursery is not too far to drive if you want to make sure what you purchase from them travels in your own gentle care. I have never used their shipping, so can't advise there.

If y'all want to talk nurseries, I've used many. The two above are excellent but, as I said, never used their shipping. I am willing to discuss other nurseries if anybody wants to, and it's not off topic.

I have 6 figs now, hope I can get a few more from them before they close. I have a great admiration for folks in the nursery & plant business, it's difficult, not always financially successful, you have to LOVE plants & try to be a good businessperson, I hope someone will buy their business & keep us in figs...!

What variety of figs do you have, and like?

We have tried Hardy Chicago, Celeste, and Brown Turkey.

Hardy Chicago seems to be the best producer here.

We have them growing against a brick wall facing south and they do not die back in the winter.

[thistle]

Figs-I have Conadria, Celeste, Sandy's Strawberry Verte, Violette, & 2 Mystery figs (unlabelled)-all are thriving & fruiting.The folks at Paradise ship EXTREMELY well (I ordered last year, too) & when I ordered back in the spring, told me they'd be at Green Springs Garden later that spring for a market, offered to bring my plants up, so I could save on shipping & get bigger plants. When I arrived, hot & sweaty after a long soccer morning, I saw 2 gorgeous figs, w/ a SOLD tag & my name on them! I also picked up a dwarf Cavendish banana & the Sungold tomato plant that has been my star performer this summer. I'm trying to figure out a day trip down to VABeach to pick up more figs before they close up shop.

Another of my favorite nursery discoveries of the year is Della Conway of J & D's Backyard Nursery (J & D's Backyard Nursery )for Japanese maples, I've purchased several beautiful trees from her, & if I can find room, will continue to get more...

[zoramargolis]

I have to comment on Tiogo's yellow corn.

I usually prefer the white corn varieties: Silver Queen/King, anything with Queen in the name. Just love those types and have found the best ever at Dupont.

But, as I noted upthread, I went to Del Ray this weekend and bought a few ears at Tiogo. It was yellow, and most not as big and hearty as others. BUT WOW, has to be the sweetest corn I've ever tasted.

The super-sweet varieties you are describing have really taken over in the past twenty years. These days, there's not too much talk about "heirloom varieties" of corn. In years past, the reality of corn was that within an hour of picking, corn had begun to lose it's sweetness as the natural process of the sugar's transformation to starch began. By the time one bought corn at a supermarket, it tasted completely starchy. The only hope to get good corn, if you didn't grow it yourself, was to buy from a farm stand that would sell corn the same day it was picked. When I first started vegetable gardening, I had never tasted really fresh-picked corn. I thought that farm-stand corn was amazing. However, knowing about how quickly sugar was transformed into starch, we developed a method for dealing with home-grown corn. I think we used to grow Golden Bantam, which was a popular old Burpee variety. First, I would start a big pot of water on the stove. When the water was boiling, we'd go out to the garden, pick some corn, shuck it into the compost pile on the way into the house, and it would be in the cooking pot within a minute or two of being picked, and after a minute or two in boiling water, it would be on our plate. We would eat corn as a separate course, so that we could focus on it without distractions. It was astonishing-- sweet, crisp, juicy and full of flavor, unlike anything I had ever previously tasted that was called corn-on-the-cob. I remember my husband saying: "It's too sweet. We should be eating this for dessert."

Today's super-sweet varieties are really good. I'm not knocking them at all. It's possible to buy it, picked days earlier, and even save it for a few days in the refrigerator and it is still good. And farmers' market corn, picked the day before, is wonderful. But it's still nowhere near as exquisite as home-grown corn, eaten within minutes after being picked.

[chef4cook]

Just an open question.

[lackadaisi]

Sweet potatoes. Diced. Put in ziplock with very small amount of olive oil, salt and pepper. Put on cookie sheet and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 425, flipping halfway through.

[giant shrimp]

local summer tomatoes. peel them and place them in a gratin dish on a bed of fresh basil, drown them in oliver oil and give them some sea salt. start them in a 375-degree oven for 15 to 30 minutes, then turn the heat down to 350 and bake them until they are carmelized, which can take another hour or hour and a half. i learned this in alice waters. she calls it a confit. i store them in the freezer, which is why i have so many gratin dishes, and used up the last one a couple of weeks ago. so now i will just have to wait, probably until july, a nagging disappointment every time i visit the farmers market, which these days i imagine, without having actually been since the weather snapped, is about as welcoming as siberia, with vendors reaching into their chests for meat and customers lugging around more root vegetables and apples than is healthy. (but it did feel good when my feet and hands turned numb the other day waiting for the first bus that was not afraid to negotiate some of the city's icy northwest slopes, only, though, because it had been a while. when the temperature fell into the teens, i used to like to go out and try to outwalk the cold.)

[porcupine]

Fennel. Raw; braised w/ chicken stock and finished w/ Parmesan; roasted in the oven slowly until lightly caramelized; in a soup... whatever. Underrated and underused vegetable. Shockingly easy and fun to grow, too. And ornamental in the garden.

[Al Dente]

Roasted frequently lately:

Beets (red and golden wrapped in foil)

Brussels Sprouts

Cauliflower

Garlic

All of them done simply: ExVirgOO, s&p.

[brettashley01]

Brussel sprouts, v/ light hand w/ olive oil, salt pepper, sometimes nutmeg or cumin if i'm feeling saucy. Also roasted garlic- just wrap in foil, throw in 425 degree oven for about 45 to an hour. Eggplant, spread with the garlic, plus s&p. YUM. I love roasted veggies...

And yes, I just used "veggies." Deal.

[demandalicious]

Sweet potatoes.

Ditto. I like to slice them up into thin strips and toss with olive oil, fresh garlic, rosemary and s&p - then roast at 425 for about 30-40 minutes, turning once.

I also dig roasted asparagus with sea salt, heirloom tomatoes in the hot summertime with yogurt and espelette (thanks, j), steamed broccoli with lemon juice, and lately, kale cooked up collard greens style with cayenne, lemon juice or vinegar + onions and garlic - served with a side of my vegan hoppin' john (brown rice, black eyed peas, green onions and cherry tomaters).

[Al Dente]

How could I forget? My wife does broccoli rabe about 50 times a week. Sauteed with lots of fresh coarsely chopped garlic and red pepper flakes. I do enjoy it, but I could use a little more variation in my life. Spice of life, and all that...

[Pat]

Lima beans are my favorite vegetable, but they are not in season very long and are hard to find. Usually I buy them frozen, but the only truly acceptable kind is Birds Eye fordhook. They seem to be increasingly difficult to find. I don't really like dried limas very much.

I boil lima beans in a saucepan until just tender or steam in the microwave. When I can get fresh limas and fresh corn at the same time, I make succotash. Either way, I like to serve them with butter and black pepper.

I know many people don't like limas, and I was amazed that my husband and I were already married before I realized that they were his favorite vegetable too .

[JPW]

I've been on a real greens kick recently - everything from big momma kale to little baby arugula and everything in between. A quick saute to wilt and away you go.

[Pat]

I've been on a real greens kick recently - everything from big momma kale to little baby arugula and everything in between. A quick saute to wilt and away you go.

I like to saute some garlic with the greens and sprinkle some balsamic vinegar in when they're finishing up.

[bilrus]

How could I forget? My wife does broccoli rabe about 50 times a week. Sauteed with lots of fresh coarsely chopped garlic and red pepper flakes. I do enjoy it, but I could use a little more variation in my life. Spice of life, and all that...

Marriage and vegetables can do that to you.

[xcanuck]

I *love* steamed/lightly sauteed fiddlehead greens with a little salt. There's a creek near my parents' place in Ottawa and every spring my dad and I would go down there and harvest the wild fiddleheads that grew there. I have never seen them in a store. Maybe the farmers market this spring, eh?

Three pea salad - raw sugar snap peas, blanched snow peas, and fresh (shelled) sweet green peas. Tossed with a little sesame oil, mirin, and maybe some pearl onions. A perfect foil to a grilled steak.

Corn on the cob. On the grill or quickly boiled. Pass the floss, please....

I wish summer was here....

[Barbara]

I *love* steamed/lightly sauteed fiddlehead greens with a little salt. There's a creek near my parents' place in Ottawa and every spring my dad and I would go down there and harvest the wild fiddleheads that grew there. I have never seen them in a store. Maybe the farmers market this spring, eh?

I've seen them at Dean & Deluca.

[zoramargolis]

I *love* steamed/lightly sauteed fiddlehead greens with a little salt. There's a creek near my parents' place in Ottawa and every spring my dad and I would go down there and harvest the wild fiddleheads that grew there. I have never seen them in a store. Maybe the farmers market this spring, eh?

The fern variety that provides choice edible fiddleheads does not grow this far south. However, for the past couple of years, Trader Joe's has been selling Canadian fiddleheads in season. Mind you, they are reasonably priced, but you have to get them when they are just stocked on the shelf or they won't be fresh.

[porcupine]

Pea shoots!

[Smita Nordwall]

Lima beans are my favorite vegetable, but they are not in season very long and are hard to find. Usually I buy them frozen, but the only truly acceptable kind is Birds Eye fordhook. They seem to be increasingly difficult to find. I don't really like dried limas very much.

I boil lima beans in a saucepan until just tender or steam in the microwave. When I can get fresh limas and fresh corn at the same time, I make succotash. Either way, I like to serve them with butter and black pepper.

I know many people don't like limas, and I was amazed that my husband and I were already married before I realized that they were his favorite vegetable too .

Fresh lima beans!!!!! I love them too. I get them at farmers markets, although you are right, not many farmers grow them. Level Green farms sells at several Fairfax County markets and usually have them in August. I splurge then and freeze my own.

Asian eggplant, peppers and heirloom tomatoes from my garden win my vote as well.

This time of the year, all the greens I can cook. One of fave ways: with loads of garlic and white beans.

[synaesthesia]

Green beans with mini dried shrimp and garlic

Green beans or spinach sauteed with garlic

Spinach Korean-style - soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar

Broccoli with oyster sauce

but the best is watercress with oyster sauce

[Pat]

Fresh lima beans!!!!! I love them too. I get them at farmers markets, although you are right, not many farmers grow them. Level Green farms sells at several Fairfax County markets and usually have them in August. I splurge then and freeze my own.

I hadn't thought about that, but investing in a bulk purchase of lima beans when they're in season and freezing them myself sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the tip.

[Anna Blume]

I can't imagine life without onions and other allium family members, so they'd have to come first on my list.

Remember, folks, the time for ramps is not far away.

If we're including tomatoes and produce treated as a vegetable, mushrooms are a close second. Life without oyster, enoki and other very subtle, delicate varieties would be fine. Give me porcini.

Next, red kuri winter squash, though I adore plale yellow sweet potatoes, too.

Asparagus used to be my favorite green vegetable, but I've grown tired of it now that it is available all year round. I still go nuts when the stubby, glossy, red-tipped ones appear at the farmers market. Anyone unimpressed by the Zuni Cafe Cookbook hasn't made the asparagus soup with (onions and) pancetta hours after returning from Mt. Pleasant or Dupont Circle.

Now, I'd have to say artichokes are my favorite green vegetable. Any and every way, though vignarola, a Roman vegetarian stew with artichokes, fava beans, peas, potatoes, olive oil, mint and, yes, onions, is a new favorite with lots of crusty bread and white wine; a plate of prosciutto and olives first. Strawberries (another vegetable) for dessert.

Arugula and spinach are my favorite leafy greens and eggplant my favorite ohhh, white, lavendar, purple or mottled spongy thing to fry, sauté, roast or bake as long it is soaking up other flavors that make it taste better a day or two later.

Normally, I'd say green beans are the most boring and dispensable. Never buy them at the supermarket, or hardly ever. However, the Jades from New Morning (the farm) are wonderfully flavorable and eating a good salade nicoise is a summertime ritual. The biggest indulgence, though, are the haricot verts from Spring Valley Farm that Eli Cook sells for $18 a pound. Stew them in olive oil and garlic forever until they're army green mush. Plenty of salt. Don't even bother with the traditional tomatoes.

[Heather]

Brussels sprouts, roasted with lardons.

Summer tomatoes eaten out of hand. Or if I want to get fancy, sliced and dressed with coarse salt, a drizzle of good olive oil, and a little basil chiffonade.

[legant]

Roasted spaghetti squash w/ Gruyère and fresh ground pepper

[Poivrot Farci]

As the Madhur Jaffrey article I linked to above and even the NYT article you link to make plain, this is no longer true.

Not the way I read...

The Indian wing of DHL even offers a courier service specifically for mangoes, although the United States has long been absent from its list of destinations because of its ban on Indian mangoes. But the ban should soon be lifted as part of a deal struck by President Bush on his March visit to the country, which will also give India easier access to nuclear technology. Quid pro quo, as far as many Indians are concerned.

Now, however, you may eat it.

[jparrott]

I noticed today that Cooks Illustrated #88 (current issue) advocates 1Tbsp of table salt (==1/2fl oz.==1/16 cup) per gallon of water for blanching/boiling green vegetables, whereas The French Laundry Cookbook advocates 1 cup of table salt per gallon of water. I'm pretty strongly with Dr. Keller on this, but I thought it was notable.

And I seem to remember that Heston Blumenthal says speed of cooking or amount of salt is not a necessary condition for preserving greenness, but I don't remember where or when.