Fruit

Here’s everything you need to know.

“My mother (like many Puerto Rican mothers) has always had a copy of Yvonne Ortiz’s A Taste of Puerto Rico in our kitchen,” writers chef and recipe developer Gabriella Vigoreaux. “I can tell which dishes she’s made the most because the book just naturally falls open to those recipes. Only during quarantine have I started using it myself, marking new territory with soffritto stains on the pages my mother managed to keep pristine all these years. I turn to it when I want to taste my grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s cooking with half of the effort. One of my go-tos is Ortiz’s guava barbecue sauce. It’s a wildly simple (four-ingredient) recipe with a single sentence procedure: ‘Thoroughly combine all the ingredients.’ It takes about five seconds to make but instantly conjures memories of childhood trips to the island, stopping at a kiosko for a pincho de pollo (chicken skewer) and licking the sticky sweet sauce from off my little fingers. My version is nothing like Ortiz’s, but it brings me back just the same. I’ve slathered this sauce on ribs and whole fish and used it as a glaze for pork belly, but I will always like it best with chicken. This is just to say, you might want to double it.”

We’ve got three techniques for making the most of late-season peaches, berries, and melons.

This is your last chance for peaches—so use them wisely.

It’s destined for greater things than the garbage. 

The zestiest chicken thighs, a peachy chaat, and more reader favorites from this month.

From pie to parfait, cobbler to cocktails, here are 43 ways to cook and eat all the peaches this summer.

These Bangladeshi sweet fritters are fluffy and tender on the inside, crispy and craggy on the outside.

When the plantains are pan-fried, the outside caramelizes and forms a hard shell while the inside becomes soft and custardy.

A concentrated spiced simple syrup to flavor any cold brew.

Pancakes! Cobbler! Fancy beverages!

To make chitranna, which translates to “mixed rice" in Kannada, bright yellow rice, colored with turmeric, is sautéed in oil that's been seasoned with black mustard seeds, curry leaves, chile, the umami-rich spice asafetida, and urad dal and chana dal, two lentils that add a nutty taste and crunchy texture. The dish is finally garnished with fried peanuts, grated coconut, cilantro, and a generous amount of lemon juice, resulting in a symphony of savory, sour, sweet, spicy, and herbaceous notes.

Palya is a classic South Indian recipe usually composed of a single vegetable chopped into bite-size pieces and sautéed in oil that has been seasoned with black mustard seeds, asafetida, chile, and curry leaves. The dish is then finished with lemon juice, grated coconut, and cilantro. This same preparation is referred to by different names such as thoran or poriyal depending on which state in South India you are in. Seasonal produce is preferred, but the combination makes even the saddest of vegetables at the back of your fridge sing. 

Turn juicy-sweet peaches into creamy sorbet, no ice cream maker required. 

Save the peaches!

Juicy ripe peaches, raw sweet corn, and roasted peanuts come together in this peak summer snack—a perfect way to refresh after a day in the sun.

The zest and juice of lime and lemon deliver a simple but powerful flavor-packed punch to this everyday staple.

A member of the larger umbrella group of easy fruit desserts, a buckle features tons of fruit barely held together by tender cake. We're talking so much fruit that the cake buckles around it, hence the name. There are many regional buckle variations, and not all have a streusel topping. This particular recipe, however, has got lots of big crumbs—and we think you’ll be glad that’s the case. 

This recipe is Tyna Hoang's homage to Hanoi’s classic Chả Cá Lã Vọng, a dish of fried fish seasoned with turmeric, shrimp paste, and dill that’s served over vermicelli with lots of herbs and nước chấm, a fish sauce dressing. Her simplified version is married with the summer roll for a quick and refreshing nod to an otherwise perfect traditional recipe. In Vietnam, summer roll dishes are usually served deconstructed with platters of crisp greens, herbs, and accoutrements so guests can assemble their own rolls (post COVID-19, of course).

Summer’s most accessible cocktail is much like the season itself: easy, relaxing, refreshing, sunny, and filled with fruit and flavor.

This beautifully swirled no-churn ice cream has berries and cream vibes.

This no-churn ice cream is tangy, lime-y, and maaaybe even healthy.

Toss your unripe summer peaches and plums with herbs, scallions, and a vinegary dressing inspired by the Chinese dish lao hu cai.

As in: Spoon it on grilled meats, fish, or vegetables. You can’t lose.