Figs, bag October and November.
Gooseberries July.
Grapes, Concord August 20 to November 15.
" Malaga November to March.
" California December to March.
Grapefruit October to July.
Green Gage Plums August 1 to September 15.
Huckleberries July and August.
Melons, Musk, Water, Cantaloupe July 15 to October 15.
Oranges December to May.
Peaches August and September.
Pears August and September.
Pineapples June to September.
Plums, Blue September.
Quinces September, October, and November.
Rhubarb April to September.
Raspberries, Black and Red July and August.
Strawberries May and June.
Tangerines November to February.
The above table, of course, is only a rough outline, as seasons and localities vary so much. The tendency, too, is to extend the season of every fruit indefinitely, as transporting and refrigerating methods improve. Fruit out of season is always expensive, and often unripe and unsatisfactory. Fortunately, when it is at its best it is always abundant and at the lowest price.
Among the dried fruits may be mentioned Prunelles, Apricots, Apples, Blackberries, Cherries, Nectarines, Peaches, peeled and unpeeled, Pears, Plums, Raspberries, Prunes, Figs, and Dates. Canned fruits which may be used for breakfast, with proper preparation, are Pears, Peaches, Apricots, Cherries, Plums, and Pineapples.
Dried fruits may be soaked over night in the water in which they are to be cooked, and simmered slowly, until they are tender, with little sugar or none at all. They may also be steamed, either with or without sugar, omitting the soaking, until tender enough for a straw to pierce. Combinations of dried fruits are often agreeable, and a few raisins will sometimes add a pleasant flavor.
Canned fruits intended for breakfast should be drained and very thoroughly rinsed in cold water, then allowed to stand for some hours in a cool place.
Many of the fruits, both dried and fresh, combine well with cereals.
Care must be taken, however, to follow such acid fruits as Currants, Cherries, Oranges, and Grapefruit, with meat or egg dishes, omitting the cereal, as the starch and acid are very likely to fight with each other when once inside, to the inconvenience of the non-combatant. A fruit which for any reason tastes "flat" can be instantly improved in flavor and tonic quality by a sprinkle of lemon-juice.
Below are given different ways of preparing fruit for the breakfast table.
APPLES
I. When served whole, apples should be carefully washed and rubbed to a high polish with a crash towel. Only perfect fruit should be served in this way, and green leaves in the fruit bowl are especially desirable. Fruit-knives are essential.
II. Pare, quarter, and core good eating apples, removing all imperfections. Serve a few quarters on each plate, with or without sugar. A sprinkle of cinnamon or lemon-juice will improve fruit which has little flavor. A grating of nutmeg may also be used.
III. _a la Conde._--Pare, quarter, and core good cooking apples.
Arrange in rows in an earthen baking-dish, sprinkle with powdered sugar and lemon-juice, pour a little water into the baking-dish, and add a heaping tablespoonful of butter. Bake slowly, basting frequently with the apple-juice and melted butter. When tender, take out, drain, and cool, saving the juice. Serve with boiled rice or other cereal, using the juice instead of milk.
IV. _a la Cherbourg._--Pare and core good cooking apples; halve or quarter if desired. Cook slowly in a thin syrup flavored with lemon-peel and a bit of ginger-root. Serve separately or with cereal.
V. _a la Fermiere._--Pare and core the apples and arrange in a well-buttered baking-dish. Sprinkle slightly with sugar and cinnamon; baste often with melted butter, and serve with boiled rice or other cereal, using the juice instead of milk.
VI. _a la Francaise._--Core and then peel tart apples. Put into cold water from half an inch to an inch in depth, sprinkle with sugar, cover tightly, and cook very slowly on the back part of the range till tender. Flavorings already noted may be added at pleasure. Skim out the apples, reduce the remaining syrup one-half by rapid boiling, pour over the apples, and cool. Serve cold, with or without cereal.
VII. _a la Ninon._--Sprinkle baked apples with freshly grated cocoanut on taking from the oven. Serve on a mound of boiled rice with the milk of the cocoanut.
VIII. _a la Religieuse._--Core cooking apples; score the skin deeply in a circle all around the fruit. Sprinkle a little sugar in the cores, and dissolve a little currant jelly in the water used for the basting. Cook slowly, and baste once with melted butter. The peel is supposed to rise all around the apple, like a veil--hence the name.
IX. _Baked._--Peel or not, as preferred. Sprinkle with melted butter and sugar, baste now and then with hot water, and serve separately or with cereal.
X. _Baked, with Bananas._--Core, draw a peeled and scraped banana through each core, trimming the ends off even, and bake slowly, basting with hot water, melted butter, and lemon-juice. The apples may be peeled if desired. Serve separately, or with cereal.
XI. _Baked, with Cereal._--Pare or not, as preferred, but core. Fill the centres with left-over cooked cereal and bake slowly. Butter, lemon-juice, or any flavoring recommended before can be used to advantage. Any quartered apples, baked or stewed, can be covered with any preferred cereal, and served with sugar and cream.
XII. _Baked, with Cherries._--Core the apples, fill the centres with pitted cherries, either sour or sweet, bake carefully, basting with syrup and melted butter. The apples may be peeled or not. Take up carefully, and serve separately, or with cereal.
XIII. _Baked, with Currants._--Fill the centres with currants, red or white, and use plenty of sugar. Baste with hot water or melted butter.
May be served with cereal if enough sugar is used in baking.
XIV. _Baked, with Dates._--Wash and stone dates, fill the cores of apples with them, sprinkle with powdered sugar and bake, basting with butter, lemon-juice, and hot water. The apples may be peeled or not.
XV. _Baked, with Figs._--Wash the figs carefully, and pack into the cores of apples. Bake, basting with lemon syrup and melted butter.
Serve separately or with cereal.
XVI. _Baked, with Gooseberries._--Cap and stem a handful of gooseberries. Fill the cores of large, firm apples with them, using plenty of sugar. Baste with melted butter and hot water. May be served with cereal if plenty of sugar is used in cooking.
XVII. _Baked, with Prunes._--Select tart apples, and peel or not, as preferred. Core and fill the centres with stewed prunes, stoned and drained. Bake slowly, basting with the prune-juice, or with lemon-juice, melted butter, spiced syrup, or hot water containing grated lemon-peel and a teaspoonful of sherry. Two or three cloves may be stuck into each apple, and removed after the apples are cold.
Serve, very cold, with cream; separately, or with a cereal.
XVIII. _Baked, with Quinces._--Fill the cores of sweet apples with bits of quince and plenty of sugar. Bake slowly, basting with melted butter and syrup. Serve separately or with cereal.
XIX. _Baked, with Spice._--Select very sour apples, and peel or not, as preferred. Core, and stuff the cavities with brown sugar, putting two whole cloves into each apple. Baste with hot water containing a bit of grated lemon-peel and a teaspoonful of sherry, putting a teaspoonful of butter into the liquor as it forms in the dish. Bake slowly, covered, until the apples are very tender. Serve separately or with a cereal. Cinnamon, or nutmeg, or a blade of mace may be used instead of the cloves.
XX. _Boiled._--Boil slowly in a saucepan with as little water as possible. Do not peel. When tender, lift out, add sugar to the water in which they were boiled; reduce half by rapid boiling, pour over the apples, and let cool. Currant-juice, lemon-juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, or a suspicion of clove may be added to the syrup if the apples lack flavor.
XXI. _Coddled._--Core, cut in halves, but do not peel. Lay in the bottom of an earthen dish, sprinkle lightly with sugar, add a little water, and cook very slowly on the top of the stove until tender.
XXII. _Crusts._--Cut stale bread in circles, lay half of a peeled and cored apple on each piece. Bake carefully, basting with melted butter and a little lemon-juice if desired. When the apples are done, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and take from the oven. Serve either hot or cold.
XXIII. _Dried._--Soak over night in water to cover, after washing thoroughly; cook slowly until soft, sweeten, and flavor with lemon.
Raisins, dates, figs, or other dried fruits may be added at pleasure.
XXIV. _Fried._--Core, but do not pare. If very juicy, dredge with flour and fry slowly in hot fat till tender. They are served with pork, or, sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon, with cereals.
XXV. _Glazed._--Core tart apples. Fill the centres with cinnamon, sugar, bits of butter, and a raisin or two. Bake slowly, basting with lemon-syrup. When nearly done, brush with the beaten white of egg and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve separately or with cereal.
XXVI. _In Bloom._--Cook pared red apples in any preferred way, and stew the skin separately, in a little water, until the color is extracted. The tiniest bit of red vegetable coloring may be needed.
Strain this liquid, and pour it over the apples when done. Or, add currant jelly to color the water in which the apples are boiled, or to the water for basting pared baked apples.
XXVII. _In Casserole._--Arrange good cooking apples in an earthen casserole. Cover with a thin syrup made of brown sugar, add a little spice and a bit of orange- or lemon-peel. Bake, very slowly, tightly covered. Serve cold from the casserole.
XXVIII. _In Crumbs._--Cut strips of stale bread to fit stone custard-cups. Dip in milk, and arrange in the moulds. Fill the centres with apple sauce, cover with a circle of the bread, and steam thirty minutes. Serve cold, with cream.
XXIX. _In Rice-Cups._--Line buttered custard cups with cold boiled rice. Fill the centres with apple sauce or cooked quartered apples, mildly tart rather than sweet. Cover with more of the rice. Steam half an hour and let cool in the cups. Turn out on chilled plates and serve with cream. Cream may be used with any cooked apple, if the Secretary of the Interior files no objections. Cereals, other than rice, left over, can be used in the same way. A wreath of cooked apple quarters around the base of each individual mould is a dainty and acceptable garnish.