Rome Beauty February — Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, Yellow New- ton, Stayman Winesap March — Yellow Newton, Stayman Winesap, Willow Twig April and May — Stayman Winesap, Willow Twig, Yellow Newton. 174 MOST-FOR-YOUR-MONEY COOK BOOK So don't be satisfied with just "apples," like those recipe writers who say "add a cup offish" without saying what kind and knowing why that kind is best. No summer apples are mentioned in this Consumers Union list, but local varieties known as "Harvest apples" are fine, though usually they won't keep. Most apples improve by long keeping, in fact "a last year's apple" is demanded by epicurean orchardists and readers of Proust. To our mind there's no better Sunday night supper than snow apples and a jug of sparkling hard cider, each trying to outsnap the other. Snow apples are so small and delicate they're often eaten seeds and all, so "there ain't gonna be no core." And for jelly, the ugly little crabapple that's much too puckery to gnaw raw, is a natural. Any other apple sliced into beer soup, or made into a Waldorf Salad with celery and nuts, is something to brag about. Apricots. Best, of course, are tree-ripened. Since they're perish- able they're best buys only near where grown in California, Oregon and Washington. The Persians call them "sun eggs," which shows they shouldn't be picked green. Avocados. (Alligator Pears.) Called "tropical salad fruit." There are many different kinds, those from California trade-named G?/avo (California and avocado) those from Florida, Flavocado. Rough, thick-skinned ones are fullest of flavor. When ready for eat- ing they must be soft as butter (in fact, they are fresh vegetable butter). Don't buy them when bruised or discolored. Cheapest in fall and winter. Bananas. Ripe bananas are best and can be bought advanta- geously when dealers can't keep a big ripe stock over the week-end. Must be fat and juicy with brown spots proving they're sugary. Don't be afraid of black skins if the fruit is sound inside. Bananas, by the way, are the only fruit we know that actually improves by being picked green. Yet we remember the rarer flavor of the natu- rally ripened fruit in Brazil. Berries. Must be fresh and plump. Red raspberries mildew quickly and should be used at once. Always have the seller turn out the berries so you can see what's on the bottom, and remember that "short pack" cheating in measure is common sharp practice. THE PICK OF THE PUSHCART 1 75 Never buy "a pig in a poke." This business of buying sight-unseen, for which we fall too easily in our hurried, harried struggle for any life at all, only profits the seller. Berries with their caps on are likely to be green and juiceless. Make sure they're plump and juicy, but not wet and soggy, for then you'll waste more than you'll use. Your eye quickly learns to detect ripeness by full color and it's always a good idea to taste a berry or two if the seller is willing; and if they're any good at all, he is, for it pays him to let you prove "the pudding" by eating thereof. Blueberries are a better buy than drier, too seedy huckleberries. Cherries. Sour cherries for cooking, sweet ones for eating. They must be bright and shiny, fat, yet firm. Look out for worms and dull-skinned ones, which show they're too long off the tree.

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Rome Beauty February — Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, Yellow Newton, Stayman Winesap March — Yellow Newton, Stayman Winesap, Willow Twig April and May — Stayman Winesap, Willow Twig, Yellow Newton. So don't be satisfied with just "apples," like those recipe writers who say "add a cup offish" without saying what kind and knowing why that kind is best. No summer apples are mentioned in this Consumers Union list, but local varieties known as "Harvest apples" are fine, though usually they won't keep. Most apples improve by long keeping, in fact "a last year's apple" is demanded by epicurean orchardists and readers of Proust. To our mind there's no better Sunday night supper than snow apples and a jug of sparkling hard cider, each trying to outsnap the other. Snow apples are so small and delicate they're often eaten seeds and all, so "there ain't gonna be no core." And for jelly, the ugly little crabapple that's much too puckery to gnaw raw, is a natural. Any other apple sliced into beer soup, or made into a Waldorf Salad with celery and nuts, is something to brag about. Apricots. Best, of course, are tree-ripened. Since they're perishable they're best buys only near where grown in California, Oregon and Washington. The Persians call them "sun eggs," which shows they shouldn't be picked green. Avocados. (Alligator Pears.) Called "tropical salad fruit." There are many different kinds, those from California trade-named Calavo (California and avocado) those from Florida, Flavocado. Rough, thick-skinned ones are fullest of flavor. When ready for eating they must be soft as butter (in fact, they are fresh vegetable butter). Don't buy them when bruised or discolored. Cheapest in fall and winter. Bananas. Ripe bananas are best and can be bought advantageously when dealers can't keep a big ripe stock over the week-end. Must be fat and juicy with brown spots proving they're sugary. Don't be afraid of black skins if the fruit is sound inside. Bananas, by the way, are the only fruit we know that actually improves by being picked green. Yet we remember the rarer flavor of the naturally ripened fruit in Brazil. Berries. Must be fresh and plump. Red raspberries mildew quickly and should be used at once. Always have the seller turn out the berries so you can see what's on the bottom, and remember that "short pack" cheating in measure is common sharp practice. THE PICK OF THE PUSHCART 1 75 Never buy "a pig in a poke." This business of buying sight-unseen, for which we fall too easily in our hurried, harried struggle for any life at all, only profits the seller. Berries with their caps on are likely to be green and juiceless. Make sure they're plump and juicy, but not wet and soggy, for then you'll waste more than you'll use. Your eye quickly learns to detect ripeness by full color and it's always a good idea to taste a berry or two if the seller is willing; and if they're any good at all, he is, for it pays him to let you prove "the pudding" by eating thereof. Blueberries are a better buy than drier, too seedy huckleberries. Cherries. Sour cherries for cooking, sweet ones for eating. They must be bright and shiny, fat, yet firm. Look out for worms and dull-skinned ones, which show they're too long off the tree.

Most for your money cookbook