Hello All!

I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know
2 or 3 people who agree with me.

--


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"James Silverton" > wrote in news:Ougol.972
:

> Hello All!
>
> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
> agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know
> 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>


I like both.


There is nothing like picking a fig off of a tree, carefully avoiding the
milky white sap, and splitting that little sucker and slurping in the taste
of sunshine!!!!

I could stand at a fig tree all day and do it...... if'n the farmers didn't
take sooooo many pot shots at me!!!


Dried figs, soft or hard, are only best for cooking.



--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia

Killfile all Google Groups posters.........

http://improve-usenet.org/

http://improve-usenet.org/filters_bg.html

PL wrote on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:24:12 +0000 (UTC):

>> Hello All!
>>
>> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how
>> many people agree with me that dried figs are much superior
>> to fresh ones? I do know 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>>
> I like both.

> There is nothing like picking a fig off of a tree, carefully
> avoiding the milky white sap, and splitting that little sucker
> and slurping in the taste of sunshine!!!!

> I could stand at a fig tree all day and do it...... if'n the
> farmers didn't take sooooo many pot shots at me!!!

> Dried figs, soft or hard, are only best for cooking.

In other words, you don't agree with me :-)

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"James Silverton" > wrote in news:ETgol.975
:

> PL wrote on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:24:12 +0000 (UTC):
>
>>> Hello All!
>>>
>>> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how
>>> many people agree with me that dried figs are much superior
>>> to fresh ones? I do know 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>>>
>> I like both.
>
>> There is nothing like picking a fig off of a tree, carefully
>> avoiding the milky white sap, and splitting that little sucker
>> and slurping in the taste of sunshine!!!!
>
>> I could stand at a fig tree all day and do it...... if'n the
>> farmers didn't take sooooo many pot shots at me!!!
>
>> Dried figs, soft or hard, are only best for cooking.
>
> In other words, you don't agree with me :-)
>



Not at all.




--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia

Killfile all Google Groups posters.........

http://improve-usenet.org/

http://improve-usenet.org/filters_bg.html

James Silverton > wrote:

> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
> agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know
> 2 or 3 people who agree with me.

If I had to choose one I'd choose neither.

-sw

On Sun 22 Feb 2009 11:06:38a, James Silverton told us...

> Hello All!
>
> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
> agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know
> 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>

I agree with you. There are several varieties of dried figs I prefer over
fresh. One exception, if I could find fresh brown turkey figs, I think they
make the best fig preserves.

--
Wayne Boatwright

"One man's meat is another man's poison"
- Oswald Dykes, English writer, 1709.

On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:05:00 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
> wrote:

>On Sun 22 Feb 2009 11:06:38a, James Silverton told us...
>
>> Hello All!
>>
>> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
>> agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know
>> 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>>
>
>I agree with you. There are several varieties of dried figs I prefer over
>fresh. One exception, if I could find fresh brown turkey figs, I think they
>make the best fig preserves.

Fresh figs are awfully darned good. Figs and apricots - two things I
look forward to eating fresh.


--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that
interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West

James Silverton wrote:
> Hello All!
>
> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
> agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know
> 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>
I don't fully agree as some varieties of fig are nicer to eat fresh than
others. Dehydrating a fruit generally concentrates the flavor, hence
tasting better than fresh.

sf wrote on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:29:19 -0800:

>> On Sun 22 Feb 2009 11:06:38a, James Silverton told us...
>>
>>> Hello All!
>>>
>>> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how
>>> many people agree with me that dried figs are much superior
>>> to fresh ones? I do know 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>>>
>> I agree with you. There are several varieties of dried figs I
>> prefer over fresh. One exception, if I could find fresh
>> brown turkey figs, I think they make the best fig preserves.

> Fresh figs are awfully darned good. Figs and apricots - two
> things I look forward to eating fresh.

I have a theory that you have to live where the fruit is grown. I've
hardly ever had a fresh apricot in the Eastern US that was worth eating.
Come to think of it, I prefer dried apricots too :-)

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

James Silverton wrote:
> Hello All!
>
> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many
> people agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones?
> I do know 2 or 3 people who agree with me.

A few years ago I bought some fresh figs, expecting that
taste sensation people go on about. Blech!! I threw them
out for the birds and squirrels and finally had to pick them
up to toss in the garbage, even they didn't like them.

I'm sure I just bought the wrong type, or unripe, whatever.

nancy (been thinking to pick up some fig newtons)

James Silverton wrote:
>
> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
> agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know
> 2 or 3 people who agree with me.

It depends on what you plan to use them for.
They are so different, it's hard to compare
them. It's sort of like comparing grapes and
raisins.

(And while stumbling around to verify the correct
spelling of "raisin", I found the answer to why
my memory of currants was that they had no seeds,
but the currants I bought recently at Trader Joe's
had gritty pits. The answer is that my memory
must be of Zante currants, which have no seeds.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zante_currant

(And I also found this interesting article on
a type of building used to dry grapes. I'd like
to build a few of these, if I ever have any land
and some free time. Aren't these neatly built?)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chunche

"James Silverton" > wrote in message
...
> Hello All!
>
> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
> agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know 2
> or 3 people who agree with me.
>
> --
>
>
> James Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland
>
> Email, with obvious alterations:
> not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

For what purpose?

Eating, to use to stuff meat?

To cook into a grain like rice or kasha?

Dimitri

James Silverton wrote:
> Hello All!
>
> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
> agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know
> 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>
I dunno about superior, but I definitely prefer dried figs.

--
Jean B.

Jean wrote on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:00:20 -0500:

> James Silverton wrote:
>> Hello All!
>>
>> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how
>> many people agree with me that dried figs are much superior
>> to fresh ones? I do know 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>>
> I dunno about superior, but I definitely prefer dried figs.

That's what makes "superior" for you and me :-)

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

sf wrote:
> On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:05:00 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
> > wrote:
>
>> On Sun 22 Feb 2009 11:06:38a, James Silverton told us...
>>
>>> Hello All!
>>>
>>> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
>>> agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know
>>> 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>>>
>> I agree with you. There are several varieties of dried figs I prefer over
>> fresh. One exception, if I could find fresh brown turkey figs, I think they
>> make the best fig preserves.
>
> Fresh figs are awfully darned good. Figs and apricots - two things I
> look forward to eating fresh.
>
>
Funny. I was going to bring up apricots. I have never had a
wonderful fresh apricot, although I am sure they exist.
Therefore, an excellent dried apricot is more appealing to me.

--
Jean B.

James Silverton wrote:
> sf wrote on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:29:19 -0800:
>
>>> On Sun 22 Feb 2009 11:06:38a, James Silverton told us...
>>>
>>>> Hello All!
>>>>
>>>> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how
>>>> many people agree with me that dried figs are much superior
>>>> to fresh ones? I do know 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>>>>
>>> I agree with you. There are several varieties of dried figs I
>>> prefer over fresh. One exception, if I could find fresh
>>> brown turkey figs, I think they make the best fig preserves.
>
>> Fresh figs are awfully darned good. Figs and apricots - two
>> things I look forward to eating fresh.
>
> I have a theory that you have to live where the fruit is grown. I've
> hardly ever had a fresh apricot in the Eastern US that was worth eating.
> Come to think of it, I prefer dried apricots too :-)
>
Yes! For the same reason, I think. (I am in the Boston area.)

--
Jean B.

"James Silverton" > wrote in message
>
> I have a theory that you have to live where the fruit is grown. I've
> hardly ever had a fresh apricot in the Eastern US that was worth eating.
> Come to think of it, I prefer dried apricots too :-)
>

Good theory. I like dried, by wife likes fresh. She grew up with a fig
tree. The ones in the store, aside from being very expensive, are not
nearly as good as fresh from the tree she tells me.

On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:34:54 GMT, "James Silverton"
> wrote:

>I have a theory that you have to live where the fruit is grown.

How true. But no western apple can beat midwestern apples of any
type, IMO - juicy, crisp... sweet/sour. It has something to do with
the cold midwest winters that drives tree sap down to the roots.

>I've
>hardly ever had a fresh apricot in the Eastern US that was worth eating.
>Come to think of it, I prefer dried apricots too :-)

True dat. They are grown here. In fact, I've eaten them fresh off
the tree. YUM! Dried are fine out of season, but during the *short*
fresh season, I like mine fresh.


--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that
interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West

sf wrote:
>
> Fresh figs are awfully darned good. Figs and apricots - two things I
> look forward to eating fresh.

Reminds me that as a teenager I lived next to
an abandoned prune orchard. The prunes were
grafted onto plum bases, and in many cases
the plum part had taken over. Most of the
trees didn't have any prunes.

Of course, some of you are even now preparing
to blast me for making this distinction
between prunes and plums. Prunes are indeed
a type of dried plum, but the plums used to
make prunes are a special type of plum much
different from regular plums.

Prune-plums have a purple skin and are shaped
sort of like a flattened football. The flesh
is orange and somewhat firmer than regular plums.
They taste quite good fresh.

But I like the plums the best. The plums were
all small, about the size of cherries. Some
were red and some were yellow. The trees were
enormously different in flavor. Some were so
bitter as to be completely inedible. Remember,
they were selected as base stock and not ever
expected to produce round plums.

Because I roamed the whole area and knew every
tree, I knew where the good ones were. There
was a large yellow plum tree which was a prodigious
producer of sweet plums with a nice texture.

But the best came from a small red plum tree
which produced very sweet fruit. The most
distinguishing feature of this tree was the
delicacy of the flesh of its fruit. When you
picked one that was perfectly ripe, its flesh
was almost like water, it was so delicate.
The birds knew about this tree before I did.
When in fruit, this tree always had a lot of
birds in it.

I suppose I'll never have fruit like that again.

"James Silverton" > wrote in message
...
> Hello All!
>
> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
> agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know 2
> or 3 people who agree with me.
>
>
You obviously prefer a dried up old crone to a nubile young chick...
ain'tcha ever plucked a juicy ripe fig still warm from the sun, split it
open and dove into her innards... can't do that with dried.

"Nancy Young" > wrote in message
...
> James Silverton wrote:
>> Hello All!
>>
>> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many
>> people agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones?
>> I do know 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>
> A few years ago I bought some fresh figs, expecting that
> taste sensation people go on about. Blech!! I threw them
> out for the birds and squirrels and finally had to pick them
> up to toss in the garbage, even they didn't like them.
>
> I'm sure I just bought the wrong type, or unripe, whatever.
>
> nancy (been thinking to pick up some fig newtons)

Canned kadota figs are very nice over vanilla ice cream, canned apricots are
good too, but neither as good as kumquats in heavy syrup... I love that
word... kum quats, Kum Quats, KUMQUAT!

sf wrote on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:25:01 -0800:

>> I have a theory that you have to live where the fruit is
>> grown.

> How true. But no western apple can beat midwestern apples of
> any type, IMO - juicy, crisp... sweet/sour. It has something
> to do with the cold midwest winters that drives tree sap down
> to the roots.

>> I've
>> hardly ever had a fresh apricot in the Eastern US that was
>> worth eating. Come to think of it, I prefer dried apricots
>> too :-)

> True dat. They are grown here. In fact, I've eaten them
> fresh off the tree. YUM! Dried are fine out of season, but
> during the *short* fresh season, I like mine fresh.

Oh! I'm not going to maintain that for *all* fruits. Apples from all
over the US can be good and, of course, they don't grow bananas, lemons,
grapefruits or oranges much where I live tho' some bananas did ripen on
the DC Mall. Imported raspberries, blackberries and blueberries are good
fresh and I appreciate strawberries from Chile in the winter. Of course,
a good part of the heritage of the regular strawberry is Chilean. They
grow better peaches in Maryland than Georgia, IMHO but it is interesting
to buy imported peaches in the summer while waiting for the local ones.
You can sometimes get properly ripened mangoes here, especially the
yellow skinned ones.

Dried pears are not a fruit that I like much but it's hard to get
properly ripened pears here. I have to admit the Harry and David do
sell good ones even if they are expensive.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"James Silverton" > wrote in message
...
> Jean wrote on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:00:20 -0500:
>
>> James Silverton wrote:
>>> Hello All!
>>>
>>> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
>>> agree with me that dried figs are much superior
>>> to fresh ones? I do know 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>>>
>> I dunno about superior, but I definitely prefer dried figs.
>
> That's what makes "superior" for you and me :-)

Last time I ate dried figs was like 20 years ago... was watching TV in bed
in a darkened room while noshing on dried figs. I was absentmindedly
pulling figs off that hard vine stem until I ate half the pack and then felt
somehing odd... turned on the bedside lamp and Aiiiiiii... crawling out of
the figs and all over my bed were these maggoty like woims, no wonder those
figs were so fuicy. I haven't eaten a dried fig since, never will again.

James Silverton wrote:
> Hello All!
>
> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
> agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know
> 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>


Not I! Fresh figs are soft, juicy, and sweet.
Dried figs are all seedy, crunchy and nasty. Ugh.

The only dried fruits I like are apricots, plums, cherries,
strawberries and blueberries.

gloria p

Gloria wrote on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 14:00:05 -0700:

> James Silverton wrote:
>> Hello All! I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but
>> how many people agree with me that dried figs are much superior
>> to fresh ones? I do know 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>>
> Not I! Fresh figs are soft, juicy, and sweet.
> Dried figs are all seedy, crunchy and nasty. Ugh.

We're getting to the point where "De gustibus" applies. I'll agree that
dried figs are seedy and crunchy but I like them that way!

> The only dried fruits I like are apricots, plums, cherries,
> strawberries and blueberries.

The only one there that I'd bother with is apricots.


--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
> sf wrote:
>>
>> Fresh figs are awfully darned good. Figs and apricots - two things I
>> look forward to eating fresh.
>
> Reminds me that as a teenager I lived next to
> an abandoned prune orchard. The prunes were
> grafted onto plum bases, and in many cases
> the plum part had taken over. Most of the
> trees didn't have any prunes.
>
> Of course, some of you are even now preparing
> to blast me for making this distinction
> between prunes and plums. Prunes are indeed
> a type of dried plum, but the plums used to
> make prunes are a special type of plum much
> different from regular plums.
>
> Prune-plums have a purple skin and are shaped
> sort of like a flattened football. The flesh
> is orange and somewhat firmer than regular plums.
> They taste quite good fresh.

Thorazine, you haven't a clue. The main difference between other plums and
prune plums is that prune plums contain far more sugar... sugar being a
preservative is what prevents them from rotting during the drying process.
You were eating guinea plums (yellow fleshed), not necessarily prune
plums... the best prune plums are a French varietal. And all plum tress are
grafted, that's what makes them produce true to form.

On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:33:15 -0800, Mark Thorson >
wrote:

>I suppose I'll never have fruit like that again.

Those days are over. Our first apartment together was one block off
El Camino and one block south of College Ave in Palo Alto. The corner
"lot" across from the apartment building was empty. Apparently houses
had been torn down, and all that was left of them were the fruit trees
in their former back yards. One of the trees was a plum, which I
picked fruit from. You're right about the birds and the fruit *was*
delicious!


--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that
interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West

"James Silverton" > wrote
>
> Dried pears are not a fruit that I like much but it's hard to get properly
> ripened pears here.

You can get properly ripened pears anywhere. Pears are native to China,
there are more than 300 varieties. Pear is a fruit that ripens from the
inside outwards, therefor pears must be picked unripe or before they ripen
they will begin to rot in the center and fall. Pears are sold unripe, only
needs a few days on the countertop to ripen. When the stems pluck easily
the pear is ripe. If left to ripen too long they will ferment in the center
and the flavor will suffer.

I have to admit the Harry and David do
> sell good ones even if they are expensive.

They are a rip off. You're paying for advertising, packaging, shipping, and
exhorbitant profit. Because pears are supposed to be harvested and
transported unripe is why they are the easiest fruit to ship. If you are
receiving fully ripened pears they likely already began to spoil. When
shopping for pears choose the hard ones.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> "James Silverton" > wrote in message
>> I have a theory that you have to live where the fruit is grown. I've
>> hardly ever had a fresh apricot in the Eastern US that was worth eating.
>> Come to think of it, I prefer dried apricots too :-)
>>
>
> Good theory. I like dried, by wife likes fresh. She grew up with a fig
> tree. The ones in the store, aside from being very expensive, are not
> nearly as good as fresh from the tree she tells me.
>
>


Just like tomatoes--fresh from the back yard are so much better than
those from the store because you pick them dead ripe, not hard and
greenish so they will survive shipping. It's true of every fruit you
can think of. Full flavor/sugar develops best on the tree.

gloria p

On Sun 22 Feb 2009 02:46:24p, Gloria P told us...

> Just like tomatoes--fresh from the back yard are so much better than
> those from the store because you pick them dead ripe, not hard and
> greenish so they will survive shipping. It's true of every fruit you
> can think of. Full flavor/sugar develops best on the tree.
>
> gloria p
>

Absolutely true. I even notice the difference in our citrus picked from the
trees in our back yard or our neighbors. I need to add a Mexican lime tree.

--
Wayne Boatwright

"One man's meat is another man's poison"
- Oswald Dykes, English writer, 1709.

brooklyn1 wrote:
> "James Silverton" > wrote
>
>> Dried pears are not a fruit that I like much but it's hard to get properly
>> ripened pears here.
>>
>
> You can get properly ripened pears anywhere. Pears are native to China,
> there are more than 300 varieties. Pear is a fruit that ripens from the
> inside outwards, therefor pears must be picked unripe or before they ripen
> they will begin to rot in the center and fall. Pears are sold unripe, only
> needs a few days on the countertop to ripen. When the stems pluck easily
> the pear is ripe. If left to ripen too long they will ferment in the center
> and the flavor will suffer.
>
> I have to admit the Harry and David do
>
>> sell good ones even if they are expensive.
>>
>
> They are a rip off. You're paying for advertising, packaging, shipping, and
> exhorbitant profit. Because pears are supposed to be harvested and
> transported unripe is why they are the easiest fruit to ship. If you are
> receiving fully ripened pears they likely already began to spoil. When
> shopping for pears choose the hard ones.

You are probably right about Harry & David, but I had some of their
pears this year and they were the best pears I have ever had.
Incredibly moist and sweet.. It was a gift, I would never spend that
much money on pears, myself. lol

Becca

Becca wrote on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:14:00 -0600:

> brooklyn1 wrote:
>> "James Silverton" > wrote
>>
>>> Dried pears are not a fruit that I like much but it's hard
>>> to get properly ripened pears here.
>>
>> You can get properly ripened pears anywhere. Pears are
>> native to China, there are more than 300 varieties. Pear is a fruit
>> that ripens from the inside outwards, therefor pears must be picked
>> unripe or before they ripen they will begin to
>> rot in the center and fall. Pears are sold unripe, only
>> needs a few days on the countertop to ripen. When the stems pluck
>> easily the pear is ripe. If left to ripen too long
>> they will ferment in the center and the flavor will suffer.
>>
>> I have to admit the Harry and David do
>>
>>> sell good ones even if they are expensive.
>>>
>> They are a rip off. You're paying for advertising,
>> packaging, shipping, and exhorbitant profit. Because pears
>> are supposed to be harvested and transported unripe is why
>> they are the easiest fruit to ship. If you are receiving
>> fully ripened pears they likely already began to spoil. When
>> shopping for pears choose the hard ones.

> You are probably right about Harry & David, but I had some of their
> pears this year and they were the best pears I have ever
> had. Incredibly moist and sweet.. It was a gift, I would
> never spend that much money on pears, myself. lol

The trouble with buying hard pears in a supermarket is that I never seem
to successfully ripen them. There must be some tips that people can pass
on! About the only pears I buy in a supermarket are Sickel pears, which
are quite edible while hard.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:20:27 -0500, "Ed Pawlowski" >
wrote:

>
>"James Silverton" > wrote in message
>>
>> I have a theory that you have to live where the fruit is grown. I've
>> hardly ever had a fresh apricot in the Eastern US that was worth eating.
>> Come to think of it, I prefer dried apricots too :-)
>>
>
>Good theory. I like dried, by wife likes fresh. She grew up with a fig
>tree. The ones in the store, aside from being very expensive, are not
>nearly as good as fresh from the tree she tells me.
>
I agree with her. I grew up with a fig tree, and yes with people also.
They are delicious right off the tree.
They are almost as good as pomegranates for fights with the other
neighborhood kids.

Fresh fig half with a little gorgonzola cheese on top. Broil until the
cheese starts to melt and is bubbly, then top with a little dab of
honey or citrus jam before serving. Deeelicious.

koko
--

There is no love more sincere than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw
www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 02/21

James Silverton wrote:
> The trouble with buying hard pears in a supermarket is that I never seem
> to successfully ripen them. There must be some tips that people can pass
> on! About the only pears I buy in a supermarket are Sickel pears, which
> are quite edible while hard.
>
The area around the stem should yield slightly when gently
pressed.... That probably goes along with what Sheldon said about
the stems.

--
Jean B.

Jean wrote on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:07:10 -0500:

> James Silverton wrote:
>> The trouble with buying hard pears in a supermarket is that I
>> never seem to successfully ripen them. There must be some
>> tips that people can pass on! About the only pears I buy in a
>> supermarket are Sickel pears, which are quite edible while
>> hard.
>>
> The area around the stem should yield slightly when gently pressed....
> That probably goes along with what Sheldon said
> about the stems.

I'll give it a try next time I buy pears. Sheldon's "advice" I only see
in quotation.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Becca wrote:

>
> You are probably right about Harry & David, but I had some of their
> pears this year and they were the best pears I have ever had.
> Incredibly moist and sweet.. It was a gift, I would never spend that
> much money on pears, myself. lol
>
> Becca

If you ever see pears labeled "Comice" in the store, try them.
They have a short season but those are the same as Harry&David's
premium, privately branded variety.

gloria p

On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:06:38 GMT, "James Silverton"
> wrote:

>Hello All!
>
>I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
>agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know
>2 or 3 people who agree with me.

For me drying figs has become a necessity since my trees produce so
much so quickly and since fresh figs spoil so quickly. But I prefer
fresh when I have them. The flavors are much different. Fresh are
rather floral and delicate. Dried are earthier and more intense.

This also has to do with the fig varieties I have, I'm sure.
--

modom

"Becca" > wrote in message
> You are probably right about Harry & David, but I had some of their pears
> this year and they were the best pears I have ever had. Incredibly moist
> and sweet.. It was a gift, I would never spend that much money on pears,
> myself. lol

I was sent some as a gift and they were excellent. We can though, get some
Bosc pears locally that are even better. Juicy and as sweet as candy. They
have about a 4 week season and then are gone.

On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:51:41 -0600, Sqwertz wrote:

> James Silverton > wrote:
>
>> I may have asked this before and, if so, I apologise but how many people
>> agree with me that dried figs are much superior to fresh ones? I do know
>> 2 or 3 people who agree with me.
>
> If I had to choose one I'd choose neither.
>
> -sw

<snort>

your pal,
blake

On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:34:54 GMT, James Silverton wrote:
>
> I have a theory that you have to live where the fruit is grown. I've
> hardly ever had a fresh apricot in the Eastern US that was worth eating.
> Come to think of it, I prefer dried apricots too :-)

what puts the ape in apricot?

your pal,
t.c.l.