Spice Up Your Meals with Cooked Fruit!
Poached pears, roasted cherries, peach compote – just the thought makes your taste buds tingle! Cooked fruit is a great way to add variety to your everyday meals.
How do you usually include fruit with your meals? Most people would say they add it as a piece of fresh fruit or a side of canned fruit like applesauce or peaches. While there is nothing wrong with that, think about kicking it up a notch by serving cooked fruit! That does not mean stewed prunes, but rather trying some new and creative ways to add fruits.
Why Cooked Fruit?
Cooking intensifies the flavor of fruit and creates an appealing texture especially in unripe fruit. The two methods of cooking used are either moist or dry heat.
How to Have More Fruit for Dinner
When you add more fruit to your dinner you add more color, variety, nutrition and flavor!
If I were to ask you about savory ways to eat fruit for dinner, you might instantly think of apples and pork, or cranberry sauce with turkey, but what would you say if I told you that there are countless savory ways to eat fruit for dinner? Adding seasonal fruits to your main meals are a great way to enjoy the fresh, ripe bounty of the season, as well as adding more flavor, color and texture to your dinner!
And no matter what though … Italians don’t put pineapple on pizza. But that’s your choice if you’re on the “Pineapple Belongs On Pizza” team.
Adding fruit to your dinner is not just a summer thing, either – you can easily add whatever fruit is in season to your savory recipes. No matter how you do it, fruit is a magical accompaniment to meat dishes! It is also a fantastic way to make your meal more kid friendly! Kids LOVE fruit – its sweet, its colorful, and it is one of the food groups that kids are usually the most comfortable with. So adding it into your main meals is a great way to expand their palates and raise adventurous eaters!
How to Pair Fruit with Meat
Fruit and Meat might not seem like the ultimate companions, but they are the ultimate secret weapons when it comes to getting kids to eat more food. Not only does the innate sweetness of fruit combine perfectly with meat, but it also adds awesome color to your meals! You can pretty much combine any fruit + any meat you want, but here are some combinations to get you started:
- Fruits that pair with Chicken and Turkey – Apples, Apricots, Bananas, Citrus, Cranberries, Currants, Grapes, Mangoes, Oranges, Peaches, Pears, Pomegranates, and Plums.
- Fruits that compliment Beef – Apricots, Kiwi, Mangoes, Orange, Peaches, Pineapple, and Plums.
- Fruit that Pairs with Pork – Apples, Apricots, Cherries, Cranberries, Currants, Figs, Mangoes, Plums, Pineapple, Pears, Peaches, and Strawberries.
- Fruits that go with Fish – Sweet or citrusy fruits go well with fish. Berries, melons, mangoes, and tropical fruits are good choices.
Here are 4 Fun Ways to add Fruit to your Dinner
- Using fruit salsas
- Putting fruit in your salads
- Using fruit purees to pair with meat
- Adding fruit in your burgers, sandwiches and quesadillas
How to Use Fruit Salsa
I have a serious love for Fruit based salsa recipes! I think they add so much fun flavor and texture to recipes, and are a really fun addition to dinner! In fact, I have a plethora of fruit salsa recipes. Pineapple salsa and strawberry salsa are my all times favorites