The Cortland strikes a perfect balance between tangy and sweet. We think of it as a late-season version of the tried-and-true McIntosh only crisper and with more flavor. The skin that protects it from early frosts is a little tough, so we like to eat it peeled.
The tartness of a Granny Smith piques your palate, but then its deep sweetness comes out to balance the flavor. It's one of the few apples that stays autumn-crisp almost all year long. A prime eating apple that holds its shape and flavor in pies.
There's a hint of sweet vanilla in this baseball-sized apple. Originally grown in Japan, the Fuji ripens slowly and is a challenge to pick. Which is why some markets charge sky-high Tokyo prices for this crunchy, honey-yellow-fleshed fruit. Fujis retain their flavor and shape when baked.
A medium-crisp and gently tart apple with the sweet taste of cider. The McIntosh is the all-purpose, all-American apple, just right for eating fresh-picked. Good for applesauce and for making gooey caramel apples, too.
With its crisp bite and round contours, the Asian pear reminds us of an apple, so its nickname "apple pear" isn't off the mark. Sweeter than the average Asian Pear, the Korean boasts a honeyed, buttery flavor.
Melt-in-your-mouth texture with hints of vanilla and apple-blossom honey. Its slightly thick skin hides a creamy-crisp fruit with more tartness than other pears. The Bosc is known as the best cooking pear, and it's also at the top of our list for eating raw.
With its tender, fine-grained flesh, mild pineapple tang, and slightly grainy texture, the Bartlett is one of our favorite fruits. It's the ultimate summer pear. When its speckled green skin turns to yellow, this juicy pear is ripe and ready to eat.
With its irresistibly buttery flavor, the Hass sets the avocado standard. It also wins the popularity contest, making up 75% of the American crop. A luscious slice of Hass avocado really pumps up the taste of burritos, burgers, salads, and sushi rolls.
The banana is an anytime, year-round snack. We like them fully yellow with just a dusting of brown freckles. But super-ripe, meltingly sweet bananas and firmer greenish ones have their fans too. Slice them onto cereal or pancakes, fold into fruit salad, blend into smoothies, and bake into muffins. Heat brings out bananas' creamy sweetness. Try baking, broiling, or sautéing them with butter and sugar for a luscious dessert.
The Golden is a pineapple that's been to charm school. The tartness has been reined in just a bit. It is sweeter and mellower than other pineapples. The Golden is a good mixer in yogurt or fruit salad and a surefire hit with kids.
(x3) With its potato color and Astroturf feel, the unpeeled kiwifruit doesn't give a clue to the bright green sunburst inside. It tastes like strawberry and honeydew melon. And the seeds are the pleasant, disappear-on-contact kind, not the stick-in-your-teeth kind. You can eat the skin, but we prefer to peel it.
Red Delicious Apples are crisp and sweet. They taste great sliced and shared, tossed in a salad, or just eaten.
