2010 Fall

Start off your November right by stocking up on some of the season's best, like super-crispy lady apples and a rainbow of delicately fragrant pear varieties. Pomaceous fruits are most gratifying when eaten out of hand, but they also add an element of complexity to Autumn cocktails.

Here, tender anjou pear slices add intrigue to a classic cosmopolitan for an ultrasmooth sip and a mellow yet lingering finish. Serve it to guests at a Fall function, and leave them wondering what makes your cosmo so special. For a recipe that's very right now, keep reading.

At first I wondered why a recipe like the Sinister Cider cocktail would call specifically for Lady Apples, but I found out the answer as soon as I got to the grocery store: it was the only apple available! Lady apples are hard to recognize: they're diminutive, two-inch-wide pomaceous fruits with reddish-green skin and a sturdy flesh.

The lady apple — also known as a wax apple or api in France — is one of the fruit's oldest-known varieties, reportedly dating back to the first century. It was grown throughout Europe (and said to be a favorite of French royalty), later making its way to North America. These apples (which are unrelated and not to be confused with Pink Lady apples) ripen from October to early the following year; when selecting, pick fruits free of bruises with sturdy stems. To see how to make the most of them, read more.

Soft-serve frozen yogurt will be a top trend this year and next, and canned pure pumpkin is everywhere right now. So it's only natural that the two have come together in this month's biggest trend: pumpkin frozen yogurt. The seasonal flavor has been appearing at nationwide fro-yo chains faster than a Halloween costume quick-change.

Last Monday, Yogen Früz unveiled Pumpkin Spice, a non- or low-fat dessert made with naturally flavored syrup. Days later, Pinkberry announced its new offering, Pumpkin Pinkberry — nonfat yogurt made with pumpkin purée, nonfat milk, and nonfat yogurt, topped with whipped topping, honey grahams, and cinnamon. And rival Red Mango? Well, it was ahead of the soft-serve curve, offering Pumpkin Spice as a returning flavor this season after successful sales last year.

Have you tried any of these flavors?

Source: PR Newswire, Yogen Früz, Pinkberry

Did last year's canned-pumpkin deficit leave you in short supply? If you're starting to get worried come Halloween and Thanksgiving, simmer down: sources say pumpkin won't be in short supply this year.

Although 2009's wet Summer caused flooding and harvesting problems, less rain, a hotter season, and planting of a larger crop have helped out production at Libby's, the canned-pumpkin company that processes 95 percent of the solid pack pumpkin sold in America.
That's great news for the 50 million pumpkin pies that'll be made this holiday. Have you had a hard time locating canned pumpkin so far?