Biting into a peach in August, one that has ripened on the tree and has sweet juices that fairly drip as you break the skin, or the burst of a sweet cherry in July, is more than taste. It is scent and feeling and experience of the season.
We often eat to lift a mood, but so often that is mindlessly with an approach that can leave us feeling less satisfied and poorer in experience than before. we also can buy fruits of all kinds throughout the year… but this is not the exciting pleasure of fruit in its season. There is so much more within a fruit that is ripening in its own time, well grown and eaten at a peak of readiness.
Each location for the cultivation of fruit has its own particular range of flavors, and when visiting those places it is always a highlight to taste the seasonal fruits of a place. I remember the breakfasts of mango, guava, and other more exotic fruits in Brazil. With their strong coffee and mild cheese it was the best way possible to start the day. In my own locale after recently finishing the sweet cherry season, the experience of the cherries bursting with juice and flavor fresh from the refrigerator was worthy of note. Taking ones sweet time in eating impressed the memory long afterwards.
Hurriedness is not how we should eat anything, but especially not a just-ripe, sun -filled, wonderful fruit. That is something that should be savored, delighting the eye, then the nose, and finally consuming with all the relish due a fine food.
