Which fruits taste better when heated?

Nov 21, 2023 cuisine-/-food, fruits, delicious-flavors, heating

Heating and Consuming Three Types of Fruits

This answer mainly deals with the heating and consumption of three types of fruits: Tangli pears, sugarcane, and hawthorn.

First is steamed Tangli pears, roasted sugarcane, and sugar-coated hawthorn.

After reading through previous answers, I noticed that no one mentioned these fruits.

In my hometown, we call them Tangli pears. When eaten fresh, they need to be fully ripe to taste good.

If they are only moderately ripe, they have a strong sour and astringent taste, which affects the eating experience.

Fresh Tangli pears do not have a very noticeable fruit fragrance.

But during the steaming process, a strong fruity aroma is released (although it does not last very long), and it can also be faintly smelled when eating.

After being steamed, there’s no need to add any seasoning. You can eat them as they are. The flesh of the pears becomes significantly sweeter, and they are one of the few fruits I have noticed that have a noticeable improvement in taste after heating, without the need for seasoning or other methods.

The second fruit is one that everyone is familiar with: sugarcane.

I won’t mention cutting it into small pieces, making soup, or making sweet soup from it.

Instead, let’s talk about grilled sugarcane.

To be honest, this way of eating is not popular in our area.

But when we were kids, sometimes on cold winter days, when we were bored at home with nothing to do, we would cut a piece of sugarcane and grill it over charcoal in the kitchen.

During the process of eating, many children spontaneously put the sugarcane on the charcoal to roast it.

After a short while, the sugarcane becomes hot, which makes it somewhat tasty. So we wait a little longer until it’s no longer too hot to eat and then enjoy it. The grilled sugarcane has a sweeter and smoother taste compared to eating it fresh. It also has a sugarcane fragrance that is not easily detectable when eaten fresh, which is another tempting flavor.

When I searched for information about grilled sugarcane, I found that it used to be quite popular as a snack in places like Taiwan and Hainan.

The third fruit is sugar-coated hawthorn.

This food has a long history, gaining popularity during the reign of Emperor Guangzong of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Ancient people also experimented with various fruits, including but not limited to hawthorn (also known as “Shanlihong”), haitang fruit, and grapes.

The late Qing Dynasty poet Fuchatun Chong mentioned it in his book “Yanjing’s Annual Seasons” (first published in 1906 during the Guangxu period), saying,

“Sugar-coated hawthorn is made by skewering Shanlihong, haitang fruit, grapes, mashed mountain yam, walnut kernels, bean paste, and other fruits on bamboo skewers, then dipped in sugar. It is sweet, crispy, and cool.”

There are many fruits that can be used for making sugar-coated hawthorn, but here we primarily use hawthorn.

There is no particular reason other than the fact that most hawthorns do not taste very good when eaten fresh.

In the process of making sugar-coated hawthorn, the skewered hawthorns have intimate contact with the boiling sugar syrup. After being coated with sugar and cooled, they can be eaten.

From this, it can be seen that the hawthorns undergo some heating before they become crystal-clear sugar-coated hawthorns.

However, the duration and intensity of the heating are not as prolonged or intense as steaming Tangli pears or grilling sugarcane.

(Image from the internet)

Heating fruits causes significant nutrient loss

Among the nutrients in fruits, the ones that are most susceptible to damage from heat are vitamins. Vitamin A and E lose about 10%; vitamin C loses about 16%; and vitamin B1 loses about 26%.

Fruits that are rich in vitamin C, like kiwi, oranges, and strawberries, should not be heated.

Heating fruits reduces their hardness and makes them softer and easier to chew. Heating fruits also softens the fibers, blunts the enzyme activity, and kills pathogens, making them suitable for people with weak digestion.

Grilled oranges to fight cold and cough

Most fruits have a cold or neutral nature and should not be eaten when it is cold or during a cold. But by heating them, they can become warm or hot, and some fruits can actually help with cold recovery. After cleaning the oranges, the outer skin can be dried and used as traditional Chinese medicine called Chen Pi. Boil the dried skin with water and ginger, and it is very effective for treating colds. The flesh inside should be eaten together with the white fibers to have the effect of relieving cough and reducing phlegm. Besides oranges, kumquats can also be used as a substitute. Kumquats are neutral in nature and are even better when heated and consumed as tea. However, not all coughs can be treated with hot oranges. “It only works for hot coughs with phlegm.”

Stewed Pear with Rock Sugar for persistent cough

If you have a persistent cough or a dry cough without phlegm, it is recommended to eat stewed pear with rock sugar. Pears are not suitable for people with a cough when consumed at room temperature, but steaming or boiling them can help treat persistent and dry coughs.

Eating raw pears can relieve symptoms such as dry, itchy, and sore throat, hoarseness, constipation, and red urine in patients with upper respiratory infections. Eating ripe pears can moisten the lungs and reduce phlegm for people with excessive body heat and dry throat.

Choose pears with rough and green skin and larger size. “Compared to water pears, they taste better after steaming or boiling.” If you only want to drink the juice, you can put the pears with skin into an electric pot to cook. If you want to eat the flesh, you can peel the pears, carve out a hole in the middle, add two qian (Chinese unit of weight) of Chuan Bei Mu (a traditional Chinese herbal medicine) and a little rock sugar. It will taste sweeter. Stewed pear with rock sugar is a nourishing dish with the effect of moistening the lungs. It is a great health food from autumn to winter.

Delicious Pineapple Rice

Pineapple rice tastes better than eating pineapple directly, and it is sweeter.

Main ingredients: 250g steamed rice, 1 fresh pineapple, 1 egg, a few toasted cashews, 1/2 green and red bell peppers, 1/2 onion, 100g fresh shrimp, a few raisins.

Seasonings: oyster sauce, oil, salt, chicken powder.

Cut the fresh pineapple in half and use a small knife to scoop out the flesh. Cut it into 1cm-sized dices and immerse them in salt water. Keep half of the pineapple shell as a container.
Dice the green and red bell peppers into 1cm-sized pieces.
Heat the oil in a pan. When it is 60% hot, crack the egg into the pan and scramble it. Set aside. Boil the shrimp until cooked.
Leave some oil in the pan. When it is hot, add the onion and bell peppers, stir-fry for a moment, then add the steamed rice and mix well to make pineapple rice.
Add the scrambled egg, diced pineapple, raisins, shrimp, and season with salt, oyster sauce, and chicken powder.
Transfer the cooked pineapple rice to the pineapple bowl and garnish with toasted cashews.

The Difference Between Shanlihong and Hawthorn

Hawthorn.

(The images in this article are from the internet and may be subject to copyright.)

Look, it’s these bright red little fruits.

Of course, hawthorn is cultivated by grafting a wild species called Shanlihong.

Look, this is Shanlihong, found on hillsides, by the river, in fields, in ditches - they can be seen everywhere. In late autumn, when all the leaves of the Shanlihong tree have fallen, only clusters of these bright red fruits remain.

They do look very similar in appearance, there’s no questioning that.

The difference lies in their size.

To put it simply, hawthorns are a bit bigger, while Shanlihong is smaller.

In even simpler terms, the total size of four or five Shanlihong fruits is equivalent to the size of one hawthorn.

However, when it comes to taste, Shanlihong is a bit more sour.

In our childhood, we used to pick them as snacks, as children are not afraid of sour tastes.

However, due to the small size of Shanlihong, they were not sold.

As a result, people grafted and improved Shanlihong, and thus hawthorns were created.

From then on, the wild Shanlihong transformed and proudly entered orchard management.

Although hawthorns are bigger in size, their texture is a bit harder and not as pleasant as the small Shanlihong.

Therefore, in our Northeast region, hawthorns need to be heated and steamed before being deseeded and dried to make hawthorn skins.

In our childhood, every household would dry some hawthorn slices, and of course, also dry some Shanlihong peels.

During the Lunar New Year, making a drink with hawthorn or Shanlihong peels, adding sugar and boiling water, is definitely a good choice.

Look, this hawthorn peel water has a bright color and a special sweet and sour taste, very refreshing.

However, these are all homemade drinks and it is difficult for them to circulate in the market.

Of course, to bring hawthorns to the market and into the homes of many, they have to be made into hawthorn canned goods.

Since then, hawthorn canned goods have found their place on people’s dining tables, especially loved by children.

The Delight of Cooked Grapes

Let me tell you, cooked grapes are incredibly tasty.

Cook them with sugar until they burst, then chill and enjoy.

Various Creative Ways to Bake Durian

When it comes to heating fruits, durian can’t be ignored.

I don’t like eating durian, but there are people in my family who love it, so I am more enthusiastic about researching how to make durian taste better.

Today, I have discovered three amazing ways to eat durian. Each one will make you drool, especially if you’re a durian lover. Don’t miss out on the thick and seedless Jinzhen durian made into various baked delicacies. It’s also a lazy person’s gospel, as it can be easily done without a mold or baking pan.

If you have a microwave, an air fryer, or an oven at home, don’t let them sit idle. Try making a delicious cheese-baked durian. It smells really good. I’ll share three creative ways to bake durian with you. They are all incredibly delicious, and durian enthusiasts must not miss them.

[Cheese Durian Pastry]

Ingredients: 100g of durian pulp, a suitable amount of shredded cheese, one pancake, a small amount of white sesame, one egg.

Mash the durian pulp, place a pancake in the box, sprinkle a layer of shredded cheese, and put the durian pulp on top. Sprinkle more shredded cheese and fold it up.
Brush the surface with beaten egg, sprinkle with white sesame, and bake at 150 degrees in an air fryer for 15 minutes.

[Caramel Durian Baked Egg Custard]

Ingredients: 100g of milk, one egg, 80g of durian pulp, a little sugar.

Beat the milk and egg until well mixed, then add the durian pulp and mix well. Strain the mixture and pour it into a container.
Bake in an air fryer at 160 degrees for 10 minutes, sprinkle sugar on the surface, and bake for another 10 minutes.

[Cheese Baked Durian]

Ingredients: 100g of durian pulp, a suitable amount of shredded cheese.

Instructions:

Sprinkle shredded cheese on the durian pulp, then bake at 150 degrees in an air fryer for 15 minutes.

When it comes to dealing with durian, I believe there is nothing more exciting than opening a durian blind box. The most successful time for my family was when we got 49% flesh in one durian. Every time we open a durian, we have to weigh it. The excitement and joy are beyond description. Attached is a guide on how to choose durian.

○ Look

Look at the appearance

You can choose a durian that is larger in size and has a rounder overall shape, as it will have thinner skin and more flesh.

Look at the spikes

The density of the spikes on the durian shell can indicate whether the flesh is ripe. The sparser the spikes, the thicker the flesh; conversely, the denser the spikes, the less flesh there is.

Look at the stem

If you pinch the stem of a freshly picked durian with your fingernail, it will leave a mark. If the fruit stem is small and wilted, it means it has been stored for a long time and is neither fresh nor tasty.

○ Press and pinch

Gently bring two adjoining spikes closer together with your hands. If they can be easily moved, it means the durian is ripe and can be eaten. If they are difficult to touch and feel very hard, it means the durian is not yet ripe.
Press the areas with larger gaps downwards! If there is elasticity, it means the flesh of the durian is separating from the shell, indicating that it is ripe.

○ Smell the odor

If the durian has a faint smell and a slightly astringent taste, it means it is not yet ripe. If it has an alcoholic smell, it means the durian has overripe or even spoiled. Fresh and ripe durians have a sweet and fragrant aroma.

Soaking Oranges in Hot Water

Peel the oranges and soak them in hot water for a while. It’s better if the water is boiling hot, as the oranges won’t cool down quickly. During the soaking process, the oranges will become warm and plump, and some of the white threads will come off. They taste warm and sweet, especially during the winter season.

The Delicious Experience of Green Walnuts

Thank you for the walnuts.

Whoever hasn’t tried roasted green walnuts has missed out on the ultimate culinary experience.

They are particularly delicious.

Note: It must be green walnuts, not dried walnuts.

Upgraded Roasted Apples with Improved Texture

It has to be roasted apples. When I was young, I didn’t like eating apples because we only had apples at home, and they were mostly rotten. You either had to peel the rotten apples to eat them or eat the good apples before they turned rotten. It wasn’t until I grew up that I learned that there are so many different varieties of apples, and many of them are delicious.

Heating apples with a less desirable texture can greatly enhance their taste.

Dig a hole in the top of the apple and fill it with butter. If you want it sweeter, you can add a bit of white sugar as well. Wrap the apple in aluminum foil and roast at 180°C in an air fryer for about 40 minutes.

Soft, sticky, sweet, with a hint of fruity fragrance, it warms the heart with one mouthful and dazzles with three. I hope those uncles who roast sweet potatoes and corn in the winter will hurry up and try roasting apples.

Amazing Uses of Heating Fruits

Who would have thought that heating fruits could open up a whole new world? The aroma intensifies, the sweetness increases significantly, and biting into it feels warm, tender, and comparable to a delicious dessert.

Furthermore, heating fruits can rescue those not-so-tasty fruits in winter by removing the coolness on the surface, resulting in a softer and more gentle texture, making it perfect for winter digestion!

Stir-fried Oranges

Heat the wok on high heat and toss the oranges for about 5 minutes until the peel turns slightly charred.

Peel the oranges while they’re still warm and you can smell the aroma of roasted chestnuts! The orange segments become fuller due to the heat, bursting with a sweet and sour juice when you bite into them!

Roasted Kumquats

Choose sweet and slippery kumquat varieties, preheat the oven to 150°C, and roast for 10 minutes.

The skin becomes crispier and thinner, intensifying the sweetness, giving you the sensation of drinking warm kumquat juice candy~

Roasted Jackfruit

Peel the ripe jackfruit and cut it into fingers, then preheat the oven to 150°C and roast for 20-30 minutes.

After baking, the texture is somewhere between fresh flesh and dried jackfruit, with a slightly crisp and warm sweet aroma, full of tropical flavors.

Roasted Sugarcane

Peel the sugarcane and cut it into small strips about the thickness of a finger, then preheat the oven to 180°C and roast for 20 minutes.

This is a magical technique from the people of Hainan Island. After roasting, the sugarcane has a charred aroma and gives you the illusion of eating coconut strips. It’s the perfect snack for binge-watching!

⭐Roasted Figs

Rinse the fresh figs, make a cross-shaped incision, sprinkle a small amount of white sugar, then preheat the oven to 180°C and roast for 8 minutes.

When it comes out of the oven, you can smell the sweet milky fragrance, and any slight astringency when eating them raw is completely gone. They become soft and sticky with every bite!

Pan-fried/Grilled/Fried Bananas

Heat the bananas until they are ripe and soft in syrup, then either pan-fry them or grill them until the surface turns golden brown.

You can also roll them in flour, dip them in egg, coat them in breadcrumbs, and fry them in hot oil. The result is a crispy and fragrant coating with a sweet and soft texture that even children can’t resist!

Roasted/Microwaved Apples

Select a “cooking apple,” use a small knife to remove the core, fill it with sugar, and sprinkle it with a pinch of cinnamon. Preheat the oven to 200°C and bake for 1 hour until the skin wrinkles. The apple puree inside is soft and sandy, with a warm cinnamon aroma amidst the sweet and sour taste.

If you want to save time, you can use a microwave: Cut the apple in half, remove the core, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon powder, and heat on medium-high for 7 minutes.

For “crisp apples,” they are suitable for baking apple chips. Slice them as thin as possible, preheat the oven to 150°C, and bake for 20 minutes until they become crispy, with a hint of charred aroma at the edges.

Red Wine Stewed Pears

Slice or dice the pears, pour red wine over them, simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes, and refrigerate overnight after cooling for better flavor.

The alcohol slowly evaporates during the stewing process, and the pear flesh becomes a beautiful ruby red. It tastes delicious and can even be served as a drink!

⭐Roasted Durian

Put the durian flesh in the oven at 200°C and roast for 30-40 minutes until the skin develops tempting charred spots. When you open it, the durian flesh turns into a steaming hot puree with an otherworldly taste! (Note: Protect those around you who don’t eat durian!)

Tips

The heating temperature and time are for reference only and can be adjusted based on the oven’s characteristics and personal preference.
If you don’t have an oven, fruits that can retain their shape well can be heated by pan-frying on low heat, such as jackfruit and oranges. Remember to flip them constantly to ensure even heating.
Generally, sweeter fruits are more suitable for heating. When choosing kumquats and oranges, pay attention to selecting those with higher sweetness to avoid excessive sourness.

Assessment Results of Fruit Heating: Peach is the best, Kiwi is the worst.

Thank you for the invitation. You have come to the right person. I have personally tested the heating effects of many fruits, and based on my assessment results, the top fruit that becomes more delicious when heated is peach, followed by grape. No wonder canned peaches have always topped the list in the realm of canned fruits. On the other hand, the fruit that tastes the worst when heated is kiwi. It’s surprising how different two fruits with the same “tao” sound can be. (There should be a crying-laughing emoji here.)