These exotic looking fruits were brought to the shores of Hawaii from the South Sea Islands. Its green top resembles a crown, which is good since it is sometimes called “The King of Fruits.” A pineapple is a royal fruit with a sweet taste.

It takes a pineapple tree almost two years to produce a fruit that is big enough for eating. For this reason alone we should treat them special. Pineapples look like something you would use to set a trap with all those spiny projections, but the hidden fruit inside is scrumptious.

Pineapples are available year round and are shipped from Hawaii as well as being imported from other countries. The best pineapples are those that have the greatest degree of yellowing to the skin. The leaves on top should be green and tall and not brown and withered. A firm pineapple with no signs of mold or foul smell is a good one. A pineapple should not be picked until it is fully ripe. After it is picked it will not continue to ripen.

Got some extra oranges? We’ve got some ideas for you to use them before they shrivel up and get thrown away.

I found that oranges make a nice glaze for homemade pound cake. Mix some fresh orange juice with some confectioner’s sugar in a saucepan and you have instant glaze. The juice of an orange adds flavor to muffins, breads, and sauces.

The rind of an orange can be candied and used as a sweet treat for kids at parties or anytime. Use oranges to garnish your pork roast, roasted chicken, or soups. Zest the rind over frothy drinks like cinnamon.

Mandarin orange slices are a favorite in Asian salads and in yogurt. Oranges are not typically used on hot cereals, but you can scoop out the flesh and use the orange as a cup. Remove the seeds and mix the pulpy flesh with other fruit and pour it back into the orange rind for a nice fruit cup. Use the orange to flavor rice or bread pudding and also use the orange rind as a cup. Your family will love the new look.

Oranges can also fragrance your home. Thin slices of oranges can be dried, covered with a varnishing medium, and used in a fruit wreath. Fruit wreaths can be hung with other dried fruit, and herbs to work better than a store-bought air freshener.

Oranges come in many varieties. You can have navel oranges, blood oranges, or just ordinary oranges. They flourish most months of the year as long as the frost doesn’t get them. Most people enjoy an orange in some form.

The most common use for oranges is juice. Fresh squeezed orange juice with or without pulp provide plenty of Vitamin C. you can even get orange juice with added nutrients like calcium and Omega-3 fatty acids to enhance health.

The best oranges have smooth thin skins and are heavy with pulp and juice. Oranges with hard, bumpy skin could be dry inside. You may wonder how an orange can be dry, but the flesh inside is less than juicy or tasty. It actually looks flaky and shouldn’t be eaten.

Oranges are good for box lunches and snacks. Carry one around with you to eat anywhere. Don’t forget a wet wipe, though. The juice will be sticky and peeling the rind can stain your fingernails.

Oranges keep for a long time on the counter at room temperature. When the rind starts to look wrinkled and withered, their time is about up. The fruit will get soft and start to shrink until it actually looks rotten. Don’t let your fruit get this far gone. Use those oranges for other things.

I always buy too many apples. They all look so tasty. Apples can be eaten as is as a crispy light snack but you don’t want to eat too many at one time. The doctor only prescribed one a day. For the rest, get creative if you notice that they have been lingering on your counter.

What is the best use of an apple? Making a juicy apple pie is best, of course. But, all apples are not good for pies. My favorite is Granny Smith. They tend to be tart so you may have to add more sugar to the pie. Because of their firmness, Granny Smith apples hold up well when cooked.

Gala apples are sweeter than Granny Smith apples and crisp. A mix of the two in a pie or a cobbler provides the perfect cross between sweet and tart. Gala apples complement green and fruit salads.

Mushier apple varieties can be cooked and mashed to make homemade applesauce. The process is time-consuming so be sure to make it worth your while by producing a large batch. Still got apples left? Consider fresh apple cider as a solution. If you aren’t used to tasting it fresh, know that it will be pulpier than the pasteurized kind you can buy in the store.

When all else fails, stick a Popsicle stick in the center and cover them with hot caramel or sticky candy. Many people make candied and caramel apple at Halloween but they are good all year round. Experiment to see what other uses can be found when you have too many apples.

I love apples. They are my favorite fruit in the world. They come in so many colors and tasty varieties that you will never get the same taste twice. Apples are available just about all year, but fresh ones from the tree are usually found from September through the end of the year.

Whatever your favorite apple variety, choose ripe fruit. Apples are wonderful in that they know when they are ripe. Many fruits will continue to ripen and over ripen if you don’t pick them. Apples fall when they are ripe. The stem thins until the apple is ready to just be plucked from the tree.

Avoid buying apples that are bruised or have brown spots. The apple has been bumped around a little too much and will go bad quickly. This can be a little hard to find from local growers at the farmer’s market. I have found this with my own apples. They get little spots and things on them—not the pretty ones you see in the grocery store. If the apples are firm and have no soft spots or splits, you can work with them.

For surplus strawberries, don’t cut the stems off or wash them until you know what you want to use them for. I suggest cleaning, slicing, and freezing a few in Ziploc bags. They keep well and can be added to smoothie drinks and fizzy punches at parties.

Strawberries are great toppers just like cherries. They can be glazed over for strawberry shortcake, strawberry pie, and strawberry cheesecake. Churn some fresh strawberry ice cream on a hot day. Strawberries make great additions to your cereal in the morning. Granola and strawberries make for the perfect pair.

Do you want to do something special for a loved one? Dip a dozen or so of the biggest strawberries in baking chocolate and let them harden in the refrigerator. Enjoy after dinner with a glass of champagne.

Use those strawberries to prepare for a rainy day. My grandmother used to boil and can them to make strawberry preserves. All winter long, we would eat fresh strawberry preserves on hot, buttery biscuits. Canning is an arduous process but a beneficial one if you have a lot of strawberries left.