To understand frying, you have to know about fats. Fats conduct heat amazingly well, far better than water (which is in turn better than air). Vegetable oil, for instance, has about half the heat capacity of water, so it heats up quicker and can be raised to higher temperatures.

But in the never-ending trade-off of greener cookprints, most cooking fats are oils pressed from growing plants, nuts, or seeds. They’re renewable, but they still require resources and processing to create them. Higher up the food chain, fats also come from animals (as in pork lard, chicken schmaltz, or butter from dairy cows). Fats cook quickly, but they can also release particles into the air, and the need to dispose of spent grease properly drains a bit off their lean, green profile.

The term frying collectively includes stir-frying, sautéing, shallow frying, and deep-fat frying. Some frying uses no added fat (relying on the natural fat of the food itself). Not to be confusing, but the term pan frying can mean shallow frying or sautéing, and stir-fries can be fried in a pan, too.

Moving from brightest green to the paler green methods, here’s a rundown of frying strategies, all of which use less fuel than an oven.

Stir-frying

If more people stir-fried, the world would be a greener place.A wok-cooked stir-fry wins at fuel-efficient cooking, beating out boiling as well as all other frying methods.

In fact, most global cuisines make their own style of stir-fries, so the method goes far beyond Asian foods. Although this ancient Chinese method doesn’t demand a wok (a skillet works fine), a wok’s unique concave shape makes the most efficient use of the flame.

Essentially, you need really high heat, a pan that conducts heat well (and withstands high temperatures), very little oil, oil with a high smoking point, and sometimes a lid (often with added liquid, to finish cooking). One caveat: woks were designed to sit on a ring over a true flame; today’s electric cooktops have led to flatbased woks, which are still highly efficient. Because of the high heat needed for stir-fries, avoid nonstick-coated pans.

Most of the energy spent in stir-fries comes from you, the cook: food must be cut into small enough pieces to cook quickly and evenly (but there are shortcuts to this, mentioned below). After you’ve done the chopping, a stir-fried meal can take less than five minutes of fuel to actually cook, and as little as a tablespoon or so of oil.

Getting into Global Stir-Fries

If stir-frying is so good, why don’t more people do it? I believe that for most cooks, the biggest obstacles lie in the chopping, long ingredient lists, a need for specialty condiments and sauces (like bean paste or oyster sauce), and when improvising, the brain-stress of deciding what flavor combinations go together. Plus, most folks assume stir-fries have to be Asian. Wrong. Toss all of these preconceptions aside to open up a bigger world of energy-efficient, wok-style cooking.

Chop Shop

If chopping foods is your idea of drudgery, pick ingredients that need little or no chopping, like shrimp, shelled nuts, snow peas, or grape tomatoes. Here is one simple recipe that you can try :Stir-Fried Noodles with Shrimp

Also, chop a little more than you need every time you chop, and save the extra for a stir-fry later in the week (previously blanched vegetables also increase the inventory). If you’ve been putting your fridge and freezer to good use, you’ll make a fabulous dinner in minutes.

With a little forethought while prepping Monday and Tuesday meals, by Wednesday you can end up with precut, ready-to-use vegetables (green onions, carrots, green beans, broccoli); proteins (meat, poultry, sausages, bacon, shrimp, and tofu); toasted almonds, pine nuts, or other nuts; black beans or chickpeas from the freezer; and leftover rice or grains as a side dish or mix-in.

Size Matters

But not as much as you may think. As long as everything’s about the same size and is small enough to cook fairly quickly, the main ingredients don’t have to be bite-size-they can be as small as peas or as plump as jalape?os, fine as matchsticks or as thick as your thumb. Smaller ingredients cook quicker, but even larger stir-fry ingredients cook more efficiently than in other methods.

A safety reminder: Some mushrooms are poisonous; serve mushrooms you have obtained from a reputable vendor.

To prep fresh mushrooms, trim the ends of the stems if they appear discolored. Rinse the mushrooms in cold water. (Don’t be afraid that they’ll absorb excessive amounts of rinse water and become soggy; that’s a popular myth. They aren’t sponges.) Fresh mushrooms should be stored in refrigeration.

Mushrooms may be sautéed and eaten as a side dish, used as a flavoring in sauces and soups, or used as a garnish. They are also reduced to make a classic stuffing ingredient called duxelle. Some of the most common types of mushrooms are white, cremini, portobello, oyster, porcini, morel, and shiitake. Another important variety in fine cuisine is the truffle.

White mushrooms are the generic, cultivated “button” variety commonly used to flavor soups and sauces, and are sautéed to garnish steaks. One simple recipe that you can use is : Grilled or Broiled Mushrooms

Cremini (kruh-MEE-nee) mushrooms are the same shape as button mushrooms but have a darker brown color and a stronger flavor.

Portobello (not “portabella”) mushrooms are mature versions of cremini. Their caps are popularly marinated, grilled, and served on buns as veggie burgers. One of my favorite recipe is:Portobello Mushrooms with bean dip. So delicious !

Oyster mushrooms are fan shaped and grow on the trunks of trees. They have a fairly mild flavor but add an attractive visual element to dishes.

Porcini (por-CHEE-nee) mushrooms, also called cèpes (seps) are large and brown and have a rich flavor. Shiitake (shih-TAH-kee) mushrooms are very dark brown with a large cap and they have a very rich flavor. The stems are tough; discard them before cooking. Shiitakes may be purchased fresh or dried. One of the best recipe in which you can use them is:Udon Noodle and Miso Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms

Morels are wild mushrooms with a distinctive honeycomb appearance that grow in North America, Asia, and Europe. They have an earthy, nutty flavor.

Truffles, very expensive fungi (hundreds of dollars per pound) that grow underground, usually near oak trees, are chiefly found in Italy and France. They have a very strong earthy flavor. Black truffles  are chiefly used as an ingredient in cooked dishes, whereas white truffles are thinly sliced as a raw garnish on omelets or risotto.

Although truffles are available packed in liquid, fresh truffles have a vastly superior flavor. Truffle-infused oil is often used to get the flavor without the expense of whole truffles. One simple and easy recipe is:Scrambled Eggs With Truffles

In addition to the mushroom varieties mentioned, Asian chefs rely on various types of dried mushrooms such as the cloud ear, snow, and bamboo mushrooms.

Another unusual form of fungus used as food is found in Mexico. Huitlacoche (WEETlah- coh-chay) is a fungus that enlarges corn kernels and turns them grayish black. These kernels are harvested and sautéed as a delicacy.

Sheep are easy to raise and herd and can graze where other animals cannot. (Goat is similar.) Furthermore, demand for lamb has never been high, nor have prices, so producers have had little incentive to industrialize production as they have with beef and pork. As a result, I’m more comfortable buying lamb at a supermarket than any other meat.

Most lamb is best cooked rare, but not quite as rare as beef. However, it also can be quite delicious medium and even well done-this is especially true of the shoulder and chops taken from the shoulder-it has the flavor and juiciness to handle it.

As for the leg, with or without the bone, its odd shape means that if the thick center is cooked to rare the thinner edges are well done. So, for once, you can satisfy everyone By far the smallest of the common meat animals, lamb allows us the luxury of eating whole shoulders and legs. Understanding the animal is simple:

Shoulder: Fatty and flavorful, wonderful for roasting and stewing and good cut into chops as well. Meat from this area should always be cooked medium to well done.

Shank/Breast: Inexpensive shanks are wonderful braised; the breast is usually cut into riblets, which are spectacular.

Rib: Best known for the rack of lamb, this section can also be cut into rib chops. Always good cooked rare to medium-rare.

Loin: This can be sold whole, as a saddle; it’s a wonderful roast. Or it can be cut into loin chops, which are fine. It can also be boned and cut into medallions.

Leg: Sold whole or in halves, bone in or out; occasionally cut into steaks or cubed for shish kebab, for which it is wonderful.

Chops and Stir-Fried Lamb

The cut of lamb most widely available and easiest to cook is the chop. There are several types, depending on what part of the lamb they come from. If you take a rack of lamb and cut it up, you get lamb rib chops, which are the most tender and least fatty.

Loin chops, which are similar, are cut from the loin. Both rib and loin chops should be cooked rare to medium-rare. The far less expensive (and fattier) shoulder chops, however, are arguably more flavorful. They’re best cooked a little longer, until just about medium.

Here are some delicious recipes that you must try becasue they are simple and and delcious : Grilled or Broiled Lamb Chops, Stir-Fried Lamb with Green Peppers.

Leg of lamb is the near-ideal roast for six people or so- even with minimal seasoning, its flavor can power a meal. With lots of herbs and spices, it’s the greatest and the ideal excuse to break out that good bottle of red wine you’ve been hoarding.

Buy the leg without the shank, which doesn’t take that well to roasting, adds expense, and necessitates a longer roasting pan.

You can also buy half-legs of lamb; the butt half is preferable. Plan on cooking times for a 3- to 4-pound half-leg to be about two-thirds of what they are for a whole leg. Consider, too, boneless leg, now sold almost as frequently as bone-in. There’s no waste, and it’s far easier to deal with-especially when grilling, where you can “butterfly” it.

Here are some simple recipes: Roast Leg of Lamb, Four Ways,    Grilled or Broiled Butterflied Leg of Lamb, Lamb with Scallions and Herbs.

Wherever there is lamb there is lamb stew. I give many variations here, but all you have to remember if you want to experiment is to discard as much of the hard lamb fat as you can when trimming the meat and start the vegetables after the lamb so they do not overcook and disintegrate.

The shoulder has become my favorite cut of lamb. It’s lovely roasted, though it’s a little too fatty for grilling, at least whole. But it’s amazing when stewed or braised, and it doesn’t take that long. Shoulders are usually sold in pieces (you have to ask for them whole), with the bone in or out; needless to say, boned chunks are the most convenient.

Prepare the stew a day before eating it if you like; this will allow you to skim excess fat from the surface, and the flavors will improve as well. Lamb stew freezes perfectly, so don’t worry about making it as long as a week in advance or about doubling or tripling these recipes.

Also you should try these recipes: Lamb Stew with Mushrooms, Lamb Curry, Lamb Couscous

Lamb rack is expensive and luxurious, delicious and virtually foolproof. And the traditional bread crumbs-garlic- parsley treatment has never been bettered. Boned sections of rack or saddle, sometimes called boneless loin, can be cut into medallions, cooked quickly, and served with a wine reduction; this is a wonderful dish to make for an intimate dinner for two.

The ribs, on the other hand, are cheap and unfortunately hard to find; sometimes you’ll find them sold as “breast of lamb,” and you just have to cut them up, which is easy enough. Like other ribs, these are good for grilling but must be parboiled first. After that initial treatment, which is neither time-consuming nor difficult, treat them as you would any other ribs.

Also you should try these great recipes: Roast Rack of Lamb with Persillade, Grilled or Broiled Lamb Ribs,

Watermelons are pretty much what you think they are: They have a smooth skin in varying shades of green, solid or striated, and watery, sugary sweet flesh with (until recently) seeds embedded throughout.

Melons are summer fruit, and you’ll find the widest variety and most flavorful at farmstands and farmers’ markets. Selecting the right melon is part skill and part luck. If you’re at a farmstand or farmers’ market, ask for  help.

Otherwise, start by smelling it; if it smells sweet and like a melon, that’s a good start. Then try shaking it; loose seeds are a sign of ripeness for muskmelons. Last, for muskmelons, gently squeeze the end opposite the stem-it should yield slightly; for watermelons, slap the side and listen for a hollow sound.

Buying and storing: Eat a ripe melon right away or store it in the refrigerator. Underripe melons can be left out at room temperature for a couple days to sweeten, but they won’t ripen to perfection.

Preparing: Cut the melon in half and scrape out the seeds of muskmelons with a spoon; continue cutting it into quarters or slices. Use a paring knife to slice off the rinds if you like. Watermelons can be served casually in wedges with seeds. But if you want to seed them, cut into wedges and slice off the top or “heart” to reveal the row of seeds. Remove them with the tines of a fork. Then cut to the desired size.

A melon baller easily lets you scoop out circles of melon. Or you can simply cut the flesh into pieces. Grated melon is good for yogurt sauces and raw salsas; just be sure to do it over a bowl to save the juices.

Allow a chilled melon to come to room temperature before serving; when it’s chilled, the flavors are muted. Try a squeeze of lemon or lime juice on the melon-it adds flavor to an underripe melon and complements a ripe one. A sprinkle of salt is an interesting change of pace (as is a dash of ground chile).

Other fruits to substitute: Melons are interchangeable with one another and with papaya, mango, and (sometimes) cucumber.

One of our favorite recipes is Grilled Watermelon Steak. Simple and delicious. Or you can use watermelons in  a salad. This recipe, Watermelon and Tomato Salad, is easy to make and so tasty.

Kale and collards are often confused, but collards’ leaves are flat and can be quite big (as much as 8 inches across), whereas kale leaves are definitely ruffled and sometimes quite narrow. The peak season for both is midwinter through early spring, but they’re available year-round.

Buying and storing: Look for firm, dark leaves with no yellowing or wilting. Young leaves with stems no thicker than a pencil will be easier to clean and less wasteful and will cook more quickly. They will also have a better texture when cooked. Store wrapped loosely in plastic in the refrigerator for a few days; use before they start to turn yellow.

Preparing: If the stems are thick, strip the leaves, chop the stems, and start cooking them a couple of minutes before the leaves. To cut the leaves easily, roll them up, then cut across the roll (see below).

Best cooking methods: Boiling, steaming, stirfrying, and braising. A fine addition to soups and stews as well.

When are they done? When the stems are tender enough to pierce easily with a skewer or a thin-bladed knife. Unless-and this is sometimes the case-you want the stems on the crunchy side.

Other vegetables to substitute: Cabbage, chard, or beet greens.

Here are some of the best recipes with collards that I think you must try. First one is Flash-Cooked Kale or Collards with Lemon Juice .   The second one is Collards or Kale with Tahini. This rich and filling dish is wonderful spooned over rice (especially basmati)

Horseradish

Though it’s most often sold in a jar, fresh horseradish is quite wonderful-and surprisingly mild and delicious  when cooked. The tan root has a narrow branch that ends with a rounded and bulging bulb and is often sold still covered in dirt.

Buying and storing: Look for firm, crisp, unshriveled specimens. Refrigerate.

Preparing: Peel before using, with a sharp paring knife, not a vegetable peeler, and acknowledge from the outset that you will lose some of the flesh (it’s hard to peel). Grate it for use as a condiment, or chop or slice it as needed. Beware: This will make you cry.

Best cooking methods: Boiling, braising, and baking, usually in combination with other vegetables.

When is it done? When it’s soft.

Other vegetables to substitute: Radish, parsnips, and celery root all lend their unique flavors to a dish. Likewise, fresh horseradish can be cooked in any recipe calling for those vegetables, though it will almost always be spicier.

Jícama

The tan root of a tropical vine, jícama is native to Central America and can grow to 5 pounds, though we never see any that large here. It has a turniplike shape and light tan skin that must be peeled; the flesh is white, delicately sweet, and crisp, like raw potato or a crunchy pear, making it excellent for eating raw in salads or simply sliced and eaten as a snack.

Buying and storing: Look for firm, unshriveled specimens that are somewhat heavy for their size. Store in a cool, dry spot (the fridge is fine); it will keep for as long as a month.

Preparing: Peel using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, then chop, slice, or shred.

Best cooking methods: It’s best raw; broiling, sautéing or stir-frying is also nice.

When is it done? When just heated through and still crunchy.

Other vegetables to substitute: Radish, cucumber, or water chestnuts.

Be sure not to neglect the zest as it brings the wonderful flavor of the fruit but without the acid (the zest is only the yellowor green portion of the outer skin; the white pith underneath is bitter).

There is a common lemon and common lime variety that you will see everywhere; there are also two less common but prized varieties of both the lemon and the lime: Meyer lemons and key limes.

Meyer lemons have a unique floral and piney fragrance; they are a bit less acidic than regular lemons and are not easy to find outside of California. Key limes (mostly from Florida) are tiny and round and, like the Meyer, have a more floral and less acidic flavor than regular limes. Both Meyer lemons and key limes work nicely in desserts.

Buying and storing: Buy plump specimens that are heavy for their size and yield to gentle pressure; very hard or lightweight fruit will be dry. Store in the refrigerator.

Preparing: Cut into halves, quarters, wedges, or slices and remove the pits with the point of a knife. Or cut into halves (or thirds through the axis for limes) and juice. There are a few ways to zest citrus; how you choose to do it should partly depend on how you’ll use it.

A zester is a nifty tool with small sharp-edged holes that cuts off long, thin strips of zest, which can then be minced; they are wonderful for garnishing when whole. Another method is to use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to remove the peel in long ribbons.

Unless you’re really skilled with the knife or peeler, this technique inevitably brings part of the bitter white pith with it; to do a perfect job you should then lay the strips down on a cutting board and scrape the white part off with a paring knife, then slice or mince as you like.

The third method is to use a sharp grater (like a Microplane grater), which results in tiny flecks of zest that are nearly undetectable in dishes except for their flavor.

Other fruits to substitute: Lemons and limes are more or less interchangeable, though they are of course different from one another.

My favorite dessert recipe is :Lemon Meringue Pie. It is easy to make but so tasty!

You also should try this great and tasty recipe for the coming spring: Grilled lamb chops with lemon yogurt sauce

Cooked, its aroma is alluring and its flavor ranges from assertively strong and delicious to sweet and mild. Roasting whole cloves or even the entire head is one of the best ways to bring out the rich sweetness of garlic.

Sautéing garlic in oil or butter to season a dish is also magical: Chop or slice the cloves, add to hot oil or butter, and sauté over medium heat just until softened, usually just a minute or two.  Even browned garlic, which is strong and bitter, has a role in certain sauces .

Dehydrated garlic, garlic salt, and garlic powder are no substitute for the real thing; nor is the chopped garlic in oil found at some markets. But the whole peeled garlic in jars or vacuum-sealed bags, as long as it’s fresh, is pretty good.

To remove the garlic scent from your fingers, rinse your fingers in water and rub them on any stainless-steel surface (your sink or faucet will do); this works like a charm.

Buying and storing: Loose heads of garlic are best (avoid the boxed type) because you can select the best; look for hard, unshriveled bulbs that have not sprouted. The color and size of garlic is not especially important, though larger cloves are easier to handle and require less peeling. Store in a dark, cool, dry spot; discard when soft.

Preparing: Don’t bother to peel garlic when you’re roasting it whole; the cloves will slip easily from their skins when they’re done. For raw garlic, peeling is easiest when the clove is half-smashed with the flat side of a knife blade.

For larger quantities, simmer the garlic in water to cover for 30 seconds or toast it in a dry pan over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently, for about 5 minutes; either of these treatments will loosen the skin and make it easy to slip out the cloves. To chop large quantities, add whole cloves to a food processor with a bit of oil; this will keep well for a few days. You can crush garlic through a press if you insist, but chopping is no more difficult.

Best cooking methods: Roasting and simmering in oil.

When is it done? When roasted: very, very tender, almost mushy. The cloves will squeeze easily out of their skins. When sautéed or fried: It’s up to you but generally the more you cook it the milder it becomes. Don’t let it get darker than golden brown or it will be bitter.

Other vegetables to substitute: Shallots can sometimes fill in, as can onions, but they just aren’t the same.

6 Ways to Use Roasted Garlic or Garlic Braised in Olive Oil

You could start and end like this: Spread it on bread and eat. But Roasted Garlic is so useful there’s no reason to

stop there:

1. Stir into any cooked sauce or soup in which you’d use garlic, usually toward the end of cooking.

2. Spread on any pizza before adding other ingredients.

3. Add to any vegetable purée or to Mashed Potatoes .

4. Add to Vinaigrette , mayonnaise , Traditional Pesto , gravy, or almost any other sauce.

5. Add to cooked grain or legume dishes or toss with cooked vegetables.

6. Mash with some olive oil or soft butter and spread on cooked meat, poultry, or full-flavored fish

There are also white and purple varieties, more common in Europe but occasionally seen here. White asparagus is grown underground or under cover to prevent greening; it’s more delicate in texture and has a subtle nutty flavor. (It’s rare, though, that it’s grown well enough here to justify its high price.)

Easy to prepare and quick cooking, asparagus is most often steamed but is also wonderful roasted or grilled; don’t overcook it in any case. Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold; add leftovers to eggs or salads.

Buying and storing: Any color and size of asparagus can be good; look for plump, unshriveled spears with undamaged tips and avoid spears that look woody. Often markets store them stem down in cold water, which is fine but not entirely necessary. Store wrapped loosely in plastic in the refrigerator; use as soon as possible.

Preparing: Snap off the bottom of each spear; it will naturally break in the right place. I recommend peeling asparagus (use a vegetable peeler) to remove the fibrous skin from just below the tip to the base; this step isn’t necessary if the spears are pencil thin.

Best cooking methods: Steaming, sautéing, roasting, and grilling are all fine.

When is it done? Asparagus is done when you can easily insert a skewer or thin-bladed knife into the thickest part of the stalk. Undercooked asparagus is crisp; overcooked asparagus is mushy.

Other vegetables to substitute: green or wax beans, sugar snap peas, or broccoli raab.

Avocados

Technically a fruit, the avocado is almost always used in a savory manner, though almost never cooked. And while it is loaded with fat, that fat is mostly monounsaturated, which is good. At its best, avocado flesh is a pretty light green, ultra-smooth, and creamy, with a rich and subtle flavor. It’s perfectly complemented by acid in citrus fruit or a mild vinegar but easily overwhelmed by stronger flavors.

There are many varieties-from tiny to melon size- but we see mostly Hass and Fuerte. Hass are pear shaped, with dark green to black leathery, wrinkled skin; they’re great for eating straight, spreading, or mashing. Fuerte are usually larger and have smoother green skin; generally, they’re not as rich, but they’re decent

Buying and storing: Avocados ripen nicely at room temperature, so they are often sold nearly rock hard. Give them a gentle squeeze before buying: You don’t want mushy spots or bruises; when one is ripe, it will yield to pressure. To ripen avocados more quickly, put them in a paper bag at room temperature. Store ripe avocados in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Preparing: Slice avocados in half from pole to pole around the seed; peel off the skin or scoop out the flesh with a spoon. If you want to store half, wrap it with the pit intact and refrigerate-the pit helps keep it from turning brown.

Avocados discolor quickly when cut; sprinkle with lemon or lime juice immediately after cutting to minimize darkening.

Best cooking method: Best eaten raw (sliced, mashed, or puréed, especially in Fast Avocado Soup). Delicious simply spread on bread and sprinkled with lemon or lime juice or a mild vinegar and salt.

When is it done? Avocado needs no cooking, though you can halve or slice and grill it until lightly browned.

Other fruits or vegetables to substitute: None.

The texture of lychees is like that of a fleshy grape, and the flavor is sweet and one-of-a-kind, though akin to that of cherries. (Canned lychees are mostly just sugary sweet and not worth eating.) They are also dried and sometimes called lychee nuts, though they aren’t nuts and the seeds are no more edible than when fresh. Summer is peak lychee season; look for them at Asian and farmers’ markets.

Buying and storing: Summer is peak lychee season, when you’ll find them at Asian and farmers’ markets.

Look for fragrant, brightly colored fruit with flexible- not dried-out or brittle-skins; they should be heavy for their size. Store wrapped loosely in plastic in the refrigerator; use as soon as possible.

Preparing: Use the stem to break open the skin and gently peel it off; eat the fruit and spit out the seed.

Other fruits to substitute: Grapes, or kiwi or carambola for a tropical flavor.

Mangoes

There are dozens of shapes, sizes, and colors of mango, from orange size to melon size; green to yellow, orange, or red; exceedingly tart to syrupy sweet. Both ripe and unripe mangos are useful: unripe for chutney, pickling, and making amchoor  and ripe for eating straight, making salsas, fruit salads, and cooking (especially on the grill).

Supermarkets carry the most common yellow and red mango year-round, but you’ll find a wider selection in Latin, Asian, and Indian markets; the small yellow mangoes are, for my money, the best. In the United States mangoes are grown in California, Florida, and Hawaii, but the majority are imported from Mexico and farther south.

Buying and storing: Color isn’t as important as texture; the softer it is, the riper. Some varieties of mango will start to wrinkle a bit at the stem when they are perfectly ripe. Bought at any stage, however, the mango will ripen if left at room temperature. Once ripe, store in the refrigerator or it will rot.

Preparing: There are a few different ways to go about preparing a mango; how you do it will depend on your knife skills and your patience. The quick and messy way is to just peel off the skin-a small knife makes quick work of it-and attack.

For a neater presentation, trim a piece off the bottom end. Stand the fruit on a cutting board, trim off the skin with a sharp paring knife, then slice fruit from around the pit.

You can use it also in many great and delicious recipes. Here are some of them: Pork and mango rolls ,   Prawn, Avocado and Mango Salad , Smoked Turkey and Mango Wraps and Mango Strudel With Vanilla Lime Sauce

Other fruits to substitute: Papaya, cantaloupe or other fleshy orange melons, or oranges.

Things have gotten better in the last ten years, too. Before then, pineapples were picked green and, since they didn’t sweeten much after they were picked, were often disappointing. (If they were picked ripe and shipped by air, they were expensive.)

But the new “gold” hybrids, which now represent nearly 100 percent of many Hawaiian producers’ crops, are almost always sweet and juicy, with lovely golden flesh. Which makes the pineapple among the most reliable fruit you can buy.

Buying and storing: Look for fruit that has a good pineapple aroma, deep yellow or golden color, and yields only slightly to gentle pressure. Underripe pineapples will decrease in acidity if left at room temperature but will not ripen or sweeten. Once ripe, eat immediately or store in the refrigerator and use as quickly as possible.

Preparing: There are a few ways to dismember a pineapple; I favor two. For either, first cut off the spiky top. Then, with a chef ’s knife, peel around the perimeter and remove all the spiny skin; use a paring knife to dig out any eyes. At that point, cut the pineapple crosswise into round slices or top to bottom into halves or quarters and cut out the woody core.

Alternatively, after trimming, cut straight down from top to bottom with a chef ’s knife to cut the pineapple in half  ;then cut each half in half again to make quarters. Use a smaller knife to cut off the woody core portion from each quarter (at the peak of your triangles) and then use a grapefruit or paring knife to separate the flesh from the skin by cutting between the two; cut the quarter into slices and serve.

First recipe that I think you should try it is Pineapple upside-down cake . It’s so sweet !

Also if you like ham you sould try this great recipe: Pineapple Glazed Ham .

And also ypu can use it in a salad. just try this simple recipe:Pineapple Cheese Salad

Other fruits to substitute: Oranges, grapefruit, kiwis, or carambola