Fruit Art: Summer Fruit and Winter Fruit Posters

Los Angeles-based artist Claire Nereim's new Summer Fruit and Winter Fruit posters celebrate seasonal fruits.

The Summer Fruit poster features drawings of stone fruits and berries, while the Winter Fruit poster features citrus varieties, pomegranate, and pear. "I love eating seasonally," says Nereim. "And hope to encourage people to remember what's being harvested (and is therefore most delicious)!"

The posters are hand-screen-printed, signed and numbered (19x25", editions of 270) on recycled cover-stock paper.

$50 each at Claire Nereim's etsy shop.

The New Fruits: From Pluerries to Peacherines

The Wall Street Journal on new fruit hybrids and the pain-staking process of creating them.

Exploding Watermelons

Watermelon farmers in China are are perplexed by the occurrence of exploding fruit. Some blame use of a type of growth chemical.

Genetically Modified Apple Never Browns

A Canadian biotechnology company has asked the U.S. to approve a genetically modified apple (dubbed the "Botox apple") that won't brown right after it's sliced.

Woman Discovers "Demonic" Pear

A New Zealand woman opened a can of pears and found a pear with a "demonic" face peering back at her.

Banana Museum Exiled

The Wall Street Journal reports that the International Banana Club and Museum, which houses the world's largest collection of banana-themed tchochkes, has been kicked out of its California home. Don't miss the stipple portrait of the founder.

British Jam, by Way of France

Tea Together, a producer of artisanal jams based in northern France, has just opened its first retail store in Millburn, New Jersey.

I caught up with owners Nick and Judith Gifford when the shop opened last month.

The British couple started their business 12 years ago after leaving busy careers in film and television production for country life in the northern French village of  St. Remy au Bois. Before long, they traded film for food and tried their hand as culinary entrepreneurs.

"We wondered what the English could do better than the French" said Judith, and they hit upon British traditions of breakfast and tea time as their angle. "You see," she explained. "The French do everything based on lunch and dinner."

Seizing an opportunity, they started out baking scones (what could be more British?). When they set up shop at the market, the scones attracted a lot of curiosity from the locals, but few sales. Judith recalled that her French customers were bewildered about what to do with them. "'But, when would you eat these?' they would ask." The scones never took off.

Still Life Fruit Bowl

With Barnaby Barford and André Klauser's novel Still Life Fruit Bowl, you can create a piece of art that changes according to your fruit-buying patterns. The oak frame and earthenware bowl is available for pre-order for $100 at Areaware (though it also looks like something you might try making yourself).

Just Fruit

I raved earlier about Southern Alps Slow Dried Fruits when I spotted them at last year's Fancy Food Show. Unlike other dried fruits, these contain no sugar, sulfites, or other additives and preservatives. The result is visually stunning, not to mention tasty. The mangoes, for example, have a distinctly sour and sweet flavor, and a very chewy, leathery texture (almost like beef jerky) that's nothing like the sugary sweet kind you might find in Chinatown grocery store. Mango, mulberries, pineapple, green apples, figs, and strawberries, among other fruits, are also available in snack size pouches. $4.99 to $7.99 each at iGourmet.com.