COOLER DAYS, SWEETER FRUIT

Apples, pears and more bring the flavor of autumn to these dishes

Autumn. Crackling leaves and football games. Nippy evenings and early sunsets. Cups of steaming hot cocoa.

But wait. Most vivid of all recollections of fall might well be the glorious fruit produced from that season’s harvest. Imagine autumn without apple desserts. Or green salads without the perfumy sweetness of pears. A season absent of Hachiya persimmons baked into warm, cakelike pudding.

APPLES AND POMEGRANATES >> With crisp, juicy interiors clothed in burnished skins, apples have inspired some of the world’s greatest desserts. Team an apple cake with pomegranate seeds and you have captured two of fall’s favorites. Sweet yet tart, the luscious seeds burst with juice. They glimmer atop the cake like ruby-red prisms.

RIPE PEARS >> And think of the possibility of a perfect pear. Sweet and buttery, with melt-in-your-mouth texture. In the marketplace, they most often are sold rock hard and almost scentless. That’s because if they are left on the tree to ripen, they become grainy, downright mushy. Plan to let hard pears lounge in a brown bag at room temperature for several days to soften, checking them every day (they are ready when they give to gentle pressure at the neck — don’t let them get squishy). Try them sauteed and added to a green salad; you will fall in love.

PERSIMMONS >> They hold a special place in the seasonal lineup. Ripe Hachiya persimmons are the deep orange, heart-shaped variety. The fruit stars in one of the most irresistible autumn desserts, a puddinglike cake replete with cinnamon, dried apricots and crystallized ginger.

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her @CathyThomasCooks.