November Fruit 2025
The Holiday Season is a time to enjoy life’s pleasures, families of any type, and friends. It is such a food-centric occasion, and Melissa’s is here to help solve the question by offering suggestions of seasonal fruits and related items for sides, apps and entrées, desserts, treats, and gifts.
MELISSA’S SEASONAL APPLES
Most apple varieties are now available year-round because of large harvests, and many are hybrids or crosses of existing varieties. Consumers are on a constant search for different flavor profiles of one of nature’s most versatile produce items to include in their diets. Apples contain natural soluble and insoluble fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients to fight inflammation, and several other nutrients depending on the variety. Select firm apples, free of bruises and cuts. They hold best under refrigeration up to three weeks but can absorb flavors hiding within your fridge. They may also be stored, unwashed, at room temperature in a well-ventilated, cool area up to one week. Apples may be consumed raw/fresh, juiced, fermented, dehydrated or dried, pickled, roasted, or steamed. They pair well with just about any other fruit or vegetable and can often be the ‘bulk’ to increase serving quantity of a recipe falling short of servings but may need to adjust seasonings. Raw apples may be frozen if peeled and tossed with a bit of lemon water, then laid in a single layer on parchment-lined freezable trays. Once frozen, transfer to storable bags and use frozen for juicing, baking, or cooking within six months. Below, we have focused on three often difficult-to-locate but tasty apples. Please contact our Customer Service department at 800-588-0151 or order online at www.melissas.com if your local retailer does not offer them.
GREEN DRAGON® APPLE – Often a favorite apple of the Autumnal season, Green Dragon® Apples are a high-sugar sweet apple with green skin. They are best eaten out of hand, but work well in pies and baked goods as well as slaws. This low-acid fruit can brown quickly, so please pair with or add to the prep bowl a bit of citrus juice to alleviate the problem. My favorite is to peel and slice thin, then add it to a soft cheese quesadilla and perk it up a bit with a few shakes or sprinkles of Melissa’s Crushed Red Pepper Flakes. Serve warm. Available now through December. Grown in USA, OREGON.
ARKANSAS BLACK APPLE – First planted in Arkansas in the mid-1850s, this apple was named for its discovery location and peel, which turns very dark, almost black to the eye, as it ripens. This storage apple’s sweetness shines through as it ripens. Arkansas Black apples are quite dense and are best used as a sauce or baking apple and are classic as a pressing or juicing apple for cider. Tasty sautéed and added to steamed or roasted veggies, pairs well with semi-soft and strong-flavored cheeses. Available through December. Product of USA.
ORGANIC CRIMSON GOLD – Adorable little orbs of bright red and yellow, Melissa’s Organic Crimson and Gold apples are crisp with tang and a bit of sweetness. Because of their size, they are quite versatile not only for inclusion in dishes, but also for holiday ‘live’ decorations. Add them to fresh wreaths for pops of color, table centerpieces with fresh citrus, herbs, and flowers. And for kiddies of all ages, dip them in chocolate or candy them as mini candied apples, add them to stuffings, or place them on grazing boards with Melissa’s Hot Honey with Habanero or Jalapeno heat. Their size makes them perfect for small servings and passed tray items. Crimson Gold Apples also make a nice little ‘fresh’ gift as they are packed in one-pound bags-just tie with a shiny, colorful bow! Available through January. Product of USA, California Grown. USDA Certified Organic.
RAMBUTAN
Tropics are a fun place to visit during North America’s oft-cold and gloomy days, but oftentimes we can’t get away so early in the new year. The resolve: live through your fresh tropical fruit! Rambutan is one very tropical fruit, from its exotic outward appearance to its tutti-fruitti chin dripping flesh.
A member of the lychee or litchi family, this fruit is less acidic than lychees and has a sweeter, grape-like texture and flesh. Its name, for obvious visual reasons, translates to ‘hairy’ in some Southeast Asian countries. Once washed, peeled, and pitted, not only can it be eaten out of hand, it can also be added to curries, sorbets, fruited salads, game meats and seafoods, and bitter greens. It makes a tasty salsa or relish! Rambutan pairs well with spicy heat, tart, creamy foods, and other tropical fruits. Available year-round. Currently, the product of Guatemala through December.
ORGANIC DRAGON FRUIT, RED OR WHITE
What a beautiful, alluring piece of fruit! Dragon fruit, so named for its colorful spines resembling ‘fire’, is a member of the cactus family and is known to be a source of dietary fiber, prebiotics, and anti-inflammation. Similar in texture to kiwifruit, dragon fruit is refreshing and dense yet soft in texture. The white variety is less sweet than the red, which is mildly sweet, making them perfect to balance too-sweet fruit salads or high sugar desserts. Wash, peel, and cut into small squares to simulate dice, or melon ball and serve drizzled with liqueur, or use as a garnish. All of Melissa’s Organics are USDA Certified Organic. Available year-round. Product of Ecuador, Mexico, or Viet Nam.
FINGER LIMES
Another fun, exotic tropical fruit, but this one originated in Australia. This small torpedo-shaped green citrus contains tiny, round beads or sacs filled with lime juice. Also known as citrus caviar, finger limes are an adult pop rock, if you will, and fun to use in salad dressings, ice cubes, pan sauces, and garnish for small tray passed apps and fresh fruit desserts, but absolutely ‘to the moon’ when paired with oysters, ceviche, sashimi, or sushi. Available through December. California-grown.
COCKTAIL GRAPEFRUIT
Grapefruit often gets a bad rap for being sour or tart, but this variety is a hybrid of mandarin orange and white grapefruit, yielding a wonderfully sweet, rich flavor! Though a heavily seeded fruit, this is a fabulous citrus for juicing rather than eating-unless you’re wearing a bib! Harvested ripe and ready to use, green-skinned cocktail grapefruit is no indication of ripeness, and will gradually turn yellow as the season progresses into the new year. Include this grapefruit for cocktails, beverages, sorbets, marinades, and curds. Once juiced, you can also freeze into ice cubes and add to iced tea or sparkling water. This is a fun opportunity to put a twist on lemon meringue pie for the seasonal gatherings. Available now through January. California Grown.
RED WALNUTS
Nuts are an ingredient often featured in recipes during the holiday season, either as a side snack or an inclusion in various dishes. Red Walnuts are a more buttery nut than their half-sister English walnuts, leaving no bitterness on the palate. They’re great for simple snacking, but make some dishes, desserts, and baked goods pop when included. They are a true specialty small crop and must be hand shelled to reduce breakage. Freezable up to two months, but best used fresh or toasted. Available now through February. Product of USA California Grown.
GRINDERS
Wonderful hostess or stocking stuffer gifts for college dorms or new ‘adults’, Melissa’s Grinders are perfect in every home or desk drawer. Melissa’s Grinders run the gamut from Himalayan Pink Salt for finishing dishes and perky Rainbow Peppercorn, to Spicy Grinder with red pepper flakes and sesame seeds, Everything spice with sesame, garlic, and pepper flakes, to classic Tuscan with thyme, parsley, garlic and onion, and sea salt. Product of USA.
CREPE SNAX™
A quick dessert, snack on the go, or stocking stuffer, Melissa’s Crepe Snax™ are fun for kids of all ages and made with our popular French crepes, then filled with natural flavored spreads of either mango, papaya, pineapple, or banana. Each is individually wrapped for a backpack or purse and just enough to end hankering ‘til mealtime. Available year-round. Product of USA.
PUMPKIN SEED CLEAN SNAX®
One of our very popular Clean Snax® nut snacks, this one is fitting for the Thanksgiving season. Pepitas are shelled pumpkin seeds, meaty and filled with nutrients to curb hankering and increase fiber intake. Eat them whole, crush them to top sweet potato casserole or breakfast pumpkin muffins, dress yogurt parfaits and chocolate cream pie! NOTE!!! Pumpkin Clean Snax® are also available in a small 2-oz. pack, just the right size for a purse or traveling or movies. Available year-round. Product of USA.
COCO SNAX™
Fairly new to our Snax line, Coco Snax™ are coconut munchies combined with either coffee, ginger, or more coconut! And if there is some left, try them crushed and used to top sweet potatoes and banana cream pie, and incorporate into OG vanilla cookie crust!!!
