Winter Fools
Fools are fun, and bfia will address them in more detail in a forthcoming number along with their soulmate, syllabub. They usually are associated with fresh, seasonal fruit but Jane Grigson, for example, assumed that her readers would make fools from preserved stores as well; she describes one made from dried apricots as “the best winter fool.” English Food (London 1974;256). If it is not quite winter, it is hardly the season for fresh fruit in northern climes either; ‘offseason’ may be a more accurate if less lovely term than ‘winter’ for stores fools.
Cherries canned in water (light syrup is too similar to cough syrup) also make a good offseason fool. Our versions of each follow.