Cranberries, oranges, pears, and red bananas are only a few fruits considered "winter," but, prepared properly, can outdo many summer varieties. A balsamic reduction, cooking it slowly down to half the amount, can be drizzled over a winter fruit salad that would compete with any summer one.

Recipes AHUVA'S ACORN SQUASH SOUP CRANBERRY CHICKEN GRANMA BESSIE'S TRADITIONAL BEEF TSIMMES SPRING GREENS WITH PEARS PISTACHIO-ORANGE BISCOTTI

Today, many fruits are grown in countries where our winter is their summer so importing many unusual fruits gives us the opportunity to experience new ones all year round. Try some red bananas. They are similar to yellow ones, but with a slight raspberry-banana flavor. Eat them raw or cut up in salad or on cereal.

Guavas are oval shaped and slightly tart. Green ones are unripe but the pale yellow, red or purple means a sweet unusual ripeness. They are often used for making jellies but can be eaten raw or in salads after removing the seeds. If you are at all adventurous, visit an Oriental or specialty grocery market for choices that will surprise your taste buds.

"America Cooks Kosher" is Beth Tfiloh Congregation's newest cookbook. Those who know me, know that I read cookbooks like most people read novels. My shelves are lined with almost every new, especially Jewish, cookbook published. And yes, I do pay special attention to newer local ones, notably one like this that was obviously so meticulously planned, collected and printed.

Most recipes will give you a little trivia note of how it was obtained, making them even more enticing. So many cookbooks often have similar recipes repeated over and over. Here you will find a collection of not only new ones, but old traditional ones that have been truly "kicked up a notch."

So when it came to testing some recipes for my "winter fruits vs. summer tastes" idea, I had to look no further than this book. The following are selected recipes that you would be proud to put on your menus for family or company. I've included the Acorn Squash Soup; although not a fruit, to me, it is a sweet vegetable and versatile enough to include for upcoming Passover.

The book is $29.95, can be purchased at Beth Tfiloh's gift shop or on its Web site, www.bethtfiloh.com/cookbook .

Ilene Spector is a local free-lance writer who writes a monthly Food Talk column and a twice-monthly cooking column for the Baltimore Jewish Times.