There's no question about it—food made with ingredients at their prime and in season tastes best. Deceptively simple in concept, but remarkably more complicated than most would like to admit, there's so much more to take into consideration than just the range of produce available at the nearest grocery store. Fresh, local produce, at the peak of ripeness, is at the heart of seasonal eating, providing incomparable flavors that simply cannot be replicated with any amount of sugar, salt, or baking extracts ever created by man. Without a solid source of these staple ingredients, any baker can only hope to create desserts on par with the norm, never anything particularly spectacular. I don't know about you, but no almond extract that has ever …show more content…
Just go with your gut, explore your options, and eat what looks good. Mother Nature is a fickle woman, and herein lies the first great stumbling block to baking and cooking enlightenment. Availability will vary greatly based on your climate, location, and of course the current season, so while raspberries first poke their timid red heads out from the bushes around early to mid-August for me, they'll have already been on the scene in California practically long enough to call themselves permanent residents. In cases such as these, other berries could very easily be used instead of those illusive raspberries, and in a pinch, frozen can often make an adequate stand-in. Just because we all know that the fresh will taste better when they're abundant in the late summer doesn't mean we can always stop those midwinter berry cravings! There's no need to be militant about this stuff either, which is why the following recipes should truly be considered more as guidelines than …show more content…
I've provided some helpful hints when possible, indicating areas where key fruits and somewhat obscure ingredients can be swapped for something that might be easier to come by, but don't be afraid to get in there and experiment for yourself. Make the recipe once as written to know how it should come out, and then go crazy, take a risk, consider yourself a mad baking scientist! Since I never had formal training myself, this is exactly how I learned to hone my skills, gain appreciation for the alchemy that occurs every time you put a cake in the oven and watch it rise to incredible heights, and generally become passionate about this creative kitchen craft. The worst thing that a baker can do, experienced or fresh in the field, is to become too rigid with their recipes. It's only food, after all, and playing with it to make something even sweeter should always be