Top Ten Fruits for Grilling

Fresh-picked fruit from your garden and the heat of the grill can be a fabulous combination. Grilling fruit intensifies its flavor and sweetness. The look of grilled fruit is appealing, too, with deep brown grill marks that denote caramelization and provide a rustic appearance.

Top Ten Garden-Grown Fruits for the Grill

Gardeners can grow many types of fruits, from berries to orchard fruits, and most of them work well on the grill.  

Even small, homegrown berries can be scattered fresh over grilled fruit, then served with ice cream or frozen yogurt. Here are ten fruits that you can grow in your garden and that translate well to the grill.

Apples. lGolden Delicious apples, cut into slices and then cored, are naturally sweet and stand up well to the heat of the grill, softening quickly without drying out. Other types of apples such as Jonathan Granny Smith can be stuffed, then roasted over indirect heat.

Berries. S  Strawberries do well on skewers and only need a minute or two. Smaller fruits such as  blueberries and blackberries can be  stir-grilled with other fruits or scattered over a planked cheese on the grill.

Cherries.  Pitted first, sweet cherries also do well on skewers over the grill grates. Turn once.

Citrus. Oranges, lemons and limes can be cut in half, then grilled cut-side down until the natural sugars caramelize.

Figs. Grilled whole or cut in half, sweet figs do well as appetizers or desserts.

Grapes. Grill a whole cluster of grapes, until the grapes have good grill marks, then turn with tongs to grill the other side.
Melon. There’s more to melon that just eating it raw. Try grilling slices of cantaloupe or honeydew to bring out their sweetness.

Pears.  Juicy ripe-but-still-firm pears take to grilling and planking for salads and desserts.

Persimmons. Japanese persimmons, especially the Fuyu variety, can be cut in half and grilled so their sweet, bland flavor gets a little boost.
Stone fruits. Apricots, peaches, plums, and nectarines—fruits that have a stone or pit in the center—do well cut in half, pitted, and grilled.

Honeyed Blackberries with Grilled Pound Cake

Though the berries aren’t grilled, the sauce is cooked on the grill along with the grilled slices of pound cake. The butter content in the pound cake is enough to keep it from sticking to the grill grates, so you do not need to brush the slices with oil or butter. Adapted from The Gardener and the Grill. 

Serves 4

1 cup heavy whipping cream

4 cups blackberries

6 tablespoons honey, divided

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 (1-inch) slices of pound cake

Prepare a hot fire in your grill. Whip the cream with an electric mixer or a whisk until it holds medium peaks, about 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside.

In a heavy saucepan that can be used on the grill or on a grill side burner, combine the blackberries, 4 tablespoons honey, lemon juice, and cinnamon.

Set the saucepan over the heat and stir to blend, cooking until the mixture begins to bubble.

At the same time, grill the pound cake slices for about 3 to 4 minutes per side until they get good grill marks.

Stir 2 tablespoons of the remaining honey into the whipped cream with a light touch.

To serve, set a slice of grilled pound cake on each plate. Spoon the warmed berries over the cake and top with the honeyed whipped cream.