A HARTE APPETITE: FRUIT FOOLS ARE TASTY ON APRIL 1

Ambrose Bierce has defined an April fool as "the March fool with another month added to his folly." Mark Twain went even further when he declared, "The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year."

Both of these observations, perhaps, hit a little too close to home, for after all, as Wilson Mizner reminds us, even a person who's always professing he's no fool "usually has his suspicions." Today, April Fools' Day, is the day when those suspicions may be realized. It is a day when your friends, family, and co-workers may feel free, even obligated, to play pranks and practical jokes designed to make a "fool" of you.

The origin of April Fools' Day is not exactly certain. Some historians argue that it can be traced back to the Roman empire when the Christians came into power and replaced the traditional April 1 spring ritual with Easter. Those who didn't fall in line with the new doctrine were ridiculed and made to feel foolish.

Others claim that April Fools' Day began with the adoption of a new calendar in France in the 16th century. Charles IX proclaimed that New Year's Day would be observed on the first day of January instead of the first day of April, as it had been during medieval times. Those who resisted the change and continued to celebrate in April were taunted as fools.

Whatever its origins, the custom of a day of foolishness has become widespread. It's observed, among other places, in France, Germany, England, Scotland (where it is a 48-hour holiday), India (on March 31, the final day of the Feast of Huli), and Mexico (in December on El Dia de los Inocentes).

I can think of no better way to suffer fools gladly on this day than to create one, an English fruit fool, that is. A fool, as Larousse Gastronomique defines it, is merely chilled cooked fruit crushed into a puree and mixed with whipped cream. (The term, fool, may, in fact, come from the French word for crushed or pressed, foule.) Larousse calls for a ratio of two parts whipped cream to one part fruit puree, but other recipes call for equal parts.

The origin of the fruit fool is decidedly less obscure than the origin of April Fools' Day. It is a classic English dessert that dates back to the 15th century. Originally a blend of custard and pureed fruit, the fool has evolved today into an amalgam using only whipped cream and fruit. Though gooseberry fool is the traditional variety, fools can be made from almost any fruit including raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, cranberries, dried apricots and even plums. The recipe stays essentially the same regardless.

According to James Beard, in his "American Cookery," the fool spread throughout this country, first in the South and then in New England, after being introduced by the English. "It is still a great delicacy," he wrote. And, as British food writer Elizabeth David points out, the fool may well have been the precursor to ice cream. One of the earliest printed recipes for ice cream, in Hannah Glasse's 18th century cookbook, "The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy," is essentially a recipe for a raspberry fool which is then frozen.

So what could be a better day for fools (the culinary variety I mean) than today? Nothing could be easier to make and what better way to celebrate the onset of spring? One word of warning, however, about the following recipes. Though it has been observed that there's no fool like an old fool (as Jacob Braude says, "You can't beat experience"), the maxim definitely doesn't apply to dessert fools. It's best to serve them immediately after preparation so you can fully appreciate what fools these morsels be.

Gooseberry Fool

This recipe is from Elizabeth David, who has been called "Britain's most inspirational cookery writer." Though it will work well with uncooked strawberries, uncooked raspberries, or blackberries cooked like the gooseberries, David, in her delightful book, "An Omelette and a Glass of Wine," says, "I give precedence to those dishes made from the gooseberry, because green gooseberry fool is--to me at any rate--the most delicious as well as the most characteristic of all these simple, almost childlike, English dishes."

Ingredients:

2 1/4 quarts gooseberries (about 2 pounds)

1 cup superfine sugar

1-2 cups heavy cream whipped to soft peaks

Directions:

Wash the berries; there is no need to top and tail them. Put them with the sugar in the top half of a double boiler and steam them for about 30 minutes until they are quite soft. Strain off the surplus liquid (which would make the fool watery) and puree the berries in a food mill or processor. When the puree is quite cold, add the cream. Serve in a stemmed glass. Serves 6-8.

Low-Fat Rhubarb Fool

Who says you can't fool all of the people all of the time? Using low-fat yogurt in place of heavy cream, this recipe from Bon Appetit magazine will deceive even the most indifferent diet fools and have them rushing in for more.

Ingredients:

16 oz. rhubarb stalks, trimmed, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

1/2 cup sugar

6 tablespoons orange juice

4 tablespoons Grand Marnier

2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt

Directions:

Bring rhubarb, sugar, and orange juice to simmer in medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Partially cover pan and cook until rhubarb is very soft, about 6 minutes. Mix in Grand Marnier. Refrigerate until cold, about 15 minutes. Alternate layers of rhubarb mixture and yogurt in 4 large wine goblets. Using small knife, swirl mixtures together. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 1 hour. Frozen rhubarb can be substituted for fresh.

Lime Fool with Strawberries and Kiwi

With the addition of white chocolate, this fool is both classic and contemporary. The recipe is from Bon Appetit magazine.

Ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream, divided

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon grated lime peel

6 oz. white chocolate, chopped

3 tablespoons sugar

2 cups sliced hulled strawberries

2 kiwi fruit, peeled, thinly sliced

4 whole strawberries

4 lime slices

Directions:

Bring 1/4 cup cream, lime juice, and peel to simmer in heavy small saucepan. Reduce heat to low. Add chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Pour into medium bowl and refrigerate until cool but not set, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Beat remaining cream in medium bowl to soft peaks. Add sugar and beat until stiff. Fold cream into white chocolate mixture. Place scant 1/4 cup sliced berries in each of four 8 ounce wineglasses. Press 3 kiwi slices against sides of each glass. Spoon 1/3 cup cream mixture in each glass. Spoon scant 1/4 cup sliced berries in center of each, pressing into center so berries do not show at sides of glasses. Spoon remaining cream over; smooth tops. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. To serve, make lengthwise cuts in whole strawberries without cutting through stem ends. Fan 1 strawberry atop each dessert and attach lime slice to rim of each glass.

Got a recipe you'd like to share with our readers? Are you looking for a recipe for something in particular? Send your recipes and requests to A Harte Appetite, c/o The Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699 or by e-mail to tharte@semovm.semo.edu.

~Tom Harte is a professor at Southeast Missouri State University and writes a food column every other week for the Southeast Missourian.