When deciding upon what type of salad to make, it's best to use produce that is as fresh and seasonal as possible. Whether your ingredients are picked from your garden or bought from the market, foods that are harvested closest to home will offer the best value for your money, palate, and health. A few seasonal salad ingredients to look for in markets around your home include fruits such as apples, pears, cranberries and grapes; or vegetables such as fennel, cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli.

Fruits...

Apples
Apples are plentiful during the autumn months and a wide variety should be available in a market near you. When choosing apples for salads, look to buy 'salad apples'; some names of popular salad apples include Red Delicious, Fuji, and Winesap. Salad apples are by definition sweet and crisp. Buy firm, well-colored apples with a fresh (never musty) fragrance. The skins should be smooth and free of bruises and gouges. For a complete guide to apples check out Finding the Perfect Apple for Your Pie . Try using your favorite apple in one of these salads: Fabulous Fruit Salad or Apple Stick Salad .

Pears
Now is also the time of year to enjoy all your favorite varieties of pears, the 'aristocrat' of fruit. When buying fresh pears select pears with even color and a slight blush. Be careful when handling pears because they are delicate and bruise easily! Although there are thousands of known pear varieties in the world, there is only a handful which are widely recognized for their superb flavor and fresh eating qualities. Those sweet and crisp pears are called the Bartlett, Anjou, Bosc, and Comice.

Quick hint! To keep slices of pear sparkling white before serving, sprinkle them with lemon juice and place them in a water bath. To prepare for immediate eating, simply rinse them and enjoy.

Here's a fabulous recipe that puts pears to good use: Fall Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette .

Cranberries
Fresh cranberries are a fruit that often seem to get forgotten, due to the fame of the canned version. Try using fresh cranberries not only in homemade sauces and pies, but also as beautiful and tart salad garnishes. Try out some of these tangy berries in the following salads: Apple-Walnut Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette or Cranberry Salad . Before you make your cranberry concoctions head on over to Thank Heaven for Cranberries , an Allrecipes.com's fall feature that will tell you all kinds of hints, tips and neat-o facts about fall's cutest fruit!

Grapes
Grapes are harvested when sweet and ripe so you don't need to sniff, thump or squeeze to make sure they are ready to eat. Just look for plump clusters that are firmly attached to green stems.

Once at home, refrigerate grapes until ready to use, then rinse with cold water and serve or toss in a favorite salad. Grapes come in three basic colors: green, red, and blue-black. There are lots of popular grape varieties so if the grapes at your grocery store look plump and delicious (and a quick bite yields a sweet fruit taste) buy 'em and toss them in your salads! Broccoli Salad III puts some of this refreshing fruit, where it should be, on your plate!

Veggies...
Fennel
Fennel is available from fall through spring and adds a hint of fresh sweet licorice flavor to any salad. This aromatic plant is pale green with a celery-like stem and feathery foliage. Its root base can be treated like a vegetable and both the base and stems can be eaten raw in salads. The fragrant, graceful greenery can be used as a garnish or snipped like dill to enhance many recipes. Fennel is often mislabeled as 'sweet anise,' causing those who don't like the flavor of licorice to avoid it. The flavor of fennel, however, is sweeter and more delicate than anise and, when cooked, becomes even lighter and softer than in its raw state. Give fresh fennel a try in this simple salad, Fennel and Orange Salad .

Cabbage
The cabbage family - of which broccoli and cauliflower are members - is wide and varied. But for salads' sake, some of the best heads of cabbage to use are the 'savoy' types. These are very thin-leafed, very tender, very mild and tasty. Look for this type of cabbage under the name Napa, January King or Wivoy. When choosing a cabbage, look for fresh, crisp leaves that are firmly packed; and the head should be heavy for its size. It can be cooked in a variety of ways or eaten raw, as in coleslaw. The name coleslaw actually comes from the Dutch term koolsla , meaning 'cool cabbage.' Coleslaw can be any salad of shredded red or white cabbage mixed with a mayonnaise, vinaigrette or other type of dressing. Other ingredients such as chopped onion, celery, sweet green or red pepper, pickles, bacon or herbs may be added. Here are a couple of recipes that utilize the cabbage in wonderful ways: Wilted Cabbage Salad with Bacon and Snow Pea and Napa Cabbage Slaw .

Cauliflower and Broccoli
The name 'cauliflower' also means 'cabbage flower' and these vegetables are available year-round, but especially plentiful in the spring and late fall. When buying cauliflower, select one that is white or creamy white in color, firm, and heavy. Cauliflower may be stored for up to one week in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Keep it dry and any brownish colored bruises may be trimmed away before cooking.

Need a dose of vitamin green? Why not toss some broccoli into your salads? When shopping for broccoli, look for leaves and stems with dark green heads. Look for tender, young stalks that are firm with compact buds in the head. Yellow flowers in buds or very rough bumpy heads may indicate broccoli is old and tough. For a salad that brings these two fresh treats together try the Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad , you're sure to be delighted!