When it comes to autumn recipes, those with pumpkins and apples jump to mind.

Today, they might be nothing more than breakfast cereals. But those who dined on them each morning a century ago were told the cereals brought them good health.

Boston Beer Company has just released its Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection, a series of three new beers brewed and bottled exclusively at the Jamaica Plain brewery.

Lucky for us already, it’s kosher to eat latkes year-round -- not just for Hanukkah. They are so simple, so delicious, but so complex in meaning and history.

All pot roast starts the same with cheap cuts of tough meat, browned and then braised in a little liquid. It becomes Yankee when you add carrots, potatoes and onions the last hour.

Not many folks keep buttermilk handy. It’s perishable and not an ingredient we often use. When you encounter a call for some in a recipe, don’t drop everything and head to the store. You can make your own buttermilk in a few seconds.

An improvement on the old-fashioned pastry bench scraper promises relief. The bench shovel is a 6-inch-wide stainless blade with a handle and edges.

Weekly food rail, with a review of Edwards Singles Hot Fudge Brownie with Creamy Ice Cream, an easy recipe for Potatoes O'Brien, tips on picking out beef, and more.

When World War II came along, food rationing followed. Homemakers left the kitchen for the factory. Quick to prepare and with the main ingredient conveniently on the shelf, tomato soup spice cake provided a dessert or snack without eggs or butter, and with a minimal measure of sugar.

When you’re buying pumpkins this year, you might leave the jack-o’-lantern job to the big guys and choose a smaller variety, the sugar pumpkin, which is cultivated for cooking. It makes a beautiful casserole. And it works well in pumpkin juice, the beverage of choice for Harry Potter and the other young wizards at Hogwarts.

How fun would it be to stroll a marketplace for handcrafted foods the likes of rosemary shortbread, cheddar cheese hand-rubbed with sea salt and honey, or chocolate caramels studded with sea salt, pretzels and ale?

Food lovers notice the apple of their eye has become a film genre. These culinary flicks are hot and surefire: Even if the plot sucks, and it often does, well, we’re there for the food.

Halloween is a great time to have fun with food. But many cooks prefer to forgo the gory treats, such as bloody eyeball truffles and toxic waste punch complete with floating “amputated” gummy fingers. We understand. So if you’re looking for more mild-mannered edibles, look no further. These cupcakes and pizzas are scrumptious, without being scary.

Bruce Surprenant does not like beer. But he loves jams and jellies that are made with craft beers.

Fans of Zagat, the diner-guided restaurant review source, will be happy to know the 2110 issue of “Zagat America’s Top Restaurants” was released last week.