Tag Archives: Fruit

Passionfruit

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Passionfruit

What is a fruit with passion? A passionfruit!

  • Passionfruit are fruit that grow up to 4 to 7.5 centimetres (1.5 to 3 inches) in diameter, and are native to South America.
  • ‘Passionfruit’ are also known as ‘passion fruit’, ‘granadilla’ and ‘purple granadilla’, and some of the varieties are ‘purple’, ‘yellow’, ‘panama’ and ‘banana’.
  • Passionfruit is roughly spherical or ovoid in shape, with skin coloured purple, pink or yellow when ripe, that is either smooth, or slightly wrinkled.
  • Passionfruit have yellow to orange pulp containing juice and many black edible seeds, and they generally have sweet flavoured juice and tart flavoured seeds.
  • Passionfruit can be eaten raw, added to fruit salad, used as a dessert topping and flavouring, made into a variety of beverages and used as a flavouring in icing or cream for baked goods.

Passionfruit, Halve, Whole, Yellow, Pulp, Black, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • Passionfruit grow on vines that have the scientific name of Passiflora edulis and are from the family Passifloraceae, a family of approximately 530 flowering plant species.
  • Passionfruit are often found in home gardens grown on fences or trellises, and are commercially grown in warm climates that are frost free.
  • Passionfruit, before ripening, have softer, green coloured skin, and when ripe, it is best to choose heavy fruit as they will contain more pulp and seeds.
  • ‘Passionfruit’ were named by Spanish missionaries in South America as the flowers were interpreted to symbolise ‘Christ’s passion (suffering) on the cross’.
  • Passionfruit are very high in vitamin C, vitamin A and dietary fibre, and also contain iron, potassium and other vitamins and minerals.

 

Bibliography:
Passiflora edulis, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passiflora_edulis
Passionfruit, 2011, Fresh for Kids, http://www.freshforkids.com.au/fruit_pages/passionfruit/passionfruit.html
Passionfruit, 2014, Purdue Agriculture, https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/passionfruit.html

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Pomegranate

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Pomegranate

“Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil.” Song of Solomon 4:3

  • Pomegranates are fruit that grow on small trees or shrubs that reach approximately 5 to 8 metres (16 to 26 feet) in height, and are native to the Middle East’s Iran.
  • Pomegranates have the scientific name Punica granatum, that are from the family Lythraceae, the family of flowering herbs, although they were originally classified as part of the Punicaceae family.
  • Pomegranates are large, red coloured, roughly spherical berries with diameters of around 5 to 12 centimetres (1.9 to 4.7 inches).
  • Pomegranates contain white membranes and edible red arils (commonly called seeds), that contain a sweet to sour juicy flesh and a seed; with approximately 200 to 1400 seeds in a single berry.
  • ‘Pomegranate’ comes from the words ‘pōmum grānātum’ in Medieval Latin, that mean ‘apple with many seeds’.

Pomegranate, Red, Open, Plant, Two, Arils, Ten Random Facts, Fruit

  • Pomegranate arils are easily accessed by scoring the fruit with a knife, breaking it open, and banging the fruit or placing the fruit in water, where the arils will separate from the membranes.
  • Pomegranates can be eaten raw, and are used in Middle Eastern cuisine as well as Greek dishes, and are made into beverages including alcohol or juice, or used as a flavouring.
  • Pomegranates are sometimes recognised as a symbol of fertility, prosperity and ambition, or in Greek mythology, death.
  • Pomegranates have been used in traditional medicine to treat digestive problems, as well as internal parasites.
  • Pomegranates are very high in vitamin K, vitamin C and fibre, and are high in folate, potassium, copper and manganese.
Bibliography:
The Fruit, 2008, Pomegranates 101, http://www.pomegranates.tv/information.html
Pomegranate, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate

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Prune

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Prune

Soft and squishy prunes.

  • Prunes are the dried fruit of primarily the European plum species, although other species of plum are sometimes used, and they have a dark, sweet flavour, are sticky and a little chewy.
  • The scientific name of the fresh fruit, referred to as ‘fresh prunes’ or ‘plums’ is Prunus domestica, that belong to the family rosaceae, the family of roses.
  • Prunes generally come from fruits with easily removable pits and are sold either with or without the seed.
  • ‘Prunes’ are also known as ‘dried plums’, and this has become the more favoured term in recent years to avoid the stigma associated with the term ‘prune’.
  • There are over 1000 different varieties of plum fruit that are dried and packaged as prunes.

Prune, Black, Juicy, Sticky, Fruit, Plum, Dried, Ten Random Facts. Food, Angas Park

  • Prunes are popularly eaten in desserts, cooked in main meal dishes, eaten as a snack or as a fresh fruit, and can be made into juice or an alcohol beverage.
  • Prunes contain laxatives and sorbitol, which can be used to treat digestive related problems, and have been historically used to treat constipation.
  • Prunes are very high in vitamin K, and have a significant amount of potassium, copper, manganese, vitamin A and fibre.
  • Prunes have a high quantity of phenols that have significant antioxidant properties, that are beneficial to one’s health.
  • The process of drying plums to make prunes is said to be thousands of years old, and possibly began in the Caspian Sea area, in Europe, where the European plums are native.

 

Bibliography:
Prune, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prune
Prunes, 2014, The World’s Healthiest Foods, http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=103&tname=foodspice

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Marmalade

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Marmalade

No slice of toast for breakfast is complete without marmalade.

  • Marmalade is a special citrus jam that is made from the peel and juices of citrus fruit, as well as sugar and water.
  • The word ‘marmalade’ comes from the Portuguese word ‘marmelada’, which means ‘quince jam’.
  • Marmalade has been the most popular among the British, but in recent years it has seen a decline in sales, due to the younger generation favouring other spreads and breakfast options.
  • In the 1500s, the use of the term ‘marmalade’ became a common term for jam or fruit preserves, not just quince or citrus jam, and depending on the country you live in, ‘marmalade’ today, can be a reference to only citrus preserves, or it can be a broad term for any fruit jams.
  • Preserves have been made for hundreds of years, and by the 1400s, quince pastes (like thick jam) were being made, and were known as ‘marmalade’.

Marmalade, Homemade, Orange, Citrus, Jar, Peel, Jam, Preserves, Ten Random Facts, Spread,

  • Scottish Janet Keiller of Dundee city made a jam out of oranges, most likely adapting a quince recipe, and commercialised the marmalade in the late 1700s.
  • Marmalade is popularly used as a spread on toast or bread, commonly at breakfast.
  • Marmalade often has a tangy taste, particularly when using tangier oranges such as the traditionally used, Seville oranges.
  • It is said that marmalade was originally a type of sweet, and that it was beneficial for digestive issues.
  • Marmalade is typically orange in colour, but it can be red, brown or many other colours, depending on the fruit used, the length of time cooked, and the ingredients included.
Bibliography:
Marmalade, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmalade
Marmalade: A preserve we must preserve, 2010, The Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/7175487/Marmalade-a-preserve-we-must-preserve.html

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Peach

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Peach

Everything’s peaches!

  • Peaches are from the genus of cherries and plums, Prunus, and the family of roses, Rosaceae, and they typically have white, yellow or orange coloured flesh, with skin that is generally red or yellow.
  • Peaches are furry and feel like velvet, unlike nectarines that are the same species and are technically fuzz-less peaches, even though they are sold as two different fruits.
  • Peaches grow on deciduous trees with the scientific name Prunis persica, that grow to be 4 to 10 metres (13 to 33 feet) in height.
  • Peaches are stone fruits that have one seed that is 1.3 to 2 centimetres (0.5 to 0.8 inches) long, that is encased in a larger, hard, grooved shell.
  • The word ‘peach’ comes from the French word ‘pêche’, and the scientific name of peaches suggests the fruit comes from Persia, however, it is believed that the fruit is native to China.

Peach

  • Peaches often need to be eaten within two weeks after picking, as they continue to ripen after picking and they can spoil easily.
  • China was the biggest producer of peaches in 2011, producing just over half of the total world’s production of 21.5 million tonnes (24 million tons).
  • Peaches contain significant amounts of fibre, potassium, vitamin A and vitamin C, with many smaller quantities of many other minerals and vitamins.
  • A peach can be either a ‘clingstone’ or a ‘freestone’, meaning that the flesh either ‘clings’ to the stone (seed case), or easily comes free from the stone, respectively.
  • Peaches can be eaten raw, canned, dried, cooked, used in baked goods, and made into sauces, and the juices and oil of a peach can be used as a moisturiser.
Bibliography:
Peach, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peach
Peaches, 2011, Fresh for Kids, http://www.freshforkids.com.au/fruit_pages/peach/peach.html

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Banana

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Banana

Don’t go bananas!

  • Bananas grow on what some people call ‘trees’, up to 15 metres (49 feet) high, that are actually flowering herbs, or plants, generally from the Musa genus, which belong to the family Musaceae, which also includes the genus of ensetes, similar to common bananas, some of which are also a valuable food source.
  • Bananas can be different sizes or firmness, but are usually a curved shape and have soft flesh, and when ripe, the skin can be yellow, red, purple, green or brown in colour.
  • Bananas are native to South to Southeast Asia, which includes the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, and they are believed to have been cultivated since at least 5000 BC in Papua New Guinea.
  • Bananas can also be known as plantains, although there are some small differences, like plantains are generally cooked, have less sugar than the common fruit, and more starch, and common green fruit can also be used for cooking purposes.
  • Commercial bananas are generally seedless, unlike the wild varieties, and are often eaten raw but can be eaten baked, steamed or deep-fried, dehydrated, made into jam, used as a flavouring addition or added to desserts, salads and main dishes like curry, and also made into flour for baking purposes.

Banana, Yellow, Peeled, Unpeeled, Ripe, Bunches, Hands, Long, Flesh, Ten Random Facts, Australia, Aldi

  • Bananas are the most sold edible fruit and one of the most important food crops in the world, ranking number four after rice, wheat and maize, and in 2011, India produce 29.7 million tonnes (32.7 million tons) of the fruit, which was one fifth of the total world production.
  • The term ‘banana’ is derived from the Arabic word ‘banan’ or the West African Wolof word ‘banaana’, and they are grown in tiers known as ‘hands’, with up to 20 pieces of fruit per hand, and each banana is called a ‘finger’.
  • Commercial bananas are often picked unripe and stored in a refrigerated room at 13 to 15°C (56 to 59 °F) to slow down the ripening process, but if the ripening process needs to be sped up, they can be stored with an apple or tomato for 12 hours or so in a paper bag.
  • Bananas are high in Vitamin B6, and have significant amounts of vitamin C, potassium, manganese and magnesium, and are the most radioactive fruit due to the potassium content, but do little or no damage to the human body.
  • There are between 500 and 1000 varieties of bananas, and the yellow Cavendish variety are the most commonly exported bananas, mainly due to easier transportation.

 

Bibliography:
All About Bananas, n.d, Bananalink, <http://www.bananalink.org.uk/all-about-bananas>
Banana, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana>

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