Useful of Fruit

Purple mangosteen

2011-05-26T21:47:00.002+07:00

The purple mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), colloquially known simply as mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas of Indonesia. The tree grows from 7 to 25 m (20–80 ft) tall. The rind (exocarp) of the fruit, which is not edible, is a deep reddish purple when ripe. The fragrant edible flesh that surrounds each seed is botanically endocarp, i.e. the inner layer of the ovary. It is sweet and tangy, juicy, and somewhat fibrous.

The purple mangosteen belongs to the same genus as the other, less widely known, mangosteens, such as the button mangosteen (G. prainiana) or the charichuelo (G. madruno).

Maturation of the exocarp and edible aril

The juvenile mangosteen fruit, which does not require fertilisation to form (see agamospermy), first appears as pale green or almost white in the shade of the canopy. As the fruit enlarges over the next two to three months, the exocarp colour deepens to darker green. During this period, the fruit increases in size until its exocarp is 6–8 centimetres in outside diameter, remaining hard until a final, abrupt ripening stage.

The subsurface chemistry of the mangosteen exocarp comprises an array of polyphenols including xanthones and tannins that assure astringency which discourages infestation by insects, fungi, plant viruses, bacteria and animal predation while the fruit is immature. Colour changes and softening of the exocarp are natural processes of ripening that indicates the fruit can be eaten and the seeds have finished developing.[2]

Mangosteen produces a recalcitrant seed and must be kept moist to remain viable until germination. Mangosteen seeds are nucellar in origin and not the result of fertilisation; they germinate as soon as they are removed from the fruit and die quickly if allowed to dry.[3]
Only the white flesh of the purple mangosteen is edible

Once the developing mangosteen fruit has stopped expanding, chlorophyll synthesis slows as the next colour phase begins. Initially streaked with red, the exocarp pigmentation transitions from green to red to dark purple, indicating a final ripening stage. This entire process takes place over a period of ten days as the edible quality of the fruit peaks.

Over the days following the removal from the tree, the exocarp hardens to an extent depending upon postharvest handling and ambient storage conditions, especially relative humidity levels. If the ambient humidity is high, exocarp hardening may take a week or longer when the aril quality is peaking and excellent for consumption. However, after several additional days of storage, especially if unrefrigerated, the arils inside the fruit might spoil without any obvious external indications. Using the hardness of the rind as an indicator of freshness for the first two weeks following harvest is therefore unreliable because the rind does not accurately reveal the interior condition of the arils. If the exocarp is soft and yielding as it is when ripe and fresh from the tree, the fruit is usually good.

The edible endocarp of the mangosteen is botanically defined as an aril with the same shape and size as a tangerine 4–6 centimetres in diameter, but is white. The circle of wedge-shaped arils contains 4–8 segments, the larger ones harbouring apomictic seeds that are unpalatable unless roasted.

Often described as a subtle delicacy, the arils bear an exceptionally mild aroma, quantitatively having about 1/400th of the chemical constituents of fragrant fruits, explaining its relative mildness.The main volatile components having caramel, grass and butter notes as part of the mangosteen fragrance are hexyl acetate, hexenol and α-copaene.

On the bottom of the exocarp, raised ridges (remnants of the stigma), arranged like spokes of a wheel, correspond to the number of aril sections.Mangosteens reach fruit-bearing in as little as 5–6 years, but more typically require 8–10 years.

Nutrient and phytochemical content

The aril is the part of the fruit which contains the flavour; when analysed specifically for its nutrient content, however, the mangosteen aril only meets the first criterion above, as its overall nutrient profile is absent of important content.

Some mangosteen juice products contain whole fruit purée or polyphenols extracted from the inedible exocarp (rind) as a formulation strategy to add phytochemical value. The resulting juice has purple colour and astringency derived from exocarp pigments, including xanthonoids under study for potential disease amelioration effects.The potential health benefits of xanthones were debated in a four-part series in 2009.

Other authors proposed alpha-mangostin, a xanthone, could stimulate apoptosis in leukæmia cells in vitro.

Furthermore, a possible adverse effect may occur from chronic consumption of mangosteen juice containing xanthones. A 2008 medical case report described a patient with severe acidosis, possibly attributable to a year of daily use (to lose weight, dose not described) of mangosteen juice infused with tannins.

Prunus virginiana

2011-02-17T21:07:00.002+07:00

The Choke Cherry (Prunus virginiana) is a species of bird cherry (Prunus subgenus Padus) native to North America, where it is found almost throughout the continent except for the deep south and the far north.
It is a suckering shrub or small tree growing to 5 m tall. The leaves are oval, 3–10 cm long, with a coarsely serrated margin. The flowers are produced in racemes of 15-30 in late spring (well after leaf emergence). The fruit are about 1 cm diameter, range in color from bright red to black, with a very astringent, sour taste. The very ripe berries are dark in color and less astringent than the red berries.

Etymology

The chokeberries, genus Aronia, are often mistakenly called chokecherries. This naming confusion is easy to understand considering there is a cultivar of the chokecherry Prunus virginiana 'Melanocarpa and a species of chokeberry named Aronia melanocarpa.In fact, the two plants are not close relatives within their subfamily Spiraeoideae.

Characteristics

Chokecherries are very high in antioxidant pigment compounds, like anthocyanins. They share this property with chokeberries, further contributing to confusion.

Varieties

Prunus virginiana is sometimes divided into two varieties, P. virginiana var. virginiana (the eastern chokecherry), and P. virginiana var. demissa (the western chokecherry)

The wild Chokecherry is often considered a pest, as it is a host for the tent caterpillar, a threat to other fruit plants. However, there are more appreciated cultivars of the chokecherry, such as 'Goertz', which has a non-astringent, and therefore palatable, fruit. Research is being done at the University of Saskatchewan to find and create new cultivars to increase production and processing

leaf of Saskatchewan plant.

Chokecherry is closely related to the Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) of eastern North America; it is most readily distinguished from that by its smaller size (Black Cherry can reach 30 m tall), smaller leaves, and sometimes red ripe fruit. The Chokecherry leaf has a finely serrated margin and is dark green above with a paler underside, while the Black Cherry leaf has numerous blunt edges along its margin and is dark green and smooth.

The name chokecherry has also been used (as 'Amur Chokecherry') for the related Manchurian Cherry or Amur Cherry (Prunus maackii).

Human and Animal Consumption

Chokecherries were for many Native American tribes of the Northern Rockies, Northern Plains, and boreal forest region of Canada and the United States the most important fruit in their diets.The bark of chokecherry root was once made into an asperous textured concoction used to ward off or treat colds, fever and stomach maladies by native Americans The chokecherry fruit can be used to make a tasty jam, jelly, or syrup, but the bitter nature of the fruit means you need a lot of sugar to sweeten the preserves.

Chokecherry is toxic to horses, moose, cattle, goats, deer, and other animals with segmented stomachs (rumens), especially after the leaves have wilted (such as after a frost or after branches have been broken) because wilting releases cyanide and makes the plant sweet. About 5–10 kg of foliage can be fatal. Symptoms of a horse that has been poisoned include heavy breathing, agitation, and weakness. The leaves of the chokecherry serve as food for caterpillars of various Lepidoptera. See List of Lepidoptera which feed on Prunus.

In 2007, Governor John Hoeven signed a bill naming the chokecherry the official fruit of the state of North Dakota, in part because its remains have been found at more archeological sites in the Dakotas than anywhere else.

gooseberry

2010-12-15T21:14:00.003+07:00

The gooseberry (pronounced /ˈɡʊzbəri/;[1] Ribes uva-crispa, syn. R. grossularia) is a species of Ribes, native to Europe, northwestern Africa and southwestern Asia. It is one of several similar species in the subgenus Grossularia; for the other related species (e.g., North American Gooseberry Ribes hirtellum), see the genus page Ribes.

Although usually placed as a subgenus within Ribes, a few taxonomists treat Grossularia as a separate genus, although hybrids between gooseberry and blackcurrant (e.g., the Jostaberry) are possible. The subgenus Grossularia differs somewhat from currants, chiefly in their spiny stems, and in that their flowers grow one to three together on short stems, not in racemes.

Gooseberry bushes produce an edible fruit and are grown on both a commercial and domestic basis.

Growth habit and physical characteristics

The gooseberry is a straggling bush growing to 1–3 metres (3–10 feet) tall, the branches being thickly set with sharp spines, standing out singly or in diverging tufts of two or three from the bases of the short spurs or lateral leaf shoots. The bell-shaped flowers are produced, singly or in pairs, from the groups of rounded, deeply-crenated 3 or 5 lobed leaves. The fruit of wild gooseberries is smaller than in the cultivated varieties, but is often of good flavour; it is generally hairy, but in one variety smooth, constituting the R. uva-crispa of writers; berries' colour is usually green, but there are red variants and occasionally deep purple berries occur.

In Britain, gooseberry bushes are often found in copses and hedgerows and about old ruins, but the gooseberry has been cultivated for so long that it is difficult to distinguish wild bushes from feral ones, or where the gooseberry fits into the native flora of the island. Common as it is now on some of the lower slopes of the Alps of Piedmont and Savoy, it is uncertain whether the Romans were acquainted with the gooseberry, though it may possibly be alluded to in a vague passage of Pliny the Elder's Natural History; the hot summers of Italy, in ancient times as at present, would be unfavourable to its cultivation. Although gooseberries are now abundant in Germany and France, it does not appear to have been much grown there in the Middle Ages, though the wild fruit was held in some esteem medicinally for the cooling properties of its acid juice in fevers; while the old English name, Fea-berry, still surviving in some provincial dialects, indicates that it was similarly valued in Britain, where it was planted in gardens at a comparatively early period.

William Turner describes the gooseberry in his Herball, written about the middle of the 16th century, and a few years later it is mentioned in one of Thomas Tusser's quaint rhymes as an ordinary object of garden culture. Improved varieties were probably first raised by the skilful gardeners of Holland, whose name for the fruit, Kruisbezie, may have been easily corrupted into the present English vernacular word. Towards the end of the 18th century the gooseberry became a favourite object of cottage-horticulture, especially in Lancashire, where the working cotton-spinners have raised numerous varieties from seed, their efforts having been chiefly directed to increasing the size of the fruit.

Climate

Of the many hundred varieties enumerated in recent horticultural works, few perhaps equal in flavour some of the older denizens of the fruit-garden, such as the old rough red and hairy amber. The climate of the British Isles seems peculiarly adapted to bring the gooseberry to perfection,[citation needed] and it may be grown successfully even in the most northern parts of Scotland where it is commonly known as a "grozet"; indeed, the flavour of the fruit is said to improve with increasing latitude. In Norway (where it's named "stikkelsbær" — or "prickly berry"), the bush flourishes in gardens on the west coast nearly up to the Arctic circle, and it is found wild as far north as 63°. The dry summers of the French and German plains are less suited to it, though it is grown in some hilly districts with tolerable success. The gooseberry in the south of England will grow well in cool situations, and may be sometimes seen in gardens near London flourishing under the partial shade of apple trees; but in the north it needs full exposure to the sun to bring the fruit to perfection. It will succeed in almost any soil, but prefers a rich loam or black alluvium, and, though naturally a plant of rather dry places, will do well in moist land, if drained.

It is also widely found in villages throughout the former Czechoslovakia

Cultivation

The easiest method of propagating gooseberries is by cuttings rather than raising from seed;cuttings planted in the autumn will take root quickly and can begin to bear fruit within a few years.

Vigorous pruning may be necessary; fruit is produced on lateral spurs and the previous year's shoots, so the 19th-century custom was to trim side branches in the winter, and perhaps trim leading shoots at that time or remove their tips in the summer.

Large berries can be produced by heavy composting, especially if the majority of the fruit is picked off while small to allow room for a few berries to continue to grow. Grafting of gooseberry vines onto ornamental golden currants (Ribes aurum) or other Ribes species can be helpful for this purpose. Some 19th- and early 20th-century cultivators produced single gooseberries near to two ounces in weight, but, as with many varieties of fruit, larger sizes of gooseberry proved to have weaker flavor.

Pests

Gooseberry bushes are vulnerable to magpie moth (Abraxas grossulariata) caterpillars. In cultivation, the best method for removing them is to remove the larvae by hand soon after they hatch; its eggs are laid on fallen gooseberry leaves.

Other potential threats are V-moth (Macaria wauaria) and Gooseberry sawfly (Nematus ribesii). Nematus reibesii grubs will bury themselves in the ground to pupate; on hatching into adult form, they lay their eggs, which soon hatch into larvae, on the underside of gooseberry leaves. 19th-century insecticides against these included tar water, weak solutions of carbolic acid, and powdered hellebore, which worked against magpie moths and V-moths as well as gooseberry sawflies. (Foxglove and tobacco infusions were also sometimes used.) Careful removal of fallen leaves and tilling of the ground around the plant will also destroy most eggs and chrysalises of these insects.

Potassium sulfide was known to be an effective treatment for blights and other parasitic growths, such as American gooseberry mildew.

Note that like most Ribes, the gooseberry is a potential host for white pine blister rust, which
can cause serious damage to white pines; thus, gooseberry cultivation is illegal in some areas of the U.S

Gooseberries are best known for their use in desserts such as pies, fools and crumbles. Gooseberries are commonly preserved by drying, storing in sugar syrup, or as jam or pickle. Gooseberries are used to flavoured drinks such as soda, water or even milk, and are used to make Fruit wine. In India some use gooseberry for acidity problem and stomach ache

Etymology

The "goose" in "gooseberry" has usually been seen as a corruption of either the Dutch word Kruisbezie or the allied German Krausbeere, or of the earlier forms of the French groseille. Alternatively the word has been connected to the Middle High German krus (curl, crisped), in Latin as grossularia. However, the Oxford English Dictionary takes the obvious derivation from goose and berry as probable because "the grounds on which plants and fruits have received names associating them with animals are so often inexplicable that the inappropriateness in the meaning does not necessarily give good grounds for believing that the word is an etymological corruption.

Lime

2010-12-10T13:51:00.003+07:00

is a term referring to a number of different fruits, both species and hybrids, citruses, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp; they are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavours of foods and beverages. They are usually smaller than lemons. Limes are grown all year round and are usually sweeter than lemons.

In cooking, lime is valued both for the acidity of its juice and the floral aroma of its zest. It is a very common ingredient in authentic Mexican, Southwestern United States, Vietnamese and Thai dishes. It is also used for its pickling properties in ceviche. The use of dried limes (called black lime or loomi) as a flavouring is typical of Persian cuisine and Iraqi cuisine, as well as in Gulf-style baharat (a spice mixture that is also called kabsa or kebsa). Lime is an essential ingredient of any cuisine from India and many varieties of pickles are made e.g. Sweetened lime pickle, salted pickle, Lemon Chutney.

Lime leaves are also a herb in South, East, and Southeast Asia.

Lime is frequently used to add flavour to cold drinks, including water, gin and tonic and other cocktails.

Other uses

In order to prevent scurvy during the 19th century, British sailors were issued a daily allowance of citrus such as lemon, and later switched to lime, which was not as effective at preventing scurvy but led over time to the nickname "limey" for all Britons. It was later discovered that the greater effectiveness of lemons derived from the 4-fold higher quantities of Vitamin C lemon juice contains compared to the West Indian limes used by the British.

Lime extracts and essential oils are frequently used in perfumes, cleaning products, and aromatherapy.

In India, the lime is used in Tantra for removing evil spirits. It is also combined with Indian chilis to make a protective charm to repel the evil eye.[4] Furthermore, it was believed that hanging limes over sick people cured them of the illness by repelling evil spirits lurking inside the body.

India, with about 16% of the world's overall lemon and lime output, tops the production list, followed by Mexico (~14.5%), Argentina (~10%), Brazil (~8%) and Spain (~7%)

Custard-apple

2010-09-21T20:58:00.002+07:00

The custard-apple, also called bullock's heart or bull's heart, is the fruit of the tree Annona reticulata. This tree is a small deciduous or semi-evergreen tree sometimes reaching 10 metres (33 ft) tall and a native of the tropical New World that prefers low elevations, and a warm, humid climate. It also occurs as feral populations in many parts of the world including Southeast Asia, Taiwan, India, Australia, and Africa. In Cambodia, it's called "Teap" which is most planted in the rural area for family yield and business.[citation needed]

The fruits are variable in shape, oblong, or irregular. The size ranges from 7 centimetres (2.8 in) to 12 centimetres (4.7 in). When ripe, the fruit is brown or yellowish, with red highlights and a varying degree of reticulation, depending on variety. The flavor is sweet and pleasant.

In some regions of the world, "custard-apple" is another name for sugar-apple or sweetsop (Annona squamosa), a different plant in the same genus. In California and Britain, "custard-apple" refers to cherimoya, the fruit of Annona cherimola, a third plant in the same genus.

Uses:
The fruits are tasty and nutritious but all parts of this tree can be useful.

Food
The fruit is good to eat as is but also makes a sweet drink and can be used as a milk substitute.
Medicinal
The unripe fruit has been used to assist against diarrhea and dysentery. The tree bark is used for skin and mucosae medicines and the seed bark contains useful tannins and astringents. The leaves are believed to have healing properties and have been used against tumors and cancers. The fruit of the plant, serves as an expectorant, stimulant, coolant, haematinic, and is useful in treating anemia. Paste of flesh of this plant or crushed leaves of the plant can be used for local application on ulcers, abscesses and boils.The bark has been used on gums to relieve toothaches.
Other
The leaves also provide ingredients used to make dyes, stains, inks, tattoos and mordants. The whole plant is a source of hydrogen cyanide.
Fatty-acid methyl ester of the seed oil meets all of the major biodiesel requirements in the USA (ASTM D 6751-02, ASTM PS 121-99), Germany (DIN V 51606) and European Union (EN 14214).[citation needed]

Custard-apple Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 80-101 kJ (−5.0 kcal)
Carbohydrates 22.6 g
Dietary fibre 3.8 g
Fat 0.6 g
Protein 1.82 g
Water 68.3-80.9 g
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.097 mg (7%)
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.131 mg (9%)
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.859 mg (6%)
Vitamin C 29.7 mg (50%)
Calcium 22.3 mg (2%)
Iron .78 mg (6%)
Phosphorus 23.4 mg (3%)

Low Glycemic Index Fruits

2010-08-22T21:10:00.000+07:00

Fruits are one of nature's wonders. They are chockfull of nutrients - vitamins, minerals and proteins - and are indeed so nutritious that they can form the basis of a full meal. As a matter of fact, many people can and do subsist mainly on fruits alone. There is an extremely wide selection of fruits available from all over the world, and many of them are very tasty, making them an integral part of the diets of many people the world over.

However, eating a large amount of fruits can have a negative effect on one's blood sugar. The sugar contained in some fruits can be considerable, and eating them can definitely raise the level of one's blood sugar. For many people this is far from optimal, of course, and so one should seek to eat more of the sorts of fruits that may bring about less of a rise in blood sugar levels than other fruits.

Fortunately for those who would like to eat fruit but would like to minimize the amount of sugar they consume, there are a number of fruits available that are low Glycemic Index fruits. That is to say, eating a certain amount of any of these fruits will raise one's blood sugar level only a certain amount relative to a certain amount of glucose. And, importantly, when these fruits are eaten, one's blood sugar will rise only a certain amount compared to eating other fruits that are higher in sugar content.

So what are some examples of fruits with low GI? One great example is the apple. Apples are excellent fruit and can be found year-round all over the world. They have red skin and white, firm flesh, and can be eaten raw or cooked in a multitude of ways - they can be stewed, for instance, baked in a pie or served with cream, or even served as part of a main dish. The heavy fiber content in apples makes them excellent breakfast, snack time or dessert fruit - fiber can help bring about a full feeling in the stomach in order to fool the stomach into thinking that it is full. Apples have low GI, with a GI value of just 38.

Another good example of a low-GI fruit is the cherry, which has an even lower GI value of only 22. Cherries are a red fruit with sweet, juicy flesh and a large pit in the center, which must be removed prior to cooking and/or eating. As with apples, cherries may be eaten ripe and raw or may also be incorporated into desserts such as cherry cobblers and pies, and can also be part of a main dish as well.

Lastly, many citrus fruits are also excellent low-GI fruits. Oranges have a GI value of 42, grapefruits 25, and lemons (whose GI values are not often given since lemon juice is too sour to be consumed in large undiluted amounts - as a matter of fact, lemon juice, like vinegar, can be used to lessen the overall Glycemic Index value of a certain food item).

A Quick and Easy Low Calorie Salad - Tomatoes, Basil & Brown Rice

2010-08-19T07:26:00.000+07:00

Tomatoes, basil and brown rice come together in a delicious low calorie salad perfect for a summer lunch or picnic. It's the perfect salad to make during the summer, when tomatoes are at their flavorful best. If you are on the lookout for easy healthy recipes this fits the bill. With just a tablespoon of olive oil for six servings, this is definitely a low calorie recipe. It has just a handful of ingredients so you can make it in minutes, especially if you have leftover brown rice in the refrigerator. If not, just get your rice cooking while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

It is yummy on its own for a light lunch or the perfect accompaniment to grilled fish or chicken. Since it tastes best served at room temperature it would be a great side dish to take to your next picnic or potluck.

With brown rice in the refrigerator and tomatoes and basil on the counter, I was able to whip up this wholesome brown rice salad in less than ten minutes.

To make this salad a day ahead, leave out the basil until you are ready to serve it, then stir it in at the last minute. (You may need to adjust the seasonings again too.)

If you are like me and find it difficult to cook rice, you may want to do what I did - invest in a rice cooker. It has made my life so much simpler. Sticky and/or scorched rice are now a thing of the past.

Tomatoes, Basil & Brown Rice Recipe
makes 6 servings

The recipe calls for champagne or rice wine vinegar. Since I had neither I substituted red wine vinegar with good results. I also used honey instead of sugar.

1 cup brown rice
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/4 cup champagne or rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 cup packed basil leaves, chopped

Bring 2 1/4 cups water to a boil and add the rice and 1 teaspoon salt. Return to a boil, cover, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the rice is tender and all the water is absorbed. Alternatively, prepare the rice in your rice cooker according to manufacturer directions. Transfer the rice to a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, remaining teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Pour dressing mixture over the rice. Add the chopped tomatoes and basil. Mix well and adjust the seasonings to suit your tastes. This salad is best served at room temperature.

Dinner and Selecting the Wine By Jack Hemps Platinum Quality Author

2010-08-06T08:00:00.000+07:00

Have you ever been out to eat and been terrified that you were going to order the wrong wine. Did you start to sweat while looking at the wine list? You do not want to start your night out with friends and family like this. The right wine can enhance and your meal. People that know their wine know that there are certain ones that will go perfectly with certain foods. White wine goes well with a chicken dinner.

It really is not that hard to remember which wine goes with what foods. You just need to learn the ins and outs of ordering this beverage at eating establishments. Actually knowing what you are doing when it comes to ordering wine in a restaurant is somewhat of an art. Skill has nothing to do with it. Memorizing what goes with what is really all you are doing. The more wines on an establishments wine list, the harder it will make it to order that perfect bottle.

It really is confusing sometimes. Instead of paying for the wrong thing, ask a question as not to get the wrong color or kind. If you try and fake it and there is someone in your group that knows what they are doing, you will get caught.

A lot of restaurants have people that will be more than happy to guide you. They do want you to come back again after all. Making a choice should not be difficult as there is a description by each type of wine to assist in the selection. It will tell you all you need to know. Just find one that will go with whatever you are going to eat. You should always ask the people in your company what they would prefer. It is the right thing to do to let your dinner partners make their own selections. Some may have a particular preclusion to some wines.

They may pick the wrong one, but if that is what they want, then that is what they want. If by chance they let you order the meal and the wine, you really should know what you are doing. The main part of the meal can be complimented by a red or white wine. White wines should be on the heavy side, where red wines should be lighter. After you know how to pair a wine with a meal, you should then learn how to stay in your price range when ordering.

Some bottles of wine can run you hundreds of dollars. Once the bottle is brought to your table, now you have to do like you see on TV. Since you ordered it, it will be your job to make sure it is okay. Take a glance at the label to be sure you were brought what you ordered.

Make sure the cork is in one piece to. This will indicate the wine was stored the right way. Now comes you little taste. Do not throw it down. Look at the color. An aged wine should have a brownish color to it. Next, use your nose and take a smell. If it smells like stinky feet it needs to be sent back and another bottle of wine retrieved. That smell indicates it was not kept properly. If everything is a go, now taste it. If you like the taste, your good to go. The server will fetch wine for everyone.

Take your time while doing this. You are out to dinner. Enjoy yourself. You really should learn how to make a decision on what wine to order when dining out.

After you have mastered this skill, it will be used for the rest of your life.

5 of the Worst Drinks Ever - Did Yours Make the List?

2010-07-25T17:07:00.002+07:00

This is a list of heart attacks in a cup. Each has it's distinctly unhealthful attributes. Some are fattier than sausages. Others might make your heart faster than a speeding bullet. Some may make you think you can leap a building in a single bound. What they all have in common is that you're better of without them...unless you plan to upgrade the size of your clothes and become good friends with a cardiologist.

1. Krispy Kreme Lemon Sherbet Chiller. This frozen delight contains enough sugar to decimate an acre of sugar cane and put an elephant into a diabetic coma. That's just for starters. It also contains copious amounts of saturated fat to help lubricate your esophagus. How else would the over 600 calories make their way down your throat? Here's the breakdown:

* Calories: 630
* Fat: 28 g total (24 g saturated)
* Sugar: 71 g

2.Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino (bottle). Starbucks has convenient bottled versions of their famed frappuccino available at your local grocery store. Beware though. This is a commodity with a cost; a calorie cost. It's loaded with sugar and piles on enough calories, a la carte, to qualify as a small meal. You want a scone with that?

* Calories 290
* Fat: 4.5 g (2.5 g saturated)
* Sugar: 45 g

3. McDonald's Chocolate Triple Thick Shake (12 oz). Anything with Triple Thick in its name should get you thinking triple bypass surgery. Add a Big Mac for a total of 42.5 grams of fat, 114 grams of carbs and 1016 calories. Let's not even get started on the fat...I mean...french fries. Better supersize your pants.

* Calories 440
* Fat 10 g (6 g saturated.5 g trans)
* Sugar: 63 g

4. Monster Energy Drink. Some think energy drinks are the ultimate pick me up drink but where do they put you down? Perhaps not in the healthiest place. Proper sleep can do what energy drinks claim to do and without the sugar and calories...that and it's not so over-caffeinated it turns you into a hummingbird on speed.

* Calories 200
* Fat: 0 g
* Sugar: 54 g

5. Cold Stone PB&C (24oz). This is the MOTHERLOAD. Heck, it's the motherload, fatherload and the whole family of loads put together. Drink five of these babies in one day and you won't have to eat for a week. That's because you will have eaten the fat equivalent of 35 beef sausage links. Here are the amazing figures:

* Calories 2010
* Fat 131g (68 g saturated)
* Sugar 153g

Do yourself a favor and go with the go-to beverage of all time. Yes, it's the amazingly calorie-free, fat-free, sugar-free substance we call water. 10/10 doctors drink it. So should you.

Disease resistance in fruit and vegetables

2010-07-17T08:55:00.004+07:00

There are a number of lines of defence against pests (that is, those animals that cause damage to the plants we grow) and diseases in the organic garden, principle among these being the practice of good husbandry, creating healthy soil and ensuring high standards of garden hygiene. But no matter how diverse and healthy the garden eco-system may be, there will always be a degree of disease and pest presence. In many ways, some level of pathogen population in the garden can be not only acceptable but desirable as they are indicative of a generally healthful and diverse environment, and add to the overall robustness of the system as an immunity to such detrimental influences will build up, particularly in a balanced polycultural regime. Indeed, most of the plants we grow will tend to be selected because they are trouble free, and those that are more susceptible to attack will have fallen by the wayside over time. However, most farmers find it unacceptable that the food crops they grow are damaged by pests.

For these crops there has been considerable research and selective breeding carried out in order to find cultivars that are resistant or immune to pest and disease damage. Breeding for plant disease resistance generally has involved finding suitable genetic material amongst existing stocks or in the wild, which is then incorporated into commercial varieties.

In the case of apples, in which research is being carried out in order to develop resistance to diseases such as apple scab (Venturia inaequalis), powdery mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha), orchard fireblight (Erwinia amylovora), woolly apple aphid (Eriosoma lanigerum) and collar rot (Phytophthora cactorum), the main sources of resistant material used in breeding programmes such as those being run by East Malling Research Station in England or Hortresearch in New Zealand are major gene resistances derived from crab-apples. The Vf gene for black spot resistance is derived from the ornamental crab-apple species Malus floribunda. Most black spot resistant cultivars developed around the world carry this gene, but there are some selections that carry the Vr (from M. pumila) or Vm (from M. micromalus) gene. Major gene resistances to powdery mildew are derived from M. robusta (Pl1) and M. zumi (Pl2), and the apple cultivar Northern Spy has a long-standing reputation for its major gene resistance to woolly apple aphid. Since early this century this resistance has been used to develop woolly aphid resistant rootstocks such as MM.106 and M.793. Much later it was shown that the cultivar was also very resistant to collar rot and a useful breeding parent for this resistance.

Resistance and immunity

Some plants can tolerate the presence of large numbers of insects without being severely affected. This is not very satisfactory however as insects will still cause damage, and in fact further breeding and population expansion of the pest species is supported. Other varieties are less attractive to pests, but this can be difficult to sustain or demonstrate.
The most valuable form of resistance is where the pest cannot survive as well on one variety as on another. In some cases this can actually make the plants immune to attack, as is the case with the lettuces Avoncrisp and Avondefiance which were bred at the Institute of Horticultural Research, Wellesbourne during the 1960s, which are fully resistant to lettuce root aphid (Pemphigus bursarius).

Trade-off of breeding for resistance

Sometimes however there can be a trade-off, for those varieties which have increased immunity or resistance may be lacking in other qualities such as flavour, yield or quality. Celery resistant to the Fusarium fungus (Fusarium oxysporum spp.) may not succumb to this disease, but may also be unacceptably short, ribby and low yielding.
Further, a cultivar that is resistant to one disease may be more susceptible to another that is equally important. A lettuce cultivar that is resistant to mosaic virus may be sensitive to corky root disease, whilst another that resists corky root may be vulnerable to downy mildew (Brim lactic).
Another drawback to resistance is that depending on the host pathogen system, resistance is sometimes not long lasting as new pathogen strains quickly develop, and further research and breeding is constantly needed.

Availability of resistant varieties

Resistant varieties are not available for all crops. For several of the most damaging plant diseases, such as Potato blight (Phytophthora infestans) and white rot (Sclerotic cepivorum) of the Allium family, no acceptable resistant cultivars are yet available. In addition, commercial seed companies and plant breeders rarely invest resources into developing resistant cultivars for more minor or speciality crops, which often tend to be those of greater interest to the organic grower.

In general it is probably fair to say that resistance will not fully guarantee total crop protection, but choosing resistant varieties should rather be considered as a part of an overall Integrated pest management strategy, especially against virus diseases. In particular they can be especially useful where the threat from specific pests and diseases is high.

Crop Variety Comments
French Bean Aigullion Resistant to bean mosaic virus and anthracnose
Hildora Tolerant of bean mosaic virus
Maxi Tolerant of bean mosaic virus
Nektar Queen Resistant to bean mosaic virus
Farba Resistant to bean mosaic virus
Hilda Resistant to bean mosaic virus
Broad Bean Futura Tolerant of chocolate spot
Brussels sprouts Cavalier Resistant to light leaf spot
Braveheart F1 Resistant to powdery mildew and light leaf spot
Cabbage Stonehead F1 Resistant to mildew
Calabrese Emperor F1 Highly tolerant of black rot and downy mildew
Sampson F1 Highly resistant to black rot and downy mildew
Carrot Fly Away F1 Bred for resistance to carrot fly
Newmarket Good resistance to splitting
Cucumber Bush Champion F1 Resistant to cucumber mosaic virus
Marketmore Resistant to cucumber mosaic virus
Burpless Tasty Green F1 Resistant to mildew and tolerant of heat
Slice King F1 Resistant to downy and powdery mildew, gummosis and angular leaf spot
Cumlaude F1 Tolerant of powdery mildew
Media F1 Tolerant of powdery mildew
Leek Swiss Giant, Zermatt Moderate rust resistance
Alvitta Rust Tolerant
Conora Good resistance to rust
Lettuce Alexandria Highly resistant to downy mildew and bolting
Lisbusa Resistant to downy mildew, tolerant of mosaic virus, root aphid and tipburn
Sylvestra Resistant to downy mildew and aphids
Little Gem Resistant to root aphid
Barcelona Resistant to aphids and mildew
Iglo Resistant to downey mildew
Revolution Resistant to mildew and bolting
Smile Resistant to aphids, mildew, tipburn and bolting
Parsnip Avonreister Very good rsistance to canker
Gladiator F1 High resistance to canker
Tender and True Good canker resistance
Pea Ambassador Resistant to powdery mildew, entation virus and fusarium wilt
Cavalier Good resistance to powdery mildew.
Greenshaft Resistant to downy mildew and fusarium wilt
Rondo Resistant to fusarium wilt
Potato (first early) Colleen Good resistance to blight and scab
Premiere Resistant to blight and spraing
Pentland Javelin Good all round disease resistance, including golden eelworm and scab
Swift Resistant to golden eelworm and tolerant to blackleg
Potato (second early) Cosmos Resistant to blight and common scab
Osprey Very resistant to scab and eelworm
Potato (maincrop) Harmony Very resistant to scab and partially resistant to white and golden eelworm
Milva Blight resistant
Remarka Good all around disease resistance
Admiral Good resistance to blight and scab
Cara Blight resistant
Valor Good overall disease resistance combined with high eelworm and blight resistance
Pepper Bell Boy F1 Mosaic virus resistant
Mandy F1 Highly resistant to mosaic virus
Sweetcorn Golden sweet F1 Highly resistant to smut
Tomato Alicante Good resistance to greenback and mildew
Libra F1 Resistant to fusarium crown and root rot
Shirley F1 Resistant to fusarium, cladosporium and TMV

See more fruit resistant disease

Loganberry

2010-07-13T11:37:00.002+07:00

The loganberry is generally thought to be derived from a cross between a Rubus idaeus 'Red Antwerp' and a R. vitifolius 'Aughinbaugh'. It was accidentally created in 1883 in Santa Cruz, California, by the American lawyer and horticulturist James Harvey Logan (1841-1928). [1] In the 1880s, berry growers began to cross varieties to obtain better commercial varieties. Logan was unsatisfied with the existing varieties of blackberries and tried to cross two varieties of blackberries to produce a superior cultivar.

While attempting to cross two varieties of blackberries, Logan accidentally planted them next to an old variety of red raspberry, all of which flowered and fruited together. The varieties involved in the Loganberry hybrid were probably 'Texas Early' or 'Aughinburgh' blackberry and 'Red Antwerp' red raspberry which were two of the three Rubus varieties planted in Logan's yard that year. Logan gathered and planted the seed. The 50 seedlings produced plants similar to the blackberry parent Aughinbaugh, but were larger and more vigorous. One was the Loganberry; the remaining 49 included the Mammoth Blackberry (the longest fruit of any variety ever grown).1 Since Logan's time, crosses between the cultivars of raspberry and blackberry have confirmed the Loganberry's parentage. Logan's original was introduced to Europe in 1897, while the 'American Thornless', a prickle-free mutation, was developed in 1933.

A similar hybrid is the Nessberry which is a cross between a dewberry and the red raspberry.

The Phenomenal Berry or 'Burbank's Logan' is a 2nd generation cross (i.e. two first generation crosses were crossed to each other) between blackberry and raspberry made by Luther Burbank in 1905.

The Loganberry proved to be productive and well adapted to local conditions, but its flavor was not popular with customers. Its main use was as a parent for further hybrids. It has been used as a parent in more recent crosses between Rubus species, such as Tayberry (loganberry × raspberry), Boysenberry (loganberry × raspberry × blackberry), Youngberry (Phenomenal berry × Austin Mayes dewberry), Santiam blackberry (loganberry × trailing blackberry) and Olallieberry (Black Logan × Youngberry).

A less widely accepted theory suggests that the Loganberry originated as a red-fruiting form of the common Californian blackberry Rubus ursinus.

Excerpt from Santa Cruz County; a faithful reproduction in print and photography of its climate, capabilities, and beauties (1896).

The Loganberry, being a variety unfamiliar to people in any other place, I will devote more space to its account than to others. From a circular giving its history I extract these notes:

The Loganberry originated with Judge J. H. Logan, of Santa Cruz, Cal., from whom it derives its name. Several years ago, growing in his garden, were plants of the Aughinbaugh blackberry and Red Antwerp raspberry. The plants, being near each other, had intermixed or grown together. The judge, having noticed that they bloomed and ripened their fruit together, conceived the idea of planting the seeds, from which planting resulted the production of the Loganberry.

He is entitled to all credit for the origination of this noble fruit, which will be a perpetual monument, placing his name beside those of Longworth, Hovey, Wilson and other originators of new varieties of fruit. He has even done more than they. He has produced a fruit or berry entirely unlike any in previous existence, a hybrid or mixture of two fruits, partaking of the characteristics of both of its parents. The Aughinbaugh blackberry, from the seed of which the Logan is supposed to have originated, has pistillate or imperfect flowers, which must have been fertilized by the polen of the raspberry, producing this most singular and valuable fruit.

The vines or canes of the Loganberry grow entirely unlike either the blackberry or raspberry. They trail or grow upon the ground more like the dewberry. They are exceedingly strong growers, each shoot or branch reaching a growth of eight to ten feet in one season without irrigation, the aggregate growth of all the shoots on one plant amounting to from forty to fifty feet.

The canes or vines are very large-- without the thorns of the blackberry bushes--but have very fine soft spines, much like those of raspberry bushes. The leaves are of a deep green color, coarse and thick, and also like those of the raspberry. The fruit is as large as the largest size blackberry, is of the same shape, with globules similar to that fruit, and the color, when fully ripe, is a 'dark bright red'. It has the combined flavor of both berries, pleasant, mild, vinous, delightful to the taste and peculiar to this fruit alone.

It is excellent for the table, eaten raw or cooked, and for jelly or jam is without an equal. The seeds are very small, soft and not abundant, being greatly different from both its parents in this respect. The vines are enormous bearers, and the fruit is very firm and carries well.

The fruit begins to ripen very early-- the bulk being ripe and gone before either blackberries or raspberries become plentiful. In filling in a place just ahead of these fruits the market value of the Loganberry is greatly enhanced. In ordinary seasons the fruit begins to ripen from the middle to the last of May. When extensively planted and generally known, this berry is destined to take front rank owing to its earliness, large size, beautiful appearance, superior quality, and delightful flavor, together with its firmness and good carrying or shipping quality.

Mr. James Waters, of this valley, has sole right with this vine.

Due to its high vitamin C content, the loganberry was used by the British navy at the beginning of the 20th century as a source of vitamin C to prevent sailors from getting scurvy much the same as the British did with limes during the late 18th century (hence the American term for the British, "limey"). During this period at the beginning of the 20th century the largest proportion of loganberries grown for the British navy (roughly 1/3) were grown on a single farm in Leigh Sinton, near Malvern in Worcestershire run by the Norbury family where Sir Edward Elgar taught the piano. The farm is still running today although hops replaced loganberries and since then cereal crops and oil seed rape have replaced hops.

Growing
Loganberry plants are sturdy and more disease- and frost-resistant than many other berries. However, they are not very popular with commercial growers due to several problems which increase labour costs. The plants tend to be thorny and the berries are often hidden by the leaves. Additionally, berries of varying maturity may grow on a single plant, making it difficult to completely harvest one. They are therefore usually kept in domestic gardens.

The loganberry bush is usually about 10 canes large. The canes are not as upright as its raspberry parent and tend to vine more like its blackberry parent. It can be undisciplined in its growth and the cane (vine) can grow 5 or more feet in a year. Some gardeners train the canes fanwise along a wall or a wire frame. Old canes die after their second year and should be cut away as they can bring disease, and hinder harvesting. If it is not correctly pruned, it can produce blackberry 'sports'.

This photograph shows loganberries in blossom above others in fruit. The fruit starts green (as shown on the left), then red (as shown above) and finally a deep purple.

Uses:
Loganberries may be eaten without preparation as well as used as an ingredient in jams, pies, crumbles, fruit syrups and country wines. Loganberries, in common with other blackberry/raspberry hybrids, can be used interchangeably with raspberries or blackberries in most recipes. English Sherry trifle is best with loganberries, as their juice (or syrup in case of tinned berries) combines well with the Sherry wine.

Loganberry drink

A use common to Southern Ontario, Canada, and Western New York, USA, is Loganberry Juice. While the Loganberry is primarily harvested in the Western United States, growers there were unaware that a niche market existed for a Loganberry-derived drink to the east. According to local lore, the loganberry drink was developed by entrepreneurs in the late 1800s at Crystal Beach, a local summertime resort and one time amusement park, in Southern Ontario. The drink continued to be served at the amusement park until it closed. The most popular commercial version is 'Aunt Rosie's', which is commonly enjoyed in Western New York. 'Aunt Rosie's' is distributed by the local Pepsi-Cola bottling operation out of Buffalo and is found in local restaurants and establishments. A smaller, more local version of Loganberry juice is available to locals in New York's Capital District and Buffalo, NY, under the name of PJ's Crystal Beach Loganberry Juice, available in Sparkling and Diet. According to the Crystal Beach loganberry can, loganberry juice originated at PJ's barbecue in Saratoga Springs, NY. Loganberries may also be purchased in their syrup form in local supermarkets for use at home.

Loganberry is now offered at Mighty Taco fast food restaurants in Western New York by Johnnie Ryan Beverages [1], a local soft drink manufacturer from Niagara Falls, NY. It was previously available at Tim Hortons locations in Fort Erie, ON. Loganberry has also made its way to Indiana, where it is served at Avers Pizza in Bloomington.

Palm sugar

2010-07-10T22:52:00.004+07:00

Palm sugar was originally made from the sugary sap of the Palmyra palm , the date palm or sugar date palm (Phoenix sylvestris). Now it is also made from the sap of the sago, arenga pinnata and coconut palms, and may be sold as "arenga sugar" or "coconut sugar".

It is quickly gaining popularity in the progressive global health community as an alternative to high fructose agave syrup.[citation needed] Companies are now selling it into the natural food markets in India, so it is becoming easier to get high quality organic arenga or coconut palm sugar.[citation needed]

The taste of pure coconut palm sugar resembles that of brown sugar, yet with more rounded caramel and butterscotch notes, without the metallic ending flavor that brown sugar has. It has a rich flavor. For cooking purposes, it has a very low melt temperature and an extremely high burn temperature. This makes it a suitable sweetener for confectioners.[citation needed]

The brown sugar is a golden brown granule or paste, sold in tubes, blocks or tin cans. Liquid versions of coconut palm sugar are also available. It may be light-colored or dark, soft and gooey or hard. As a lightly-processed product of cottage industry, it varies greatly from batch to batch.[citation needed]

There are various forms of coconut palm sugar available on the market. The coconut palm sugar found in Thai markets generally are not 100% pure coconut palm sugar, but is blended with white cane sugar and also malt sugar. These tend to white hard blobs. It's important to discern which product you're looking for; a pure coconut palm sugar or a coconut palm sugar mixed with other sugars.

In Indonesia, sugar made from the Borassus (Palmyra palm) is known as Gula Jawa ("Javanese sugar") or gula merah (red sugar).

In Thai cuisine, palm and "coconut sugar" (nahm dtahn bpeep/buk and nahm dtahn maprao) are used interchangeably. However, it may be an important distinction that "coconut sugar" is not derived from the coconut fruit itself.[citation needed]

According to Kasma Loha-unchit:

"Although the names are used interchangeably, palm sugar and coconut sugar are not the same. One comes from the palmyra or sugar palm and the other from coconut palm, but both are produced from the sweet, watery sap that drips from cut flower buds."

Usage

While coconut sugar has long been a staple for South East Asian culinary heritage and herbal medicine, the evolution of this traditional sweetener into a practical and easy to use cane sugar alternative heralds an exciting moment for the food & beverage industry. Coconut Palm Sugar has an extremely low glycemic index, an extremely high nutrient content and an affordable price for manufacturers and consumers alike.

There has been a rapid increase in popularity with progressive manufactures in the United States who make products for the health conscious consumer. Because diabetes is becoming a global epidemic, consumers are becoming very aware of their sugar intake, in what form their sugar comes in and where it comes from. Coconut palm sugar, because of its low glycemic qualities and high nutrient profile, is gaining in popularity for a wide array of uses to cater to the sugar conscious consumer.

Companies are using coconut palm sugar in cookies, baked goods, protein powders, energy bar, beverages or anywhere cane sugar is used.

Palm sugar is often used to sweeten savory food to balance out the salty flavor of fish. Its primary use in Thai cuisine is in sweets and desserts, and somewhat less often in curries and sauces.[citation needed]

Indians have two varieties of Palmyra sugar. One is unrefined and is in the form of hard blocks of dark brown sugar. This known as Karuppatti in Tamil. Kerala in India also has this palm sugar known as karipotti and is used to make coffee known as karipotti kapi.This is used as a sweetener for making certain types of cakes and biscuits. To the east, West Bengal also has a date palm jaggery variant, available as a dark brown liquid (nolen or notun gur)and as a solid, dark brown block (patali gur). It is used to prepare rich milk based desserts.

The other is refined and is available as granules of crystalline sugar. This is known as Panam KaRkaNdu. This has medicinal value. It has the power to liquefy phlegm from the lungs. It is also profusely used in treatment of sore throat when dissolved in boiled concentrated milk.[citation needed]

Musicians use it on a regular basis in combination with other medicinal spices and herbs.[citation needed]

Palm sugar is used in some savory dishes but mainly in the local desserts and cakes of the Southeast Asian region. Palm sugar Sago pudding, shown in the picture, is one of many desserts made with palm sugar. It is among some of the more popular gastronomic delights of Peranakan (Chinese-Malay) origin. This dish consists of a bland sago pudding served with palm sugar syrup. In some ways it resembles the international Creme Caramel and differ only in the ingredients used. It can be served either cold or hot. To enrich the pudding, coconut milk or 'santan' its Malay name, is added. Santan is the South-East Asian non-dairy counterpart of the dairy cream, the latter either whipped or in liquid form, is used mainly in Western cuisines but both add richness or provide viscosity when these are required.[citation needed]

Palm sugar is made by making several slits into the bud of a coconut tree and collecting the sap. Then, the sap is boiled until it thickens after which, in the traditional way, it is poured into bamboo tubes between 3-5 inches in length, and left to solidify to form cylindrical cake blocks. Alternatively, it can be poured into glass jars or plastic bags

Sugarcane

2010-07-08T16:52:00.005+07:00

Sugarcane is any of six to thirty-seven species (depending on taxonomic system) of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum (family Poaceae, tribe Andropogoneae). Native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six meters (six to nineteen feet) tall. All sugar cane species interbreed, and the major commercial cultivars are complex hybrids.

Today, sugar cane is grown in over 110 countries. In 2008 an estimated 1,743 million metric tons of sugar cane were produced worldwide.Today, about 50 percent of world sugarcane production occurs in Brazil and India.

Sugar cane products include table sugar, Falernum, molasses, rum, cachaça (the national spirit of Brazil), and ethanol. The bagasse that remains after sugar cane crushing may be burned to provide heat and electricity. It may also, because of its high cellulose content, serve as raw material for paper, cardboard, and eating utensils that, because they are by-products, may be branded as "environmentally friendly"

Sugarcane is indigenous to tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. Different species likely originated in different locations with S. barberi originating in India and S. edule and S. officinarum coming from New Guinea.Crystallized sugar was reported 5,000 years ago in India.

Around the eighth century A.D., Arabs introduced sugar to the Mediterranean, Mesopotamia, Egypt, North Africa, and Andalusia. By the tenth century, sources state, there was no village in Mesopotamia that did not grow sugar cane.It was among the early crops brought to the Americas by the Andalusians (from their fields in the Canary Islands), and the Portuguese.

"Boiling houses" in the 17th through 19th centuries converted sugarcane juice into raw sugar. These houses were attached to sugar plantations in the western colonies. Slaves often ran the boiling process, under very poor conditions. Made of cut stone, rectangular boxes of brick or stone served as furnaces with an opening at the bottom to stoke the fire and remove ashes. At the top of each furnace were up to seven copper kettles or boilers, each one smaller and hotter than the previous one. The cane juice began in the largest kettle. The juice was then heated and lime added to remove impurities. The juice was skimmed, then channeled to successively smaller kettles. The last kettle, which was called the 'teache', was where the cane juice became syrup. The next step was a cooling trough, where the sugar crystals hardened around a sticky core of molasses. This raw sugar was then shoveled from the cooling trough into hogsheads (wooden barrels), and from there into the curing house.

Sugarcane is still extensively grown in the Caribbean. Christopher Columbus first brought it during his second voyage to the Americas, initially to the island of Hispaniola (modern day Haiti and the Dominican Republic). In colonial times, sugar formed one side of the triangular trade of New World raw materials, European manufactures, and African slaves. France found its sugarcane islands so valuable, it effectively traded its portion of Canada, famously dubbed "a few acres of snow," to Britain for their return of Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Lucia at the end of the Seven Years' War. The Dutch similarly kept Suriname, a sugar colony in South America, instead of seeking the return of the New Netherlands (New York). Cuban sugarcane produced sugar that received price supports from and a guaranteed market in the USSR; the dissolution of that country forced the closure of most of Cuba's sugar industry. Sugarcane remains an important part of the economy of Guyana, Belize, Barbados, Haiti, along with the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, and other islands.

Sugarcane production greatly influenced many tropical Pacific islands, including Okinawa and, most particularly, Hawaiʻi and Fiji. In these islands, sugarcane came to dominate the economic and political landscape after the arrival of powerful European and American agricultural businesses, which promoted immigration of workers from various Asian countries to tend and harvest the crop. Sugar was the dominant factor in diversifying the islands' ethnic makeup, profoundly affecting their politics and society.

Brazil is the biggest grower of sugarcane, which goes for sugar and ethanol for gasoline-ethanol blends (gasohol) for transportation fuel. In India, sugarcane is sold as jaggery, and also refined into sugar, primarily for consumption in tea and sweets, and for the production of alcoholic beverages

Cultivation
Sugarcane cultivation requires a tropical or temperate climate, with a minimum of 60 centimetres (24 in) of annual moisture. It is one of the most efficient photosynthesizers in the plant kingdom. It is a C-4 plant, able to convert up to 2 percent of incident solar energy into biomass.[citation needed] In prime growing regions, such as India, Pakistan, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Australia, Ecuador, Cuba, the Philippines, El Salvador and Hawaii, sugarcane can produce 20 kilograms (44 lb) for each square meter exposed to the sun.[citation needed]

Although sugarcanes produce seeds, modern stem cutting has become the most common reproduction method. Each cutting must contain at least one bud and the cuttings are sometimes hand-planted. In more technologically advanced countries like the United States and Australia, billet planting is common. Billets harvested from a mechanical harvester are planted by a machine which opens and recloses the ground. Once planted, a stand can be harvested several times; after each harvest, the cane sends up new stalks, called ratoons. Successive harvests give decreasing yields, eventually justifying replanting. Two to ten harvests may be possible between plantings.[citation needed]

Sugarcane is harvested by hand and mechanically. Hand harvesting accounts for more than half of production, and is dominant in the developing world. In hand harvesting the field is first set on fire. The fire burns dry leaves, and kills any lurking venomous snakes, without harming the water-rich stalks and roots. Harvesters then cut the cane just above ground-level using cane knives or machetes. A skilled harvester can cut 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of sugarcane per hour.[citation needed]
Sugarcane exhibit at Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport shows importance of the crop to south Louisiana from earliest times.

Mechanical harvesting uses a combine, or chopper harvester. The Austoft 7000 series was the original modern harvester design that has now been copied by other companies including Cameco/ John Deere. The machine cuts the cane at the base of the stalk, strips the leaves, and deposits the cane into a transporter, while blowing the thrash back onto the field. Such machines can harvest 100 long tons (100 t) each hour, but machine-harvested cane must be rapidly processed. Once cut, sugarcane begins to lose its sugar content, and damage to the cane during mechanical harvesting accelerates this decline...Read more

Apple production

2010-06-30T19:24:00.003+07:00

Apple breeding

In the wild, apples grow quite readily from seeds. However, like most perennial fruits, apples are ordinarily propagated asexually by grafting. This is because seedling apples are an example of "extreme heterozygotes", in that rather than inheriting DNA from their parents to create a new apple with those characteristics, they are instead different from their parents, sometimes radically. Triploids have an additional reproductive barrier in that the 3 sets of chromosomes cannot be divided evenly during meiosis, yielding unequal segregation of the chromosomes (aneuploids). Even in the very unusual case when a triploid plant can produce a seed (apples are an example), it happens infrequently, and seedlings rarely survive.Most new apple cultivars originate as seedlings, which either arise by chance or are bred by deliberately crossing cultivars with promising characteristics.The words 'seedling', 'pippin', and 'kernel' in the name of an apple cultivar suggest that it originated as a seedling. Apples can also form bud sports (mutations on a single branch). Some bud sports turn out to be improved strains of the parent cultivar. Some differ sufficiently from the parent tree to be considered new cultivars.

Breeders can produce more rigid apples through crossing.For example, the Excelsior Experiment Station of the University of Minnesota has, since the 1930s, introduced a steady progression of important hardy apples that are widely grown, both commercially and by backyard orchardists, throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. Its most important introductions have included 'Haralson' (which is the most widely cultivated apple in Minnesota), 'Wealthy', 'Honeygold', and 'Honeycrisp'.

Apples have been acclimatized in Ecuador at very high altitudes, where they provide crops twice per year because of constant temperate conditions in a whole yea

Apple rootstocks

Rootstocks used to control tree size have been used in apple cultivation for over 2,000 years. Dwarfing rootstocks were probably discovered by chance in Asia. Alexander the Great sent samples of dwarf apple trees back to his teacher, Aristotle, in Greece. They were maintained at the Lyceum, a center of learning in Greece.

Most modern apple rootstocks were bred in the 20th century. Much research into the existing rootstocks was begun at the East Malling Research Station in Kent, England. Following that research, Malling worked with the John Innes Institute and Long Ashton to produce a series of different rootstocks with disease resistance and a range of different sizes, which have been used all over the world.

Health benefits

The proverb "An apple a day keeps the doctor away.", addressing the health effects of the fruit, dates from 19th century Wales.Research suggests that apples may reduce the risk of colon cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer.Compared to many other fruits and vegetables, apples contain relatively low amounts of vitamin C, but are a rich source of other antioxidant compounds.The fiber content, while less than in most other fruits, helps regulate bowel movements and may thus reduce the risk of colon cancer. They may also help with heart disease,weight loss and controlling cholesterol, as they do not have any cholesterol, have fiber, which reduces cholesterol by preventing reabsorption, and are bulky for their caloric content, like most fruits and vegetables.

There is evidence that in vitro apples possess phenolic compounds which may be cancer-protective and demonstrate antioxidant activity.The predominant phenolic phytochemicals in apples are quercetin, epicatechin, and procyanidin B2.

Apple juice concentrate has been found to increase the production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in mice, providing a potential mechanism for the "prevent[ion of] the decline in cognitive performance that accompanies dietary and genetic deficiencies and aging." Other studies have shown an "alleviat[ion of] oxidative damage and cognitive decline" in mice after the administration of apple juice.

The seeds are mildly poisonous, containing a small amount of amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside; it usually is not enough to be dangerous to humans, but it can deter birds.

Fruit salad (Fruit-somtum)

2010-06-28T19:25:00.002+07:00

Ingredients:

1.guava (Cube)
2.pineapple (Cube)
3.mango (fha-lun)
4.apple (Cube)
5.grape
6.tomato
7.carrot (Cube)
8.papaya (slice)
9.sugar syrup
10.bird pepper
11.ground nut
12.shrimp
13.lemon
14.fish sauce

Method:

1.Mix its by guava mango and carrot
2.Put fish sauce and then put other gredients
3.Put pineapple in the last because if you put its first that don't good taste.
4.Put other its made good taste and serve.

Grape

2010-06-16T20:59:00.002+07:00

A grape is the non-climacteric fruit, botanically a true berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, drugs, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, and grape seed oil. Grapes are also used in some kinds of confectionery.

The domestication of purple grapes originated in what is now southern Turkey. Yeast, one of the earliest domesticated microorganisms, occurs naturally on the skins of grapes, leading to the innovation of alcoholic drinks such as wine. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics record the cultivation of purple grapes, and history attests to the ancient Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans growing purple grapes for both eating and wine production. Later, the growing of grapes spread to Europe, North Africa, and eventually North America.

Native purple grapes belonging to the Vitis genus proliferated in the wild across North America, and were a part of the diet of many North American Native Americans, but were considered by European colonists to be unsuitable for wine. The first Old World Vitis vinifera purple grapes were cultivated in California where Spain had established a series of monasteries along the coasts to supply their navies with oranges to prevent scurvy and convert natives. Grapes have always had a part in history. There are old greek troughs and coffins in the Getty Villa, and they show cherubs in tubs of grapes, making wine.

Description

Grapes grow in clusters of 6 to 300, and can be crimson, black, dark blue, yellow, green and pink. "White" grapes are actually green in color, and are evolutionarily derived from the purple grape. Mutations in two regulatory genes of white grapes turn off production of anthocyanins which are responsible for the color of purple grapes.[1] Anthocyanins and other pigment chemicals of the larger family of polyphenols in purple grapes are responsible for the varying shades of purple in red wines

Grapevines

Most grapes come from cultivars of Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia. Minor amounts of fruit and wine come from American and Asian species such as:

* Vitis labrusca, the North American table and grape juice grapevines (including the concord cultivar), sometimes used for wine. Native to the Eastern United States and Canada.
* Vitis riparia, a wild vine of North America, sometimes used for winemaking and for jam. Native to the entire Eastern U.S. and north to Quebec.
* Vitis rotundifolia, the muscadines, used for jams and wine. Native to the Southeastern United States from Delaware to the Gulf of Mexico.
* Vitis amurensis, the most important Asian species.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 75,866 square kilometres of the world are dedicated to grapes. Approximately 71% of world grape production is used for wine, 27% as fresh fruit, and 2% as dried fruit. A portion of grape production goes to producing grape juice to be reconstituted for fruits canned "with no added sugar" and "100% natural". The area dedicated to vineyards is increasing by about 2% per year.

The following table of top wine-producers shows the corresponding areas dedicated to grapes for wine making

Malpighia emarginata

2010-06-10T17:49:00.002+07:00

Malpighia emarginata is a tropical fruit-bearing shrub or small tree in the family Malpighiaceae. Common names include Acerola, Barbados Cherry, West Indian Cherry and Wild Crapemyrtle.

Distribution

M. emarginata can be found in the southernmost parts of the contiguous United States (southern Florida and the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas),Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America as far south as Peru and Bahia in Brazil.It is cultivated in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world, including the Canary Islands, Ghana, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Zanzibar, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, India, Java, Hawaii, and Australia.

Description

Acerola is an evergreen shrub or small tree with spreading branches on a short trunk. It is usually 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft) tall, but sometimes reaches 6 m (20 ft) in height

Leaves

The leaves are simple ovate-lanceolate, 2–8 cm (0.79–3.1 in) long, 1–4 cm (0.39–1.6 in), and are attached to short petioles. They are opposite, ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, and have entire or undulating margins. Top sides are dark green and glossy

Flowers

Flowers are bisexual and 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) in diameter. They have five pale to deep pink or red fringed petals, ten stamens, and six to ten glands on the calyx. There are three to five flowers per inflorescence, which are sessile or short-peduncled axillary cymes

Fruit

The fruit is a bright red drupe 1–3 cm (0.39–1.2 in) in diameter with a mass of 3–5 g (0.11–0.18 oz). Drupes are in pairs or groups of three, and each contains three triangular seeds. The drupes are juicy and very high in vitamin C and other nutrients. They are divided into three obscure lobes and are usually acid to subacid, giving them a sour taste, but may be sweet if grown well

Uses

The fruit is edible and widely consumed in the species' native area, and is cultivated elsewhere for its high vitamin C content. There is 1677.6 mg of vitamin C in 100 g of fruit.

In the 1950s, a manufacturer of baby food decided that apple juice was milder for infants than orange juice. The company claimed that a drop of acerola juice in an 8 oz. can of apple juice provided the amount of vitamin C of an equal amount of orange juice. A detailed nutrition facts analysis shows Acerola juice does contain 32 times the amount of vitamin C in orange juice (over 3000% as much), supporting the claim.

A comparative analysis of antioxidant potency among a variety of frozen juice pulps was carried out, and included the acerola fruit. Among the eleven fruits' pulps tested, acerola was the highest scoring domestic fruit, meaning it had the most antioxidant potency, with a TEAC (Trolox equivalent antioxidant activity) score of 53.2 mmol g.

Cultivars have been developed to improve growth of the plant, disease resistance, and the size and flavor of the fruits. Sweet cultivars include 'Manoa Sweet', 'Tropical Ruby', and 'Hawaiian Queen', while 'J.H. Beaumont', 'C.F. Rehnborn', 'F. Haley', 'Red Jumbo', and 'Maunawili' are sour cultivars. The cultivars 'A-1', 'B-15', and 'B-17' are recommended for Puerto Rico, while 'B-17' and 'Florida Sweet' are recommended for Florida.

Absolut Vodka released Absolut Los Angeles, a limited-edition spirit flavored with acerola, Açai, pomegranate, and blueberry, in July 2008.

Acerola flavour is also used in Tic Tac dragées.

In Vietnam, the most famous variety is from Gò Công district, Tiền Giang province

Other uses

For many years, Acerola has been a popular bonsai subject because of its small leaf, fruit and fine ramification. The best[citation needed] acerola bonsai have been cultivated in Taiwan, where it has become a very common plant in bonsai circles, particularly in Yunlin County, Chung Hwa, Tainan and Kaohsiung. It has also been cultivated as a bonsai, with great success, in Indonesia.[citation needed] It is also grown as an ornamental and for hedges

Ecology

M. emarginata is a host plant for the caterpillars of the White-patched Skipper (Chiomara asychis),Florida Duskywing (Ephyriades brunneus),and Brown-banded Skipper (Timochares ruptifasciatus). Larvae of the Acerola Weevil (Anthonomus macromalus) feed on the fruits, while adults consume young leaves.

Morus

2010-06-05T04:54:00.003+07:00

Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10-16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries. They are native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, with the majority of the species native to Asia.

The closely related genus Broussonetia is also commonly known as mulberry, notably the Paper Mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera.

Mulberries are swift-growing when young, but soon become slow-growing and rarely exceed 10–15 m (33–49 ft) tall. The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, often lobed, more often lobed on juvenile shoots than on mature trees, and serrated on the margin.

The fruit is a multiple fruit, 2–3 cm (0.79–1.2 in) long. The fruits when immature are white or green to pale yellow with pink edges. In most species the fruits are red when they are ripening turning dark purple to black and have a sweet flavor. The fruits of the white-fruited cultivar of the white mulberry are green when young and white when ripe; the fruit in this cultivar is also sweet but has a very mild flavor compared with the darker variety.

Species

The taxonomy of Morus is complex and disputed. Over 150 species names have been published, and although differing sources may cite different selections of accepted names, only 10–16 are generally cited as being accepted by the vast majority of botanical authorities. Morus classification is even further complicated by widespread hybridisation, wherein the hybrids are fertile.

The following species are generally accepted:

* Morus alba L. – White Mulberry (E Asia)
* Morus australis Poir. – Chinese Mulberry (SE Asia)
* Morus celtidifolia Kunth (Mexico)
* Morus insignis (S America)
* Morus mesozygia Stapf – African Mulberry (S and C Africa)
* Morus microphylla – Texas Mulberry (Mexico, Texas (USA))
* Morus nigra L. – Black Mulberry (SW Asia)
* Morus rubra L. – Red Mulberry (E N America)

The following, all from eastern and southern Asia, are additionally accepted by one or more taxonomic lists or studies; synonymy, as given by other lists or studies, is indicated in square brackets:

* Morus atropurpurea
* Morus bombycis [M. australis]
* Morus cathayana
* Morus indica [M. alba]
* Morus japonica [M. alba]
* Morus kagayamae [M. australis]
* Morus laevigata [M. alba var. laevigata; M. macroura]
* Morus latifolia [M. alba]
* Morus liboensis
* Morus macroura [M. alba var. laevigata]
* Morus mongolica [M. alba var. mongolica]
* Morus multicaulis [M. alba]
* Morus notabilis
* Morus rotundiloba
* Morus serrata [M. alba var. serrata], Himalayan mulberry
* Morus tillaefolia
* Morus trilobata [M. australis var. trilobata]
* Morus wittiorum

Uses and cultivation

The ripe fruit is edible and is widely used in pies, tarts, wines, and cordials. The fruit of the black mulberry, native to southwest Asia, and the red mulberry, native to eastern North America, have the strongest flavor. The fruit of the white mulberry, an east Asian species which is extensively naturalized in urban regions of eastern North America, has a different flavor, sometimes characterized as insipid.[citation needed] The mature plant contains significant amounts of resveratrol, particularly in stem bark.The fruit and leaves are sold in various forms as nutritional supplements. Unripe fruit and green parts of the plant have a white sap that is intoxicating and mildly hallucinogenic.

Black, red, and white mulberry are widespread in Northern India, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Armenia, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan, where the tree and the fruit are known by the Persian-derived names toot (mulberry) or shahtoot (King's or "superior" mulberry). Jams and sherbets are often made from the fruit in this region. Black mulberry was imported to Britain in the 17th century in the hope that it would be useful in the cultivation of silkworms. It was much used in folk medicine, especially in the treatment of ringworm.

Mulberry leaves, particularly those of the white mulberry, are ecologically important as the sole food source of the silkworm (Bombyx mori, named after the mulberry genus Morus), the pupa/cocoon of which is used to make silk. Other Lepidoptera larvae also sometimes feed on the plant including common emerald, lime hawk-moth, and the sycamore.

Mulberries can be grown from seed, and this is often advised as seedling-grown trees are generally of better shape and health. But they are most often planted from large cuttings which root readily.

The tree branches pruned during the fall season (after the leaves have fallen) are cut and used to make very durable baskets which are used in a lot of village jobs related to agriculture and animal husbandry.

Anthocyanins from mulberry fruits

Anthocyanins are pigments which hold potential use as dietary modulators of mechanisms for various diseases[4][5] and as natural food colorants. Due to increasing demand for natural food colorants, their significance in the food industry is increasing. Anthocyanins are responsible for the attractive colors of fresh plant foods, producing colors such as orange, red, purple, black, and blue. They are water-soluble and easily extractable.

A cheap and industrially feasible method to purify anthocyanins from mulberry fruit which could be used as a fabric tanning agent or food colorant of high color value (of above 100) has been established. Scientists found that out of 31 Chinese mulberry cultivars tested, the total anthocyanin yield varied from 148 mg to 2725 mg per liter of fruit juice.[6] Total sugars, total acids, and vitamins remained intact in the residual juice after removal of anthocyanins and that the residual juice could be fermented in order to produce products such as juice, wine, and sauce.

Worldwide, mulberry is grown for its fruit. In traditional and folk medicine, the fruit is believed to have medicinal properties and is used for making jam, wine, and other food products. As the genera Morus has been domesticated over thousands of years and constantly been subjected to heterosis breeding (mainly for improving leaf yield), it is possible to hybridize breeds suitable for berry production, thus offering possible industrial use of mulberry as a source of anthocyanins for functional foods or food colorants which could enhance the overall profitability of sericulture.

Anthocyanin content depends on climate, area of cultivation, and is particularly higher in sunny climates.[7] This finding holds promise for tropical sericulture countries to profit from industrial anthocyanin production from mulberry through anthocyanin recovery.

This offers a challenging task to the mulberry germplasm resources for

* exploration and collection of fruit yielding mulberry species;
* their characterization, cataloging, and evaluation for anthocyanin content by using traditional as well as modern means and biotechnology tools;
* developing an information system about these cultivars or varieties;
* training and global coordination of genetic stocks;
* evolving suitable breeding strategies to improve the anthocyanin content in potential breeds by collaboration with various research stations in the field of sericulture, plant genetics, and breeding, biotechnology and pharmacology.

Popular culture

The nursery rhyme Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush uses the tree in the refrain, as do some contemporary American versions of the nursery rhyme Pop Goes the Weasel.

Vaccinium vitis-idaea

2010-05-28T20:10:00.002+07:00

The Vaccinium vitis-idaea – often called lingonberry and also called cowberry (UK), foxberry, quailberry, mountain cranberry, red whortleberry, lowbush cranberry, mountain bilberry, partridgeberry[1] (in Newfoundland and Cape Breton in Canada), and redberry (in Labrador in Canada) – is a small evergreen shrub in the flowering plant family Ericaceae that bears edible fruit.

It is seldom cultivated, but the fruits are commonly collected in the wild. The native habitat is the circumboreal forests of northern Eurasia and North America, extending from temperate into subarctic climates.

Varieties

There are two very similar regional varieties of Vaccinium vitis-idaea in Eurasia and North America:

* Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. vitis-idaea L., Eurasia. Leaves 10–25 mm long.
* Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. minus Lodd., North America. Leaves 7–20 mm long.

Morphology

Lingonberry shrubs of both varieties are typically 10–40 cm in height and have a compact habit. They prefer some shade (as from a forest canopy) and constantly moist, acidic soil. Nutrient-poor soils are tolerated but not alkaline soils. They are extremely hardy, tolerating −40 °C or lower, but grow poorly where summers are hot.

The plant is only semi-woody but keeps its leaves all winter even in the coldest years, unusual for a broadleaf plant, though they are usually protected from severe cold by snow cover. The plant spreads by underground rhizomes. The bell-shaped white flowers are produced in the early summer. The fruit, actually a false berry, is red and acidic, ripening in late summer to autumn.

The species resembles the related and similar cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus, V. microcarpum and V. macrocarpon), differing mainly in having white (not pink) flowers, with the petals partially enclosing the stamens and stigma (the petals are reflexed backwards in cranberries), and rounder, less pear-shaped berries. Other related plants in the genus Vaccinium include blueberries, bilberries, and huckleberries.

Etymology

The name "lingonberry" originates from the Swedish word lingon for the native Lingonberry. Because the names mountain cranberry and lowbush cranberry perpetuate the longstanding confusion between the cranberry and the lingonberry, some botanists have suggested that these names should be avoided.

Uses

Lingonberries collected in the wild are a popular fruit in northern, central and eastern Europe, notably in Scandinavia, the Baltic states, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. In some areas they can legally be picked on both public and private lands in accordance with the freedom to roam.

The berries are quite tart, so they are almost always cooked and sweetened before eating in the form of lingonberry jam, compote, juice, or syrup. The raw fruits are also frequently simply mashed with sugar, which preserves most of their nutrients and flavor and even enables storing them at room temperature (in closed but not necessarily sealed containers), but in this condition, they are best preserved frozen. Lingonberries served this way or as compote often accompany game meats and liver dishes. In Sweden and Norway, caribou and deer steak is traditionally served with gravy and lingonberry sauce. Lingonberry preserve is commonly eaten with meatballs and potatoes in Sweden and Norway, and also with pork. In Sweden and Russia, when sugar was still a luxury item, lingonberries were usually preserved simply by putting them whole into bottles of water. This was known as vattlingon (watered lingonberries); the procedure preserved them until next season. This was also a home remedy against scurvy. In Russia this preserve had been known as "lingonberry water" (брусничная вода) and is a traditional soft drink. In Russian folk medicine, lingonberry water was used as a mild laxative. A traditional Finnish dish is sautéed reindeer (poronkäristys) with mashed potatoes and lingonberries, either cooked or raw with sugar. In Finland, lingonberry-porridge is also very popular. In Poland, lingonberries are often mixed with pears to create a sauce served with poultry or game. Lingonberries can also be used to replace red currants when creating Cumberland sauce to give it a more sophisticated taste.

Lingonberries are also popular as a wild picked fruit in Canada in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, where they are locally known as partridgeberries. In this region they are also incorporated into jams, syrups, and baked goods.

Lingonberries are a staple item in Sweden, and at the Swedish retailer IKEA. It is often sold as jam and juice in the store and as a key ingredient in dishes. Lingonberries are used to make Lillehammer berry liqueur, and in East-European countries, lingonberry vodka is sold.

Lingonberries are an important food for bears and foxes. Caterpillars of the Coleophoridae case-bearer moths Coleophora glitzella, Coleophora idaeella and Coleophora vitisella are not known to eat anything but lingonberry leaves.

Nutritional properties

Lingonberries contain plentiful organic acids, vitamin C, provitamin A (as beta carotene), B vitamins (B1, B2, B3), and the elements potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. In addition to these healthful nutrients, Lingonberries also contain phytochemicals that are thought to counteract urinary-tract infections, and the seeds are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.

Lingonberries are used in herbal medicine.[citation needed] In pre-modern times, the berries were of major use in keeping people healthy in Sweden through the long winters, when fresh vegetables were not available. A coarse porridge with fat, salt, pork, and lingonberry preserve was a classic meal of the winter, and a large crock of the berries preserved with sugar would be found in every larder. Owing to their high content of benzoic acid, they have the boiling sensation.

Viburnum lentago

2010-05-24T19:07:00.002+07:00

Viburnum lentago (Nannyberry, Sheepberry, or Sweet Viburnum) is a species of Viburnum native to the northeastern and midwestern United States, and in southern Canada from New Brunswick west to southeastern Saskatchewan. Isolated populations are found in the Dakotas, Wyoming, Colorado, and the Appalachian Mountains as far south as Kentucky and Virginia.

It is a large shrub or small tree growing to 9 m tall with a trunk up to 25 cm diameter and a short trunk, round-topped head, pendulous, flexible branches. The bark is reddish- to grayish-brown, and broken into small scales. The twigs are pale green and covered with rusty down at first, later becoming dark reddish brown, sometimes glaucous, smooth, tough, flexible, and produce an offensive odor when crushed or bruised. The winter buds are light red, covered with pale scurfy down, protected by a pair of opposing scales. Flower-bearing buds are 2 cm long, obovate, long pointed; other terminal buds are acute, 10–15 mm long, while lateral buds are much smaller. The bud scales enlarge with the growing shoot and often become leaf-like.

Like all viburnums, the leaves are arranged in opposite pairs on the twigs; they are oval, 5-10 cm long and 2-5 cm broad, wedge-shaped, rounded or subcordate at base, with an acuminate apex and a finely serrated margin, and a winged petiole. They open from the bud involute, bronze green and shining, hairy and downy; when full grown are bright green and shining above, pale green and marked with tiny black dots beneath. In autumn they turn a deep red, or red and orange.

The flowers are small, 5-6 mm diameter, with five whitish petals, arranged in large round terminal cymes 5-12 cm diameter; flowering is in late spring. The calyx is tubular, equally five-toothed, persistent; the corolla is equally five-lobed, imbricate in the bud, cream-white, one-quarter of an inch across; lobes acute, and slightly erose. There are five stamens, inserted on the base of the corolla, alternate with its lobes, exserted; filaments slender; anthers bright yellow, oblong, introrse, versatile, two-celled; cells opening longitudinally. The pistil has a one-celled inferior ovary, the style thick, short, light green, and the stigma broad; there is one ovule in each cell. The fruit is a small round blue-black drupe, 8-16 mm long on a reddish stem; it is thick skinned, sweet and rather juicy, and edible. The stone is oblong oval, flattened.

The roots are fibrous, wood is ill-smelling. It grows in wet soil along the borders of the forest, often found in fence corners and along roadsides. The wood is dark orange brown, heavy, hard, close-grained, with a density of 0.7303.

The Sheepberry is one of the largest of the Viburnums. It is admired for its compact habit, its lustrous foliage which insects rarely disfigure, its beautiful and abundant flowers, its handsome edible fruit and its brilliant autumnal color. It readily adapts itself to cultivation, and is one of the best of the small trees of eastern America for the decoration of parks and gardens in all regions of extreme winter cold. It is easily raised from seeds which, like those of the other American species, do not germinate until the second year after they are planted.

Uses

As suggested by the alternative name Sweet Viburnum, the fruit is (unlike that of many Viburnums) edible. The bark and leaves were also used by Native Americans in the preparation of herbal medicines.

It has been hybridized with Viburnum prunifolium in gardens to give the hybrid Viburnum × jackii

Thimbleberry

2010-05-23T09:03:00.003+07:00

Rubus parviflorus (Thimbleberry) is a species of Rubus, native to western and northern North America, from Alaska east to Ontario and Michigan,and south to northern Mexico. It grows from sea level in the north, up to 2,500 m altitude in the south of the range.

It is a dense shrub up to 2.5 meters tall with canes no more than 1.5 centimeters in diameter, often growing in large clumps which spread through the plant's underground rhizome. Unlike most other members of the genus, it has no prickles. The leaves are palmate, up to 20 centimeters across, with five lobes; they are soft and fuzzy in texture. The flowers are 2 to 6 centimeters in diameter, with five white petals and numerous pale yellow stamens. The flower of this species is among the largest of any Rubus species, making its Latin species name parviflorus ("small-flowered") a misnomer.It produces a tart edible composite fruit around a centimeter in diameter, which ripen to a bright red in mid to late summer. Like other raspberries it is not a true berry, but instead an aggregate fruit of numerous drupelets around a central core. The drupelets may be carefully removed separately from the core when picked, leaving a hollow fruit which bears a resemblance to a thimble, perhaps giving the plant its name.

The species typically grows along roadsides, railroad tracks, and in forest clearings, commonly appearing as an early part of the ecological succession in clear cut and forest fire areas.

Ecology
Thimbleberry is found in forest understories with typical flora associates including Coastal woodfern, Dryopteris arguta, Trillium ovatum and Smilacina racemosa.

Uses

Thimbleberry fruits are larger, flatter, and softer than raspberries, and have many small seeds. Because the fruit is so soft, it does not pack or ship well, so thimbleberries are rarely cultivated commercially. However, wild thimbleberries make an excellent jam which is sold as a local delicacy in some parts of their range, notably in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan. Thimbleberry jam is easily made by combining equal volumes of berries and sugar and boiling the mixture for two minutes before packing it into jars. The fruits can be eaten raw or dried,but they are not always very palatable.Many parts of the plant were used for a great variety of medicinal purposes by Native Americans.

Thimbleberry plants can be propagated most successfully by planting dormant rhizome segments, as well as from seeds or stem cuttings.

A double-flowered form of the thimbleberry was discovered near Squamish, BC, by Iva Angerman (1903-2008) of West Vancouver, BC.This clone does not appear to be in commerce, but is grown in the Botanic Garden of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, and in the Native Plant Garden of the Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria. Another double-flowered thimbleberry was found about 1975 by Bob Hornback on Starrett Hill, Monte Rio, California and given the cultivar name 'Dr. Stasek', after an art instructor at Sonoma State University. This clone is sold by one nursery online.

Cultivars of the plant are used for ornamental purposes, bred for their fragrant flowers and attractive fall foliage

Lansium domesticum

2010-05-20T01:25:00.003+07:00

Habit

Lansium domesticum is a medium-sized, single-trunked tree that usually grows from ten to fifteen meters tall.

The plant has pinnately compound leaves that grow to a length of around twenty to fifty centimeters long per leaf. Each fully-grown leaf has five to seven slightly-leathery, obovate leaflets that can reach a length of twenty centimeters each. A very prominent midrib bisects each dark green, glossy leaflet.

Flowers

L. domesticum flowers are hermaphrodite, having both stamen and pistil structures in the same flower. The pale-yellow, fleshy flowers are found in inflorescences of around thirty blossoms, in most cases in a raceme usually around thirty centimeters long.

Fruit

Fruits are ovoid, roundish orbs around five centimeters in diameter, usually found in clusters of two to thirty fruits along the branches and trunk. Each round fruit is covered by yellowish, thick, leathery skin. Underneath the skin, the fruit is divided into five or six slices of translucent, juicy flesh. The flesh is slightly acidic in taste, although ripe specimens are sweeter. Green seeds are present in around half of the segments, usually taking up a small portion of the segment although some seeds take up the entire segment's volume. In contrast with the sweet-sour flavor of the fruit's flesh, the seeds are extremely bitter. The fruit taste has been compared to a combination grape and "perfect" grapefruit with no bitterness. Yet the seeds if bitten have the bitterness of a grapefruit yet stronger. The sweet juicy flesh contains sucrose, fructose, and glucose.

Agriculturally, the tree is grown throughout the entire Southeast asian region, ranging from Southern India to the Philippines for its fruit. In the Philippines, where it is locally referred to as the lanzones, the plant is grown mostly on the southern parts of the island of Luzon, especially in Paete, Laguna, due to the species' narrow range of conditions favorable to its survival. It is also found in abundance on Northern Mindanao particularly in places as Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, and Camiguin. The Camiguin variety is especially sweet and succulent.

In Indonesia, Langsat is very popular fruit in West Kalimantan (Pontianak, Indonesia) and South Sumatra (also called 'Duku'). In Sarawak, northern Borneo, the name Duku is reserved for the larger-sized varieties of Langsat, near the size of golf balls, claimed sweeter and with less sap in the peel. A variety called Dokong exported to mainland Malaysia from Thailand grows tighter in the clusters, giving it a faceted shape, and is preferred by many over the standard Langsat.

Within mainland Asia, the tree is cultivated in Thailand (Thai: ลางสาด, langsat), Vietnam and India, as well as its native Malaysia. Outside the region, it has also been successfully transplanted and introduced to Hawaii and Surinam. It grows well in the wetter areas (120 inches/3 meters or more annual rainfall) of Costa Rica, where it is still very rare, having been introduced decades ago by the United Fruit Company. A major hindrance to its acceptance seems to be that it is very slow in bearing, said to take 12 years from seed. However, air layering from mature trees, as well as grafting, are said to work well and produce much faster

Ecology and life history
It grows wild in Sumatra forests where a wide and longest river in Indonesia lay across the southern part of Sumatra. The river rises and floods the forest lands for a few months, when it subsides, the flood leaves plenty of fallen leaves and twigs enriching and moistening a large area of the forest bed, resulting in ideal conditions for the plant to grow naturally. Local people will come and harvest it as natural forest produce. They climb up the tree with ripe fruits (after observing it), holding with their hands on the smaller branches and shaking it. Mature fruits will fall easily down to the ground. They will then collect it and transport it on a small boat on a nearby river to the villages and sell it. In a good year a 20-year old tree can produce 100 kg of fruits, however fruiting is often uneven.

Etymology and taxonomic history

Lansium domesticum is currently classified within the family Meliaceae.

It is known variously as langsat (Malay); lansones , lansa, langseh, langsep, lanzon, lanzone, lansone(Filipino); langsad (for the type of which its skin is quite sticky to the fruit), longkong (for the type of which the skin is easily peeled off without milky latex) (Thai); duku, langsat, kokosan (Indonesian), Gadu Guda (Sri Lanka), lòn bon and bòn bon (Vietnamese).

In certain parts of the Visayas, the fruit is called buwa-buwa or bowa-bowa, and the tree is called buwahan or bowahan.

Importance to humans
Langsat fruits are usually eaten fresh, but may be canned in syrup. Seedless sections can be dried like raisins, which is done in the Philippines.

Nutritional composition per 100 g langsat fruit Carbohydrate 7.8-14.2 g Protein 0.4-0.7 g Calcium 10-19 mg Phosphorus 20 mg Iron 1 mg Thiamine 0.05 mg Riboflavin 0.02 mg Niacin 0.5 mg Vitamin C 4-13.4 mg

Several parts of the plant have medicinal uses. The fruit peel is dried and burned to repel mosquitoes; it is also used to treat intestinal parasites and diarrhea. Powdered seeds are used to reduce fever, and the bark is used to treat malaria and scorpion stings

Loquat

2010-05-17T21:10:00.002+07:00

The loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a fruit tree in the family Rosaceae, indigenous to southeastern China. It was formerly thought to be closely related to the genus Mespilus, and is still sometimes known as the Japanese medlar.

It is an evergreen large shrub or small tree, with a rounded crown, short trunk and woolly new twigs. The tree can grow to 5–10 m tall, but is often smaller, about 3–4 m.

The leaves are alternate, simple, 10–25 cm long, dark green, tough and leathery in texture, with a serrated margin, and densely velvety-hairy below with thick yellow-brown pubescence; the young leaves are also densely pubescent above, but this soon rubs off.

Loquats are unusual among fruit trees in that the flowers appear in the autumn or early winter, and the fruits are ripe in late winter or early spring. The flowers are 2 cm diameter, white, with five petals, and produced in stiff panicles of three to ten flowers. The flowers have a sweet, heady aroma that can be smelled from a distance.
Loquat with fruits.

Loquat fruits, growing in clusters, are oval, rounded or pear-shaped, 3–5 cm long, with a smooth or downy, yellow or orange, sometimes red-blushed skin. The succulent, tangy flesh is white, yellow or orange and sweet to subacid or acid, depending on the cultivar. Each fruit contains five ovules, of which one to five mature into large brown seeds. The skin, though thin, can be peeled off manually if the fruit is ripe.

The fruits are the sweetest when soft and orange.

Use
The loquat is comparable with its distant relative, the apple, in many aspects, with a high sugar, acid and pectin content. It is eaten as a fresh fruit and mixes well with other fruits in fresh fruit salads or fruit cups. Firm, slightly immature fruits are best for making pies or tarts. The fruits are also commonly used to make jam, jelly, and chutney, and are often served poached in light syrup.

Loquat syrup is used in Chinese medicine for soothing the throat like a cough drop. The leaves, combined with other ingredients and known as pipa gao (枇杷膏; pinyin: pípágāo; literally "loquat paste"), it acts as a demulcent and an expectorant, as well as to soothe the digestive and respiratory systems. Loquats can also be used to make light wine.

Like most related plants, the seeds (pips) and young leaves of the plant are slightly poisonous, containing small amounts of cyanogenetic glycocides (including amygdalin) which release cyanide when digested, though the low concentration and bitter flavour normally prevents enough being eaten to cause harm.

In Japan, it is eaten fresh or sometimes canned because the flesh is sweet. However, the waste ratio is 30% or more, due to the size of the seed. Among other things, it is processed to confectionery including jellies and the jam.

Eaten in quantity, loquats have a gentle but noticeable sedative effect, with effects lasting up to 24 hours.[citation needed]

It is also fermented into a fruit wine, sometimes using just the crystal sugar and white liquor. Lemon or lemon zest is often paired with the wine because the fruit has very low acidity. Aficionados also enjoy a sake made exclusively from the seed, which has an aroma much like apricot kernel. Due to the presence of cyanogenetic glucosides, bulk consumption may pose a risk of cyanide poisonings.

Cultivation

The Loquat is easy to grow in subtropical to mild temperate climates where it is often grown as an ornamental tree, and second for its delicious fruit. The boldly textured foliage adds a tropical look to gardens, contrasting well with many other plants. There are many named cultivars, with orange or white flesh.

Etymology

The name loquat derives from lou4 gwat1, the Cantonese pronunciation of its old classical Chinese name (simplified Chinese: 芦橘; traditional Chinese: 蘆橘; pinyin: lújú, literally "reed orange"). In modern Chinese, it is more commonly known as pipa (Chinese: 枇杷; pinyin: pípá), from the resemblance of its shape to that of the Chinese musical instrument pipa (琵琶). Likewise, in Japanese it is called biwa, similarly named from the corresponding musical instrument, biwa. It is also known as the "Japanese medlar", an appellation used in many languages: nêspera or magnório (Portuguese), níspero (Spanish), lokaat (Hindi), japanska mušmula or nešpula (Croatian), naspli (Maltese), nespola (Italian), náspolya (Hungarian), nespra (Catalan), nèfle du Japon or bibasse (French), néspera (Galician). Other names include: שסק sheseq (Hebrew), إسكدنيا Iskidunya, إكيدنيا Ik(k)idunya, Aki Dini,Igadinya or Bashmala بشملة (Arabic), Akkadeneh or Akka Dhuniya (Lebanese), zger or Nor Ashkhar (Armenian), mushmala (Georgian), mushmolla verore (summer medlar) (Albanian), μούσμουλο/μούσμουλα moúsmoulo/moúsmoula (sg/pl) or mespilia (Greek), Japanse (wol)mispel (Dutch), yeni dünya, or Malta Eriği in Turkish, mespila in Cyprus, mousmoula in Greece, despoles (δέσπολες) in Crete , Pibasy in Malagasy,мушмула (mušmulá) in Russian, and lukwart[3] in Afrikaans. The Armenian name Nor Ashkhar and the Turkish name yeni dünya literally mean "new world", while the everyday Turkish name for the fruit, Malta eriği, means 'Maltese plum', indicating perhaps confusion over the fruit's origin.

Nutritional Value

The loquat is low in saturated fat and sodium, and is high in vitamin A, dietary fiber, potassium, and manganese Template:Http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=loquat.

Coppertone Loquat

The Coppertone Loquat (Eriobotrya x 'Coppertone') is a cross between a loquat and an Indian Hawthorn [4] and is a popular shrub in the southern United States.

Tamarind

2010-05-15T09:23:00.005+07:00

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) (from Latinization of Arabic: تمر هندي tamar hindi = Indian date) is a tree in the family Fabaceae. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic (having only a single species).

Origin

Tamar Indicus is endemic to tropical Africa, particularly where it continues to grow wild in Sudan; it is also cultivated in Cameroon, Nigeria and Tanzania. It reached India likely through human transportation and cultivation several thousand years prior to the Common Era.It was in India that it was first described by Western botanists as Tamarindus indica, the Latin derivative of the Persian and the Arabic name commonly attributed to it: "tamar al-Hind" or the Hindu [sic: Hindustani] date. It is widely distributed throughout the Tropical belt, from Africa to India, and throughout South East Asia, Taiwan and as far as China. In the 16th century, it was heavily introduced to Mexico as well as South America by Spanish and Portuguese colonists, to the degree that it became a common ingredient in everyday living

Description

The tamarind is a long-lived, medium-growth bushy tree which attains a maximum crown height of 12.1 to 18.3 metres (40 to 60 feet). The crown has irregular vase-shaped outline of dense foliage.

Leaves are evergreen, bright green in colour, elliptical ovular, arrangement is alternate, of the pinnately compound type, with pinnate venation and less than 5 cm (2 inches) in length. The branches droop from a single, central trunk as the tree matures and is often pruned in human agriculture to optimize tree density and ease of fruit harvest. At night, the leaflets close up. The tamarind does flower, though inconspicuously, with red and yellow elongated flowers. Flowers are 2.5 cm wide (one inch) five-petalled borne in small racemes, yellow with orange or red streaks. Buds are pink due as the 4 sepals are pink and are lost when the flower blooms. The tree grows well in full sun in clay, loam, sandy and acidic soil types, with a high drought and aerosol salt (wind-borne salt as found in coastal area) resistance.

The fruit of the tamarind is most commonly reserved for consumption, whether raw or cooked or prepared in some other manner, according to the regional and cultural palate. The fruit itself is an elongated rod, 12 to 15 cm (3 to 6 inches) in length, and covered in a hard, brown exterior.

The fleshy, juicy, acidulous pulp of the fruit is mature when coloured brown or reddish-brown. The fruit is considered ripe when the pods are easily pried open with fingers. The fruit pod contains anywhere between 1 and 12 flat, glossy brown seeds. These may be used by children in traditional board games such as Chinese checkers (China), dakon (Java), among others.

Seeds can be scarified to enhance germination. They retain germination capability after several months kept dry.

The tamarind is best described as sweet and sour in taste, and high in acid, sugar, vitamin B and interestingly for a fruit, calcium.

The tamarinds of India fruit with longer pods containing 6-12 seeds, whereas African and West Indian versions have short pods containing 1-6 seeds. Fruit of the South American tamarinds are identical to the original African variant.
A Tamarind seedling
Tamarind flowers

As a tropical species, it is frost sensitive. The pinnate leaves with opposite leaflets giving a billowing effect in the wind. Tamarind timber consists of hard, dark red heartwood and softer, yellowish sapwood.

Tamarind is harvested by pulling the pod from its stalk. A mature tree may be capable of producing upto 175 kg (350 lb) of fruit per annum. Veneer grafting, shield (T or inverted T) budding, and air layering may be used to propagate desirable selections. Such trees will usually fruit within 3 to 4 years if provided optimum growing conditions.

Alternative names

Alternative names for tamarind include Imli, Indian date, translation of Turkish language "Demirhindi" Arabic تمر هندي tamr hindī.

Globally, it is most numerous in India, where it is widely distributed and has a long history of human cultivation. Many Indian regional languages have their own unique name for the tamarind fruit. In Sanskrit, it is called tintiDi. In Oriya it is called tentuli; in Bengali the tentul; Hindi and in Urdu imli; Gujarati the amli. and Marathi and Konkani the chinch. In Sinhala call it the siyambala; Telugu chintachettu (tree) and chintapandu (fruit extract); Tamil and Malayalam the puli (புளி) and in Kannada it is called hunase (ಹುಣಸೆ) and in Cook Islands Maori is called 'tamarene'

In Indonesia, tamarind is known as the asam (or asem) Jawa (means Javanese asam), which in the Indonesian language, translates as Javanese sour [sic: fruit] (though the literature may also refer to it as sambaya). In Malaysia, it is called asam in the Javanese-influenced Malay language of Melayu (modern Central Sumatra). In the Philippines, tamarind is referred to as sampaloc, which is occasionally rendered as sambalog in Tagalog and sambag in Cebuano. Vietnamese term is me. In Taiwan it is called loan-tz. In Myanmar it is called magee-bin (tree) and magee-thee (fruit).The tamarind is the provincial tree of the Phetchabun province of Thailand (in Thailand it is called ma-kham). In Malagasy it is called voamadilo and kily.

In Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela it is called tamarindo. In the Caribbean, tamarind is sometimes called tamon.

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) should not be confused with the Manila tamarind (Pithecellobium dulce), which is a different plant, though also of Fabaceae.

Cultivation

Although native to Sudan and tropical Africa, India is the single largest consumer and commercial producer of tamarind.

In India there are extensive tamarind orchards producing 275,500 tons (250,000 MT) annually. The pulp is marketed in northern Malaya.

The tamarind has also long been naturalized in Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines and the Pacific Islands. Thailand has the largest plantations of the ASEAN nations, followed by Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines

One of the first tamarind trees in Hawaii was planted in 1797.

The tamarind was introduced into tropical America, mainly Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the West Indies by either Portuguese or Spanish colonists or perhaps by African slaves or seamen much earlier, in the 1600s CE.

In the United States, it is a large-scale commercial crop common (second in net production quantity to India) in the mainly Southern states due to tropical and semi-tropical climes notably South Florida, and as a shade and fruit tree, along roadsides and in dooryards and parks. There are large commercial plantations in Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico.

Culinary uses

The fruit pulp is edible and popular. The hard green pulp of a young fruit is considered by many to be too sour and acidic, but is often used as a component of savory dishes, as a pickling agent or as a means of making certain poisonous yams in Ghana safe for human consumption.

The ripened fruit is considered the more palatable as it becomes sweeter and less sour (acidic) as it matures. It is used in desserts as a jam, blended into juices or sweetened drinks, sorbets, ice-creams and all manner of snack. It is also consumed as a natural laxative.

In Western cuisine it is found in Worcestershire sauce;HP sauce; and the Jamaican-produced Pickapeppa sauce.

In Indian cuisine it is common. Imli Chutney and Pulusu use it. Along with tamarind, sugar and spices are added to (regional) taste for chutneys or a multitude of condiments for a bitter-sweet flavor. The immature pods and flowers are also pickled and used as a side dish. Regional cuisines such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh use it to make Rasam, Sambhar, Vatha Kuzhambu and Puliyogare. In Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu, tender leaves of tamarind are used along with lentils and it is also dried and used in place of ripe tamarind for mild flavour.
Tamarind tree, India

In Guadeloupe, tamarind is known as Tamarinier and is used in jams and syrups.

In Mexico, it is sold in various snack forms: dried and salted; or candied (see for example pulparindo or chamoy snacks). The famous agua fresca beverage, iced fruit-bars and raspados all use it as the main ingredient. In the US, Mexican immigrants have fashioned the "agua de tamarindo" drink and many other treats. Tamarind snacks such as Mexico's Pelon Pelo Rico, are available in specialty food stores worldwide in pod form or as a paste or concentrate.

In Egypt, a sour, chilled drink made from tamarind is popular during the summer.

A traditional food plant in Africa, tamarind has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.

In southern Kenya, the Swahili people use it to garnish legumes and also make juices. In Madagascar, its fruits and leaves are a well-known favorite of the Ring-tailed Lemurs, providing as much as 50% of their food resources during the year if available. In Northern Nigeria, it is used with millet powder to prepare Kunun Tsamiya, a traditional Pap mostly used as breakfast, and usually eaten with bean cake.

The Javanese dish gurame and more so ikan asem, also known as ikan asam (sweet and sour fish (commonly a carp or river-fish) is popular throughout Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Tamarind is also common in Manado, Sulawesi and Maluku cuisines.

In Myanmar, young and tender leaves and flower buds are eaten as a vegetable. A salad dish of tamarind leaves, boiled beans, and crushed peanuts topped with crispy fried onions is very popular in rural Myanmar.[citation needed]

In the Philippines, tamarind is used in foods like sinigang soup, and also made into candies. The leaves are also used in sinampalukan soup.

In Thailand a specific cultivar has been bred specifically to be eaten as a fresh fruit, famous for being particular sweet and minimally sour. It is also sometimes eaten preserved in sugar with chili as a sweet-and-spicy candy. Pad Thai, a Thai dish popular with Westerners often include tamarind for its tart/sweet taste (with lime juice added for sourness and fish sauce added for saltiness). A tamarind-based sweet-and-sour sauce served over deep-fried fish is also a common dish in central Thailand.

Medicinal uses

Phytochemical studies revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, sesquiterpenes, alkaloids and phlobatamins and other extracts active against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria, at temperatures of 4–30 °C (39–86 °F). Studies on the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the extracts on the test organisms showed that the lowest MIC and the MBC were demonstrated against Salmonella paratyphi, Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella typhi and the highest MIC and MBC was exhibited against Staphylococcus aureus.

Throughout Asia and Africa it is common for health remedies. In Northern Nigeria, fresh stem bark and fresh leaves are used as decoction mixed with potash for the treatment of stomach disorder, general body pain, jaundice, yellow fever and as blood tonic and skin cleanser. In Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines and Javanese traditional medicine use asem leaves as a herbal infusion for malarial fever, the fruit juice as an anti-septic, and scurvy and even cough cure. Fruit of the tamarind is also commonly used throughout South East Asia as a poultice applied to foreheads of fever sufferers.

Tamarind is used as in Indian Ayurvedic Medicine for gastric and/or digestion problems, and in cardioprotective activity.

In animal studies, tamarind has been found to lower serum cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Due to a lack of available human clinical trials, there is insufficient evidence to recommend tamarind for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol) or diabetes.

Based on human study, tamarind intake may delay the progression of fluorosis by enhancing excretion of fluoride. However, additional research is needed to confirm these results.

Excess consumption has been noted as a traditional laxative.

Other medicinal uses include: Anthelminthic (expels worms), antimicrobial, antiseptic, antiviral, asthma, astringent, bacterial skin infections (erysipelas), boils, chest pain, cholesterol metabolism disorders, colds, colic, conjunctivitis (pink eye), constipation (chronic or acute), diabetes, diarrhea (chronic), dry eyes, dysentery (severe diarrhea), eye inflammation, fever, food preservative, food uses (coloring), gallbladder disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, gingivitis, hemorrhoids, indigestion, insecticide, jaundice, keratitis (inflammation of the cornea), leprosy, liver disorders, nausea and vomiting (pregnancy-related), paralysis, poisoning (Datura plant), rash, rheumatism, saliva production, skin disinfectant/sterilization, sore throat, sores, sprains, sunscreen, sunstroke, swelling (joints), urinary stones, wound healing (corneal epithelium)

Carpentry uses

In temples, especially in Buddhist Asian countries, the fruit pulp is used to polish brass shrine furniture, removing dulling and the greenish patina that forms.

The wood is a bold red color. Due to its density and durability, tamarind heartwood can be used in making furniture and wood flooring. A tamarind switch is sometimes used as an implement for corporal punishment.[citation needed]

Horticultural uses

Tamarind trees are very common in throughout all Asia and indeed tropical world as both an ornamental, garden and cash-crop. The tamarind has recently become popular in bonsai culture, frequently used in Asian countries like Indonesia, Taiwan and the Philippines. In the last Japan Airlines World Bonsai competition, Mr. Budi Sulistyo of Indonesia won the second prize with an ancient tamarind bonsai.

Malus sieversii

2010-05-13T09:31:00.002+07:00

Malus sieversii is a wild apple native to the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Northern Afghanistan and Xinjiang, China. It has recently been shown to be the sole ancestor of most cultivars of the domesticated apple (Malus domestica). It was first described (as Pyrus sieversii) in 1833 by Carl Friedrich von Ledebour, a German naturalist who saw them growing in the Altay Mountains.

It is a deciduous tree growing to 5-12 m tall, very similar in appearance to the domestic apple. Its fruit is the largest of any species of Malus, up to 7 cm diameter, equal in size to many modern apple cultivars. Unlike domesticated varieties its leaves go red in autumn: 62.2% of the trees in the wild do this compared to only 2.8% of the 2170 English cultivated varieties. The species is now considered vulnerable to extinction.

History and importance

For many years, there was a debate about whether M. domestica evolved from chance hybridization among various wild species. Recent DNA analysis by Barrie Juniper, Emeritus Fellow in the Department of Plant Sciences at Oxford University and others, has indicated, however, that the hybridization theory is probably false. Instead, it appears that a single species still growing in the Ili Valley, on the northern slopes of the Tien Shan mountains at the border of northwest China and Kazakhstan, is the progenitor of the apples we eat today. Leaves taken from trees in this area were analyzed for DNA composition, which showed them all to belong to the species M. sieversii, with some genetic sequences common to M. domestica.

However, another recent DNA analysis showed that Malus sylvestris has also contributed to the genome of M. domestica. A third species that has been thought to have made contributions to the genome of the domestic apples is Malus baccata, but there is no hard evidence for this in older apple cultivars.

It is named alma in Kazakhstan; the region in Kazakhstan thought to have the oldest such plants includes the city of Alma-ata, or "Grandfather of Apples".

Renewed interest

These and other Malus species have been used in some recent breeding programmes to develop apples suitable for growing in climates unsuitable for M. domestica, mainly for increased cold tolerance.

Malus sieversii has recently been cultivated by the United States Agricultural Research Service, in hopes of finding genetic information of value in the breeding of the modern apple plant. Some, but not all, of the resulting trees show unusual disease resistance. The variation in their response to disease on an individual basis is, itself, a sign of how much more genetically diverse they are than their domesticated descendants.

Crowberry

2010-05-10T17:04:00.003+07:00

Crowberry (Empetrum) is a small genus of dwarf evergreen shrubs that bear edible fruit. They are commonly found in the northern hemisphere, from temperate to subarctic climates, and also in the Andes of South America and on Tristan da Cunha (South Atlantic Ocean). The typical habitat is on moorlands, tundra and muskeg, but also in spruce forests. They are also found abundantly on the dune slacks and sand dunes of the Danish Island of Fanø as well as all over Iceland.

Species of crowberry include: E. nigrum (Crowberry), E. eamesii (Rockberry), E.rubrum and E. hermaphroditum. All are evergreen mat forming shrubs, with small, light green needle-like leaves 3-10 mm long. The flowers are small and plain looking. The fruit is a fairly dry black berry, smaller than the alpine bearberry, but with somewhat better flavour, and looks similar to a blueberry.

The genus and related ones such as Ceratiola and Corema were for most of the 20th century classified in their own family Empetraceae, but molecular data, leaf morphology, and other considerations point to their inclusion in the Ericaceae (specifically, as a tribe within the subfamily Ericoideae). This tribe does share a number of distinctive morphological features, which seem to be associated with wind pollination.

Use

In subarctic areas, crowberry has been a vital addition to the diet of the Inuit and the Sami. After waning popularity, the crowberry is again regaining its reputation as an edible berry. It gives a steady crop and the gathering is relatively easy. The high concentration of anthocyanin pigment can be used as a natural food dye. The Dena'ina (Tanaina) harvest it for food, sometimes storing in quantity for winter, and like it mixed with lard or oil. They keep well in a cool place without any special preparation.

The berries are usually collected in the fall of the year but if not picked they may persist on the plant and can be picked in the spring. The raw berries are mealy and tasteless. The Inuit and Native Americans mix them with other berries, especially the blueberry. Cooking enhances the flavor. They make good pie and jelly.

The leaves and stems are used in Dena'ina medicine for diarrhea and stomach problems; they are boiled or soaked in hot water, and the strained liquid drunk. Some claim the berry juice is good for kidney trouble.

In Dena'ina plantlore in the Outer and Upper Inlet area of Lake Clark, the root is also used as a medicine, being used to remove a growth on an eye and to heal sore eyes. The roots are boiled and the eyes are washed with the strained, cooled tea, to which a little sugar may be added. Some people say blackberry stems can be used in the same way for these ailments.

Crowberries contain mostly water. Their vitamin content is low, as is also the concentration of volatile liquids, the lack of which makes them almost odorless. The acidity is lower than is typically encountered in forest berries, and benzene acids are almost absent.

Crowberries are also occasionally grown as ornamental plants in rockeries, notably the yellow-foliage cultivar Empetrum nigrum 'Lucia' (photo, left).

Borassus

2010-05-06T19:58:00.003+07:00

Borassus (Palmyra Palm) is a genus of six species of fan palms, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and New Guinea. They are tall palms, capable of growing up to 30 m high. The leaves are long, fan-shaped, 2 to 3 m in length. The flowers are small, in densely clustered spikes, followed by large, brown, roundish fruits.

Species

* Borassus aethiopum - African Palmyra Palm (and other names) (tropical Africa)
* Borassus akeassii - Ake Assi's Palmyra Palm (West Africa)
* Borassus flabellifer - Asian Palmyra palm/Lontar palm/Doub palm/Sea Coconut (southern Asia and southeast Asia)
* Borassus heineanus - New Guinea Palmyra Palm (New Guinea)
* Borassus madagascariensis - Madagascar Palmyra Palm (Madagascar)
* Borassus sambiranensis - Sambirano Palmyra Palm (Madagascar)

Cultivation and uses

Palmyra Palms are economically useful, and widely cultivated in tropical regions. The palmyra palm has long been one of the most important trees of Cambodia and India, where it is used over 800 different ways. The leaves are used for thatching, mats, baskets, fans, hats, umbrellas, and as writing material.

In Indonesia the leaves of this plant were used in the ancient culture as papers.

In Cambodia the tree is a national flora symbol/emblem that is seen growing around Angkor Wat. The sugar palm can live over 100 years.

Palmyra palms were used in ancient India to write on, as a kind of papyrus. Leaves of suitable size and shape and texture, with sufficient maturity are chosen. The leaves are then seasoned by boiling in salt water with turmeric powder. This acts as a preservative. The leaves are then dried. When they are dry enough, the faces of the leaves are polished with pumice stone. Then they are cut in the proper size. A hole is cut out in one corner. Each leaf will have four pages. The writing is done with a stylus. The writing is of a very cursive and interconnected style. The leaves are then tied up as sheaves.

The stalks are used to make fences and also produce a strong, wiry fiber suitable for cordage and brushes. The black timber is hard, heavy, and durable and is highly valued for construction e.g. wharf pilings.

The tree also yields many types of food. The young plants are cooked as a vegetable or roasted and pounded to make meal. The fruits are eaten roasted or raw, and the young, jellylike seeds are also eaten. A sugary sap, called toddy, can be obtained from the young inflorescence, either male or female ones. toddy is (called "kallu (కల్లు)" in Telugu. The toddy is fermented to make a beverage called arrack, or it is concentrated to a crude sugar called jaggery/palm sugar. It is called Gula Jawa (Javanese sugar) in Indonesia and is widely used in the Javanese cuisine. In addition, the tree sap is taken as a laxative, and medicinal values have been ascribed to other parts of the plant.

This tree is highly respected in Tamil culture and is called "karpaha" (celestial tree), because all its parts can be used. The Palmyra tree is the official tree of Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu / Jaffna the seeds are planted and made to germinate and the fleshy sprouts (below the surface) are boiled and eaten. It is very fibrous and nutritious

The germinated seed's hard shell is also cut open to take out the crunchy kernel which tastes like a sweeter Water Chestnut.

The ripe fibrous outer layer of the palm fruits are also boiled / heated in fire and eaten.

When the fruit is tender the kernel, inside the hard shell, is like a jelly and delicious as well. The fruit is an excellent coolant in the hot coastal summers, rich in minerals.

When the crown of the tree is cut we get an edible cake, from which the leaves grew out from.

Prunus virginiana

2010-05-05T07:54:00.003+07:00

The Choke Cherry (Prunus virginiana) is a species of bird cherry (Prunus subgenus Padus) native to North America, where it is found almost throughout the continent except for the deep south and the far north.

Growth

It is a suckering shrub or small tree growing to 5 m tall. The leaves are oval, 3-10 cm long, with a coarsely serrated margin. The flowers are produced in racemes of 15-30 in late spring (well after leaf emergence). The fruit are about 1 cm diameter, range in color from bright red to black, with a very astringent, sour taste. The very ripe berries are dark in color and less astringent than the red berries.

Etymology

The chokeberries, genus Aronia, are often mistakenly called chokecherries. This naming confusion is easy to understand considering there is a cultivar of the chokecherry Prunus virginiana 'Melanocarpa' and a species of chokeberry named Aronia melanocarpa. In fact, the two plants are not close relatives within their subfamily Spiraeoideae.

Characteristics

Chokecherries are very high in antioxidant pigment compounds, like anthocyanins. They share this property with chokeberries, further contributing to confusion.

Varieties

Prunus virginiana is sometimes divided into two varieties, P. virginiana var. virginiana (the eastern chokecherry), and P. virginiana var. demissa (the western chokecherry)

The wild Chokecherry is often considered a pest, as it is a host for the tent caterpillar, a threat to other fruit plants. However, there are more appreciated cultivars of the chokecherry, such as 'Goertz', which has a non-astringent, and therefore palatable, fruit. Research is being done at the University of Saskatchewan to find and create new cultivars to increase production and processing.

Chokecherry is closely related to the Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) of eastern North America; it is most readily distinguished from that by its smaller size (Black Cherry can reach 30 m tall), smaller leaves, and sometimes red ripe fruit. The Chokecherry leaf has a finely serrated margin and is dark green above with a paler underside, while the Black Cherry leaf has numerous blunt edges along its margin and is dark green and smooth.

The name chokecherry has also been used (as 'Amur Chokecherry') for the related Manchurian Cherry or Amur Cherry (Prunus maackii).

The bark of chokecherry root was once made into an asperous-tasting concoction used to ward off or treat colds, fever and stomach maladies by native Americans The chokecherry fruit can be used to make a tasty jam, jelly, or syrup, but the bitter nature of the fruit means you need a lot of sugar to sweeten the preserves.

Chokecherry is toxic to horses, especially after the leaves have wilted (such as after a frost or after branches have been broken) because wilting releases cyanide and makes the plant sweet. About 5-10 kg of foliage can be fatal. Symptoms of a horse that has been poisoned include heavy breathing, agitation, and weakness. The leaves of the chokecherry serve as food for caterpillars of various Lepidoptera. See List of Lepidoptera which feed on Prunus.

In 2007, Governor John Hoeven signed a bill naming the chokecherry the official fruit of the state of North Dakota.

Huckleberry

2010-05-01T09:36:00.002+07:00

Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: Vaccinium and Gaylussacia. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho in the United States.

Nomenclature

While some Vaccinium species, such as Vaccinium parvifolium, the Red Huckleberry, are always called huckleberries, other species may be called blueberries or huckleberries depending upon local custom. Usually, the distinction between them is that blueberries have numerous tiny seeds, while huckleberries have 10 larger seeds (making them more difficult to eat).

The fruit of the various species of plant called huckleberry is generally edible. The berries are small and round, usually less than 5 mm in diameter, and contain 10 relatively large seeds. Berries range in color according to species from bright red, through dark purple, and into the blues. In taste the berries range from tart to sweet, with a flavor similar to that of a blueberry, especially in blue- and purple-colored varieties. Huckleberries are enjoyed by many mammals, including grizzly bears and humans.

Vaccinium

In coastal Central California and Northern California of the United States, the red huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium) is found in the Coast Redwood plant community. A prostrate form occurs also. In the Pacific Northwest of North America, the huckleberry plant can be found in mid-alpine regions, often on the lower slopes of mountains. The plant grows best in damp, acidic soil. Under optimal conditions, huckleberries can be as much as 1.5 to 2 metres (4.9 to 6.6 ft) high, and usually ripen in mid-to-late summer, or later at higher elevations. The Red Huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium) is used horticulturally in coastal naturalistic and native plant public landscapes and private gardens.

Use in slang

Huckleberries hold a place in archaic English slang. The tiny size of the berries led to their frequent use as a way of referring to something small, often in an affectionate way. The phrase "a huckleberry over my persimmon" was used to mean "a bit beyond my abilities". "I'm your huckleberry" is a way of saying that one is just the right person for a given job;[1] this saying was used by the character Doc Holliday in the movie Tombstone. The range of slang meanings of huckleberry in the 19th century was fairly large, also referring to insignificant persons or nice persons.

The slang name 'garden huckleberry' (Solanum melanocerasum) is not considered to be a true huckleberry but a member of the nightshade family.

Bael

2010-04-26T17:32:00.002+07:00

Bael (Aegle marmelos) বাংলাঃ বেল (Hindi:बेल) is a middle sized slender aromatic armed tree. It is a gum-bearing tree.

Habitat

Bael is indigenous to dry forests on hills and plains of central and southern India, southern Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. It is cultivated throughout India, as well as in Sri Lanka, northern Malay Peninsula, Java in the Philippines and Fiji Islands

Alternative names

It is also popularly known as Vilva maram, ( Vilva பழம்),Bilva, Bilwa, Bel, Kuvalam, Koovalam (in Malayalam), Madtoum, or Beli fruit, Bengal quince, stone apple,Maredu (in Telugu),in Sindhi ڪاٺ گدرو and wood apple. The tree, which is the only species in the genus.

Sanskrit names:Bilva,Śalātu, Hṛdyagandha, Karkaṭa, Samirasāraka,Śivadruma,Triśikha, Śiveṣhṭa, Dūrāruha, Lakṣmī phala, Śalya, Mahākapithya etc.

In Javanese language it is called Maja which lent its name to Majapahit empire, since its capital was built on former betel forest.

Habit

Aegle, grows up to 18 meters tall and bears thorns and fragrant flowers. It has a woody-skinned, smooth fruit 5-15 cm in diameter. The skin of some forms of the fruit is so hard it must be cracked open with a hammer. It has numerous seeds, which are densely covered with fibrous hairs and are embedded in a thick, gluey, aromatic pulp.
Fruit at Narendrapur near Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Uses

The fruit is eaten fresh or dried. If fresh, the juice is strained and sweetened to make a drink similar to lemonade, and is also used in making sharbat, a refreshing drink where the pulp is mixed with lime juice. If the fruit is to be dried, it is usually sliced first and left to dry by the heat of the sun. The hard leathery slices are then placed in a pan with several litres of water which is then boiled and simmered. As for other parts of the plant, the leaves and small shoots are eaten as salad greens.

The Tamil Siddhars used koovilam (Tamil:கூவிளம், as Aegle Marmelos is called for many purposes. The leaves are used to cure sinusitis, dyspepsia and anorexia. A confection ("iLakam" in Tamil)(Tamil:இளகம் made of this fruit is used to cure tuberculosis, loss of appetite, emaciation etc. There are several such pharmacopoeia in Siddha medicine.

This tree is a larval foodplant for the following two Indian Swallowtail butterflies:

* The Lime Butterfly: Papilio demoleus
* The Common Mormon: Papilio polytes

Use in religious rituals

The fruit is also used in religious rituals and as a ayurvedic remedy for such ailments as diarrhea, dysentery, intestinal parasites, dryness of the eyes, and the common cold. It is a very powerful antidote for chronic constipation.

In Hinduism, Bel(Bilwa) tree is very sacred. It is used in worshipping of God Shiva. Hindus believe that God Shiva will be pleased with Bilwa Pattra Puja. The importance of this tree in worshipping of Shiva is mentioned in several sacred books.

In the traditional culture of Nepal, the Bael tree is part of an important fertility ritual for girls known as the Bel baha.

Raspberry

2010-04-25T10:00:00.002+07:00

The raspberry (plural, raspberries) is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves. The name originally referred to the European species Rubus idaeus (with red fruit), and is still used as its standard English name

Cultivation

Raspberries are grown for the fresh fruit market and for commercial processing into individually quick frozen (IQF) fruit, purée, juice, or as dried fruit used in a variety of grocery products. Traditionally, raspberries were a mid-summer crop, but with new technology, cultivars, and transportation, they can now be obtained year-round. Raspberries need ample sun and water for optimal development. While moisture is essential, wet and heavy soils or excess irrigation can bring on Phytophthora root rot which is one of the most serious pest problems facing red raspberry. As a cultivated plant in moist temperate regions, it is easy to grow and has a tendency to spread unless pruned. Escaped raspberries frequently appear as garden weeds, spread by seeds found in bird droppings.

Two types of most commercially grown kinds of raspberry are available, the summer-bearing type that produces an abundance of fruit on second-year canes (floricanes) within a relatively short period in mid-summer, and double- or "ever"-bearing plants, which also bear some fruit on first-year canes (primocanes) in the late summer and fall, as well as the summer crop on second-year canes. Raspberries can be cultivated from hardiness zones 3 to 9.

Raspberries are traditionally planted in the winter as dormant canes, although planting of tender, plug plants produced by tissue culture has become much more common. A specialized production system called "long cane production" involves growing canes for 1 year in a northern climate such as Scotland (UK) or Washington State (US) where the chilling requirement for proper budbreak is met early. These canes are then dug, roots and all, to be replanted in warmer climates such as Spain where they quickly flower and produce a very early season crop. Plants should be spaced 1 m apart in fertile, well drained soil; raspberries are usually planted in raised beds/ridges if there is any question about root rot problems.

The flowers can be a major nectar source for honeybees and other pollinators.

Raspberries are very vigorous and can be locally invasive. They propagate using basal shoots (also known as suckers); extended underground shoots that develop roots and individual plants. They can sucker new canes some distance from the main plant. For this reason, raspberries spread well, and can take over gardens if left unchecked.

The fruit is harvested when it comes off the torus/receptacle easily and has turned a deep color (red, black, purple, or golden yellow, depending on the species and cultivar). This is when the fruits are ripest and sweetest. Excess fruit can be made into raspberry jam or frozen.

The leaves can be used fresh or dried in herbal and medicinal teas. They have an astringent flavour, and in herbal medicine are reputed to be effective in regulating menses.

An individual raspberry weighs about 4 g, on average[2] and is made up of around 100 drupelets,[3] each of which consists of a juicy pulp and a single central seed. Raspberry bushes can yield several hundred berries a year. Unlike blackberries and dewberries, a raspberry has a hollow core once it is removed from the receptacle.

Cultivars

Numerous raspberry cultivars have been selected. Recent breeding has resulted in cultivars that are thornless and more strongly upright, not needing staking.

Red raspberries (Rubus idaeus and/or Rubus strigosus) have been crossed with the black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis) to produce purple raspberries, and with various species in other subgenera of the genus Rubus, resulting in a number of hybrids, such as boysenberry and loganberry. Hybridization between the familiar cultivated raspberries and a few Asiatic species of Rubus is also being explored.

Rubus chamaemorus

2010-04-22T17:06:00.002+07:00

The cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), also called bakeapple in Atlantic Canada, is a slow-growing alpine or sub-Arctic species of Rubus, producing amber-colored edible fruit. The botanical name (chamæmorus) derives from the Greek khamai ("on the ground") and moros ("mulberry"). Cloudberry is the name for both the plant and the fruit. Cloudberry should not be confused with salmonberry, although the fruit looks similar.

The cloudberry grows to 10-25 cm high. The leaves alternate between having 5 and 7 soft, handlike lobes on straight, branchless stalks. After pollination, the white (sometimes reddish-tipped) flowers form raspberry-sized berries. Encapsulating between 5 and 25 drupelets, each fruit is initially pale red, ripening into an amber color in early autumn.

Distribution and ecology

Cloudberries occur naturally throughout the Northern Hemisphere from 78°N, south to about 55°N, and very scattered south to 44°N mainly in mountainous areas. In Europe and Asia, they grow in the Nordic countries, especially in Finland and much in the Baltic states; sometimes in the moorlands of Britain and Ireland, and across northern Russia east to the Pacific Ocean. Small populations are also found further south, as a botanical vestige of the Ice Ages; it is found in Germany's Weser and Elbe valleys, where it is under legal protection. In North America, cloudberries grow wild across most of Canada / Alaska, and in the lower 48 states of the United States in northern Minnesota, New Hampshire, Maine, and a small population on Long Island, New York.

The cloudberry can withstand cold temperatures down to well below -40°C, but is sensitive to salt and to dry conditions. It grows in bogs, marshes and wet meadows and requires sunny exposures in acidic ground (between 3.5 and 5 pH).

Cloudberry leaves are food for caterpillars of several Lepidoptera species. The moth Coleophora thulea has no other known foodplants. See also List of Lepidoptera that feed on Rubus.

Unlike most Rubus species, the cloudberry does not self-pollinate. Pollination requires a plant of the opposite sex. Wide distribution occurs due to the opening of capsules by birds and animals and the excretion of the indigestible seeds. Further distribution arises through its rhizomes which can develop extensive berry patches. Cuttings of these taken in May or August are successful in producing a genetic clone of the parent plant.

Cultivation

Despite its modern demand as a delicacy exceeding supply (particularly in Norway) the cloudberry is primarily a wild plant. Wholesale prices vary widely based on the size of the yearly harvest, but can reach 10€/kg.

Since the middle of the 1990s, however, the species has formed part of the "Northernberries" research project. The Norwegian government, in cooperation with Finnish, Swedish and Scottish counterparts, has vigorously pursued the aim of enabling commercial production of various wild berries (Norway imports 200 - 300 tonnes of cloudberries per year from Finland). Beginning in 2002, selected cultivars have been available to farmers, notably "Apolto" (male), "Fjellgull" (female) and "Fjordgull" (female). The cloudberry can be cultivated in Arctic areas where few other crops are possible, for example along the northern coast of Norway

Uses

The ripe fruits are golden-yellow, soft and juicy, and are rich in vitamin C. When eaten fresh, cloudberries have a distinctive tart taste. When over-ripe, they have a creamy texture and flavour somewhat like yogurt. They are often made into jams, juices, tarts, and liqueurs. In Finland, the berries are eaten with "Leipäjuusto" (a local cheese; the name translates to "bread-cheese"), and lots of cream and sugar. In Sweden, cloudberries are used as topping for ice cream or waffles. In Norway, they are eaten with whipped cream and lots of sugar, or in cakes that often contain marzipan. In Canada, cloudberries are used to flavour a special beer. Canadians also use them for jam, but not on the same scale as Scandinavians. In Alaska, the berries are mixed with seal oil, reindeer or caribou fat (which is diced up and made fluffy with the seal oil) and sugar to make "Eskimo Ice Cream" or Agutak. The recipes vary by region. Along the Yukon and Kuskokwim river areas, white fish (pike, whitefish) along with Crisco and sugar is used. Due to its high vitamin C content, the berry is valued both by Nordic seafarers and by Canadian Inuit as protection against scurvy. Its high benzoic acid content acts as a natural preservative.

Tea made from cloudberry leaves was used in ancient Scandinavian herbal medicine to cure urinary tract infections.

Alcoholic drinks

In Nordic countries traditionally liqueurs such as Lakkalikööri (a Finnish liqueur) are made of cloudberry. It has a strong taste and a high sugar content. Cloudberry has also served as a spice for akvavit.

Dogfish Head Brewery has made an Arctic Cloudberry Imperial Wheat beer, which was inspired by the cloudberry lambic dubbed Soleil de Minuit made by Brasserie Cantillon for the Akkurat pub in Stockholm.

Rodrigues Winery located in Newfoundland, Canada makes a cloudberry wine and a cloudberry liqueur from Newfoundland and Labrador grown berries.

In Sweden Grythyttans vin produces a real fermented wine from cloudberrys. The company started in 1999 and issued the first bottles in 2000. The wine is popular with blue cheese and desserts.

A cloudberry liqueur is also made in the north eastern Quebec region of Canada. The liqueur is known as chicoutai, which is the local Aboriginal name for the cloudberry.

Ikea in Britain sell an alcoholic (4.5% alcohol by vol.) sparkling apple drink with cloudberry flavour which contains 1.2% cloudberry aroma.

Garden strawberry

2010-04-21T23:29:00.003+07:00

The garden strawberry is a common plant of the genus Fragaria which is cultivated worldwide for its fruit, the (common) strawberry. The fruit is widely appreciated, mainly for its characteristic aroma but also for its bright red color, and it is consumed in large quantities—either fresh, or in prepared foods such as preserves, fruit juice, pies, ice creams, milk shake, etc. Artificial strawberry aroma is also widely used in all sorts of industrialized food products.

The garden strawberry was first bred in Brittany, France in 1740 via a cross of Fragaria virginiana from eastern North America , which was noted for its flavor, and Fragaria chiloensis from Chile and Argentina brought by Amédée-François Frézier, which was noted for its large size.

Cultivars of Fragaria × ananassa have replaced, in commercial production, the woodland strawberry, which was the first strawberry species cultivated in the early 17th century.

The strawberry is technically an accessory fruit, meaning that the fleshy part is derived not from the plant's ovaries (achenes) but from the receptacle that holds the ovaries.Accessory fruits were sometimes in the past referred to as "false" or "spurious" fruits, but those terms have been criticized as "inapt" and are not used by botanists today

Cultivation
Closeup of a healthy, red strawberry

Strawberry cultivars vary remarkably in size, color, flavor, shape, degree of fertility, season of ripening, liability to disease and constitution of plant. Some vary in foliage, and some vary materially in the relative development of their sexual organs. In most cases the flowers appear hermaphroditic in structure, but function as either male or female.

For purposes of commercial production, plants are propagated from runners and generally distributed as either bare root plants or plugs. Cultivation follows one of two general models, annual plasticulture or a perennial system of matted rows or mounds.A small amount of strawberries are also produced in greenhouses during the off season.
A large strawberry field with plastic covering the earth around the strawberry plants.
A garden using the plasticulture method

The bulk of modern commercial production uses the plasticulture system. In this method, raised beds are formed each year, fumigated, and covered with plastic to prevent weed growth and erosion. Plants, usually obtained from northern nurseries, are planted through holes punched in this covering, and irrigation tubing is run underneath. Runners are removed from the plants as they appear, to encourage the plants to put most of their energy into fruit development. At the end of the harvest season, the plastic is removed and the plants are plowed into the ground.Because strawberry plants more than a year or two old begin to decline in productivity and fruit quality, this system of replacing the plants each year allows for improved yields and denser plantings. However, because it requires a longer growing season to allow for establishment of the plants each year, and because of the increased costs in terms of forming and covering the mounds and purchasing plants each year, it is not always practical in all areas.

The other major method, which uses the same plants from year to year growing in rows or on mounds, is most common in colder climates. It has lower investment costs, and lower overall maintenance requirements.Yields are typically lower than in plasticulture.

A third method, uses a compost sock. Plants grown in compost socks have been shown to produce significantly higher oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), flavonoids, anthocyanins, fructose, glucose, sucrose, malic acid, and citric acid than fruit produced in the black plastic mulch or matted row systems.Similar results in an earlier 2003 study conducted by the US Dept of Agriculture, at the Agricultural Research Service, in Beltsville Maryland, confirms how compost plays a role in the bioactive qualities of two strawberry cultivars.
A closeup view of hundreds of red strawberries.
Fragaria × ananassa 'Chandler,' a short-day commercial cultivar grown in California

Strawberries are often grouped according to their flowering habit.Traditionally, this has consisted of a division between "June-bearing" strawberries, which bear their fruit in the early summer and "ever-bearing" strawberries, which often bear several crops of fruit throughout the season.More recently, research has shown that strawberries actually occur in three basic flowering habits: short day, long day, and day neutral. These refer to the day length sensitivity of the plant and the type of photoperiod which induces flower formation. Day neutral cultivars produce flowers regardless of the photoperiod.

Strawberries may also be propagated by seed, though this is primarily a hobby activity, and is not widely practiced commercially. A few seed-propagated cultivars have been developed for home use, and research into growing from seed commercially is ongoing. Seeds (achenes) are acquired either via commercial seed suppliers, or by collecting and saving them from the fruit.

Most strawberry plants are now fed with artificial fertilizers, both before and after harvesting, and often before planting in plasticulture.

The harvesting and cleaning process has not changed substantially over time. The delicate strawberries are still harvested by hand. Grading and packing often occurs in the field, rather than in a processing facility.In large operations, strawberries are cleaned by means of water streams and shaking conveyor belts.

Azuki bean

2010-04-19T10:00:00.002+07:00

The azuki bean (アズキ, formerly spelled adzuki or aduki) is an annual vine widely grown throughout East Asia and the Himalayas for its small (approximately 5 mm) bean. The cultivars most familiar in north-east Asia have a uniform red color, but white, black, gray and variously mottled varieties are also known. Scientists presume Vigna angularis var. nipponensis is the progenitor. Genetic evidence indicates that the azuki bean was first domesticated in the Himalayas. It was cultivated in China and Korea before 1000 BC. It was later taken to Japan, where it is now the second most popular legume after the soybean.

Names

The name azuki is a transliteration of the native Japanese name. Japanese also has a Chinese loanword, Shōzu (小豆), which means "small bean" (its counterpart "large bean" (大豆; Daizu) being the soybean). It is common to write 小豆 in kanji but pronounce it as azuki About this sound listen (help·info).

In China, the corresponding name (Chinese: 小豆; pinyin: xiǎodòu) is still used in botanical or agricultural parlance. However in everyday Chinese, the more common terms are hongdou (紅豆; hóngdòu) and chidou (赤豆; chìdòu), both meaning "red bean", because almost all Chinese cultivars are uniformly red. In English-language discussions of Chinese topics, the term "red bean" is often used (especially in reference to red bean paste), but in other contexts this usage can cause confusion with other beans that are also red. In normal contexts, "red cowpeas" have been used to refer to this bean. The Korean name is pat (hangul: 팥), and in Vietnamese it is called đậu đỏ (literally: red bean). In some parts of India, they are referred to as "Red Chori"

Uses

In East Asian cuisine the azuki bean is commonly eaten sweetened. In particular, it is often boiled with sugar, resulting in red bean paste (an), a very common ingredient in all of these cuisines; it is also common to add flavoring to the bean paste, such as chestnut.
Yōkan (羊羹, Yōkan) is a thick jellied dessert made of Azuki bean paste, agar, and sugar.
Pastry decorated with sweetened Azuki beans

Red bean paste is used in many Chinese foods, such as tangyuan, zongzi, mooncakes, baozi, and red bean ice. It is also used as a filling for Japanese sweets such as anmitsu, taiyaki and daifuku. A more liquid version, using azuki beans boiled with sugar and a pinch of salt, produces a sweet dish called red bean soup. Azuki beans are also commonly eaten sprouted, or boiled in a hot, tea-like drink. Some Asian cultures enjoy red bean paste as a filling or topping for various kinds of waffles, pastries, baked buns or biscuits.

In Japan, rice with azuki beans (赤飯; sekihan) is traditionally cooked for auspicious occasions. Azuki beans are also used to produce amanattō, and as a popular flavour of ice cream.

On October 20, 2009, Pepsi Japan released an Azuki-flavored Pepsi product .

Azuki beans, along with butter and sugar, form the basis of the popular Somali supper dish cambuulo.

In Gujarat, India, they are known as Chori

Nutrition

Beans have significant amounts of fiber and soluble fiber, with one cup of cooked beans providing between nine to thirteen grams of fiber. Soluble fiber can help lower blood cholesterol.Beans are also high in protein, complex carbohydrates and iron

Azuki Beans more info

European Pear

2010-04-14T16:21:00.003+07:00

The European Pear Pyrus communis is a species of pear native to central and eastern Europe and southwest Asia. The European Pear is one of the most important fruits of temperate regions, being the species from which most orchard pear cultivars grown in Europe, North America and Australia are developed. Two other species of pear, the Nashi Pear, Pyrus pyrifolia, and the Chinese white pear bai li, Pyrus × bretschneideri, are more widely used in eastern Asia.

Origin

The cultivated European pear (Pyrus communis subsp. communis) is thought to be descended from two subspecies of wild pear, categorized as P. communis subsp. pyraster (syn. P. pyraster) and P. communis subsp. caucasica (syn. P. caucasica), which are interfertile with the domesticated species. Archeological evidence shows that pears "were collected from the wild long before their introduction into cultivation," according to Zohary and Hopf.[1] Although they point to finds of pears in sites in Neolithic and Bronze Age European sites, "reliable information on pear cultivation first appears in the works of the Greek and the Roman writers."[2] Theophrastus, Cato the Elder and Pliny the Elder all present information about the cultivation and grafting of pears.

Cultivation

European pear trees are not quite as hardy as apples, but nearly so. They do however require some winter chilling to produce fruit. For a list of Lepidoptera whose caterpillars feed on pear tree leaves, see List of Lepidoptera that feed on pear trees.

For best and most consistent quality, European Pears are picked when the fruit matures, but before they are ripe. Fruit allowed to ripen on the tree often drops before it can be picked and in any event will be hard to pick without bruising. They store (and ship) well in their mature but unripe state if kept cold and can be ripened later, a process called bletting. Some varieties, such as 'Beurre d'Anjou', ripen only with exposure to cold.

Fermented pear juice is called perry. In Britain the place name Perry can indicate the historical presence of pear trees.

There are relatively few cultivars of European or Asian pear grown worldwide. Only about 20-25 European and 10-20 Asian cultivars represent virtually all the pears of commerce. Almost all European cultivars were chance seedlings or selections originating in western Europe, mostly France. All of the Asian cultivars originated in Japan and China. 'Bartlett' is the most common pear cultivar in the world, and represents about 75% of US pear production.

Major cultivars

In the United States, 95% of reported pear production in 2004 came from four cultivars:[3]

* 50% Williams' Bon Chrétien (England, ca. 1770; a summer pear commonly called Bartlett in the U.S. and Canada, and Williams elsewhere)
* 34% Beurre d'Anjou (France, a winter pear commonly called just d'Anjou)
* 10% Beurre Bosc (Also known as Kaiser Alexander, a winter pear commonly called just Bosc or Kaiser)
* 1% Doyenné du Comice (France, 1849; commonly called Comice pears)

Pomegranate

2010-04-09T18:02:00.003+07:00

A pomegranate is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing to between five and eight meters tall. The pomegranate is native to the Iranian Plateau, and has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. It is widely cultivated throughout Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, North India, the drier parts of southeast Asia, peninsular Malaysia, the East Indies, the Mediterranean and Southern Europe and tropical Africa.Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769, pomegranate is now cultivated in parts of California and Arizona for juice production.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to February. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is in season from March to May.

An ancient fruit, pomegranate is mentioned in Europe as early as the Iron-Age Greek Mythology in the Homeric hymns. Yet, it has still to reach mainstream prominence as a consumer fruit in commercial markets of North America and the Western Hemisphere.

Cultivars

More than 500 cultivars of pomegranate have been named, but such fruits evidently have considerable synonymy in which the same genotype is named differently across regions of the world.

Several characteristics between pomegranate genotypes vary for identification, consumer preference, preferred use, and marketing, the most important of which are fruit size, exocarp color (ranging from yellow to purple, with pink and red most common), aril color (ranging from white to red), hardness of seed, maturity, juice content and its acidity, sweetness, and astringency.

Foliage and fruit
The leaves are opposite or sub-opposite, glossy, narrow oblong, entire, 3–7 cm long and 2 cm broad. The flowers are bright red, 3 cm in diameter, with four to five petals (often more on cultivated plants). Some fruitless varieties are grown for the flowers alone. The edible fruit is a berry and is between a lemon and a grapefruit in size, 5–12 cm in diameter with a rounded hexagonal shape, and has thick reddish skin and around 600 seeds.The seeds and surrounding pulp, ranging in color from white to deep red, are called arils. There are some cultivars which have been introduced that have a range of pulp colors such as purple.

Punica granatum nana is a dwarf variety of P. granatum popularly used as bonsai trees and as a patio plant. The only other species in the genus Punica is the Socotran pomegranate (Punica protopunica), which is endemic to the island of Socotra. It differs in having pink (not red) flowers and smaller, less sweet fruit. Pomegranates are drought-tolerant, and can be grown in dry areas with either a Mediterranean winter rainfall climate or in summer rainfall climates. In wetter areas, they are prone to root decay from fungal diseases. They are tolerant of moderate frost, down to about −10°C (14°F).[citation needed]

The name "pomegranate" derives from Latin pomum ("apple") and granatus ("seeded"). This has influenced the common name for pomegranate in many languages (e.g., German Granatapfel, seeded apple). In early English, the pomegranate was known as "apple of Grenada" -- a term which today survives only in heraldic blazons. This was probably a folk etymology, confusing Latin granatus with the Spanish city of Granada. The genus name Punica is named for the Phoenicians, who were active in broadening its cultivation, partly for religious reasons. In classical Latin, where "malum" was broadly applied to many apple-like fruits, the pomegranate's name was malum punicum or malum granatum, the latter giving rise to the Italian name melograno, or less commonly melagrana...Read more

Fresh mango juices

2010-04-03T11:53:00.003+07:00

Ingredients:
2 ripe mangos
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cup boiling water

Method:
Preparing the syrup by dissolving ½ cup of water with ½ cup of sugar. Boil until dissolved well. Peel the mangoes and cut into small pieces -- It should be about ½ cup of mangoes. Put it in the blender. Add boiling water, syrup and salt. Blend thoroughly. It should give a strong sweet taste since ice will be added when serving.

Passiflora edulis

2010-04-01T11:51:00.003+07:00

Passiflora edulis is a vine species of passion flower that is native to Paraguay, Brazil and northeastern Argentina (Corrientes and Misiones provinces). Common names include Passion Fruit, Maracujá/Maracuyá (South America), and Lilikoʻi (Hawaiian). It is cultivated commercially in frost-free areas for its fruit and is widely grown in India, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Peru, California, Florida, Haiti, Hawaii, Australia, East Africa, Israel and South Africa. The passion fruit is round to oval, yellow or dark purple at maturity, with a soft to firm, juicy interior filled with numerous seeds. The fruit can be grown to eat or for its juice, which is often added to other fruit juices to enhance the aroma.[citation needed] The fruit shown are mature for juicing and culinary use. For eating right out of the fruit, allow the fruit to wrinkle for a few days to raise the sugar levels and enhance the flavor.

The two types of passion fruit have clearly differing exterior appearances. The bright yellow variety of passion fruit, which is also known as the Golden Passion Fruit, can grow up to the size of a grapefruit, has a smooth, glossy, light and airy rind, and has been used as a rootstock for the Purple Passion Fruit in Australia. The dark purple passion fruit is smaller than a lemon.

The purple varieties of the fruit have been found to contain traces of cyanogenic glycosides in the skin.

These forms of Passiflora edulis have been found to be different species.[dubious – discuss] They occur in different climate regions in nature and bloom at different times of day.[dubious – discuss] The purple-fruited species is self-fertile and the yellow fruited species, despite claims to the contrary,[by whom?] is self-sterile and requires two clones for pollination.[citation needed]

Uses

* In Paraguay, passion fruit is used mainly to make juice, prepare desserts like passion fruit mousse,cheesecake, ice cream, to flavor yogurts and cocktails.
* In New Zealand and Australia, where it is spelled "passionfruit", it is available commercially both fresh and canned. Fresh passion fruit is added to fruit salads, and fresh fruit pulp or passion fruit sauce is commonly used in desserts, including as a topping for pavlova (a regional meringue cake) and ice cream, a flavouring for cheesecake, and in the icing of vanilla slices. A passion fruit-flavoured softdrink called Passiona has also been manufactured in Australia for several decades.
* In Peru, passion fruit is used in several desserts, especially cheesecakes. It is also drunk alone as passion fruit juice and used in ceviche variations and in cocktails, including the passion fruit sour, a variation of the Pisco Sour
* In the Dominican Republic, it is used to make juice and jams. Passion fruit-flavoured syrup is used on shaved ice, and the fruit is also eaten raw sprinkled with sugar.
* In Puerto Rico, where the fruit is known as "Parcha", it is widely believed to lower blood pressure.[citation needed] This is probably because it contains harmala alkaloids and is a mild RIMA.[citation needed] Passion fruit juice is also very common there and is used in juices, ice cream or pastries.
* In the Philippines, passion fruit is commonly sold in public markets and in public schools. Some vendors sell the fruit with a straw in it to suck the seeds and juices inside. It is not very popular because of its sour flavor, and the fruit is very seasonal.
* In Vietnam, passion fruit is blended with honey and ice to create refreshing smoothies.
* In Brazil, passion fruit mousse is a common dessert, and passion fruit seeds are routinely used to decorate the tops of cakes. Passion fruit juice is also very common. When making Caipirinha, it is common to use passion fruit instead of lime. It is also used as a mild sedative, and its active ingredient is commercialized under several brands, most notably Maracugina.
* In Mexico, passion fruit is used to make juice or is eaten raw with chili powder and lime.
* In Indonesia, there are two types of passionfruit, white flesh and yellow flesh. The white one is normally eaten straight as a fruit. The yellow one is commonly strained to obtain its juice, which is cooked with sugar to make thick syrup. Bottles or plastic jugs of concentrated syrup (generally produced in Sumatra from fruit grown in the Lake Toba region[citation needed]) are sold in many supermarkets. Dilution of one part syrup to four (or more) parts water is recommended.
* In Hawaii, the varieties are called yellow lilikoʻi and purple lilikoʻi and the fruit is normally eaten raw. Hawaiians usually crack the rind of the passion fruit either with their hands or teeth and suck out the flavorful pulp and seeds.[citation needed] Passion fruit can also be cut in half and the pulp can easily be scooped out with a spoon. Passion fruit-flavored syrup is a popular topping for shave ice. Ice cream and mochi are also flavored with passion fruit, as well as many other desserts such as cookies, cakes, and ice cream. Passion fruit is also favored as a jam or jelly, as well as a butter. Passion fruit is not widely available in stores, so most of the fruit comes from backyard gardens or wild groves. It can be found, however, in farmers' markets throughout the islands.
* In South Africa, passion fruit, known locally as Granadilla, is used to flavor yogurt. It is also used to flavour soft drinks such as Schweppes Sparkling Granadilla and numerous cordial drinks. It is often eaten raw or used as a topping for cakes and tarts. Granadilla juice is commonly available in restaurants.

Nutrition

Fresh passion fruit is high in beta carotene, potassium, and dietary fiber. Passion fruit juice is a good source of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The yellow variety is used for juice processing, while the purple variety is sold in fresh fruit markets.

In culture

The passion fruit has had a religious association as reflected by the name "passion" given to it by Catholic missionaries who thought that certain parts of the fruit bore some religious connections.[citation needed] These missionaries (who were joined by the Spanish Conquistadors in South America), saw a way of illustrating the Crucifixion:

* The three stigmas were to reflect the three nails in Jesus's hands and feet.
* The threads of the passion flower were believed to be a symbol of the Crown of Thorns.
* The vine's tendrils were likened to the whips.
* The five anthers represented the five wounds.
* The ten petals and sepals regarded to resemble the Apostles (excluding Judas and Peter).

The flower of the passion fruit is considered as the national flower of Paraguay.

Thai Drink Lemon grass tea

2010-03-25T20:20:00.002+07:00

Flavoring :
- from lemon grass 3.
- fragrant screw pine leaves 3 leaves.

How to do:
Clear lemon grass to break clean enough different sectional split.
Fragrant screw pine leaves wash to clean maul split roasted sore enough to put boiled 5 minutes.

Properties:
Distend the stomach to be bloated tight fix have colic.Also diuretic for those with symptoms have suppression of urine.
Even less with any limb swelling. Lemon grass oil has effect kill fungi and bacteria.
Helps tract and upper respiratory tract clean. To prevent cold.

Coconut water

2010-03-19T01:31:00.003+07:00

Coconut water is the clear liquid inside young coconuts (fruits of the coconut palm), not to be confused with coconut milk. As the fruit matures, the coconut water gradually is replaced by the coconut meat and air. A very young coconut has very little meat, and the meat is very tender, almost a gel. Coconut water has long been a popular drink in the tropics, especially in Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands like Hawaii and the Caribbean, where it is available fresh, canned or bottled. It is naturally fat-free and low in food energy (16.7 calories or 70 kilojoules per 100 grams).

Coconuts for drinking are carefully packaged and sold in many places. These are typically Asian coconuts whose outer green husk has been removed, and the remainder wrapped in plastic. In Central America, particularly in Costa Rica and Panama, it is found and sold in strategic highway stops or on the beaches; there, the coconut water is called "agua de pipa", and the coconut is cut in front of the customer to ensure its freshness. In Brazil, coconut water is called "água de coco," and is the second best-selling juice after orange juice. Coconut water can also be found in ordinary cans or tetra paks (and often has coconut pulp or coconut jelly added) and is also marketed as a sports drink because of its high potassium and mineral content. In fact, one cup-full of coconut water contains more electrolytes than most sports drinks and more potassium than a banana.

Morton Satin, known for his development of hi-fiber breads, folic acid supplementation, and wheatless breads for celiacs, developed the cold sterilization technology for coconut water that allows manufacturers to bottle coconut water without losing its flavor and nutritional characteristics while serving as Director of FAO's Agricultural Industries and Post-harvest Management Service. He was granted a British patent for this development.

While people prefer different flavors of coconut water, generally a green coconut with some age spots is the most popular. Coconuts from various parts of the world also differ in taste. For example, Indian coconuts tend to be sweet while Brazilian coconuts have a mild taste and Bangladeshi coconuts (due to the soil composition) have extremely sweet water and flesh with a very slight salty aftertaste similar to the Indian.

Coconut water is also used as an intravenous hydration fluid in some developing countries where medical saline is unavailable.

Composition of coconut water %

Water 95.5
Nitrogen 0.05
Phosphoric acid 0.56
Potassium 0.25
Calcium oxide 0.69
Magnesium oxide 0.59 g/100g
Iron 0.5
Total solids 4.71

Reducing sugars 0.80
Total sugars 2.08
Ash 0.62

Source: Pandalai, K. M. (1958). Coconut water and its uses. Coconut Bull. 12, No. 5, 167-173.

Useful of lime

2010-03-11T22:32:00.002+07:00

Lime is a term referring to a number of different fruits, both species and hybrids, citruses, which have their origin in the Himalayan region of India and which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are often used to accent the flavours of foods and beverages. They are usually smaller than lemons, and a source of vitamin C. Limes are grown all year round and are usually sweeter than lemons.

Limes are a small citrus fruit, Citrus aurantifolia, whose skin and flesh are green in color and which have an oval or round shape with a diameter between one to two inches. Limes can either be sour or sweet, with the latter not readily available in the United States. Sour limes possess a greater sugar and citric acid content than lemons and feature an acidic and tart taste, while sweet limes lack citric acid content and are sweet in flavor.

Cooking

Zesting a lime

In cooking, lime is valued both for the acidity of its juice and the floral aroma of its zest. It is a very common ingredient in authentic Mexican, Southwestern United States, Vietnamese and Thai dishes. It is also used for its pickling properties in ceviche. Additionally, the leaves of lime are used in southeast Asian cuisine. The use of dried limes (called black lime or loomi) as a flavouring is typical of Persian cuisine and Iraqi cuisine, as well as in Gulf-style baharat (a spice mixture that is also called kabsa or kebsa). Lime is an essential ingredient of any cuisine from India and many varieties of pickles are made e.g. Sweetened lime pickle, salted pickle, Lemon Chutney . Lime juice drink is the essential freshner and is the most popular in Summers.Limes are also an essential element in Tamil cuisine.

Lime leaves are also a herb in South, East, and particularly Southeast Asia. In Vietnam, people have boiled chicken with lime leaves and a mixture of salt, black pepper and lime juice.

Other uses

In order to prevent scurvy during the 19th century, British sailors were issued a daily allowance of citrus such as lemon, and later switched to lime, which did not effectively prevent scurvy but led over time to the nickname "limey" for all Britons. It was later discovered that this beneficial effect derived from the quantities of Vitamin C lemon contains.

Lime extracts and essential oils are frequently used in perfumes, cleaning products, and aromatherapy. Lime is also used occasionally to enhance vision by many Asian martial artists.[who?] It is done by squeezing a drop or two on the inside corner of the eye.[citation needed] Lime juice may also be used to increase performance during intercourse, by squeezing a couple small drops into the member.

In India, the lime is used in Tantra for removing evil spirits. It is also combined with Indian chilis to make a protective charm to repel the evil eye[4] . Furthermore, it was believed that hanging limes over sick peoples cured them of the illness by repelling evil spirits lurking inside the body

Citrus Blast Off

2010-03-08T21:13:00.001+07:00

Ingredients:
1 grapefruit
2 oranges
2 tangerines
¼ oz liquid ginseng

Method:
Peel and cut the grapefruit, oranges and tangerines into segments and juice.

Pineapple

2010-03-06T15:23:00.004+07:00

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is the common name for an edible tropical plant and also its fruit (although technically multiple fruit merged together, and perceived as one). It is native to Paraguay and the southern part of Brazil. Pineapple is eaten fresh or canned and is available as a juice or in juice combinations. It is used in desserts, salads, as a complement to meat dishes and in fruit cocktail. While sweet, it is known for its high acid content (perhaps malic and/or citric). Pineapples are the only bromeliad fruit in widespread cultivation. It is one of the most commercially important plants which carry out CAM photosynthesis.

The word pineapple in English was first recorded in 1398, when it was originally used to describe the reproductive organs of conifer trees (now termed pine cones). When European explorers discovered this tropical fruit, they called them pineapples (term first recorded in that sense in 1664) because of their resemblance to what is now known as the pine cone. The term pine cone was first recorded in 1694 and was used to replace the original meaning of pineapple.

In the scientific binomial Ananas comosus, ananas, the original name of the fruit, comes from the Tupi (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) word for pine nanas, as recorded by André Thevenet in 1555 and comosus means "tufted" and refers to the stem of the fruit. Other members of the Ananas genus are often called pine as well by laymen.

Many languages use the Tupian term ananas. In Spanish, pineapples are called piña "pine cone" in Spain and most Hispanic American countries, or ananá (ananás in Argentina) (see the piña colada drink). They have varying names in the languages of India: "Anaasa" (అనాస) in telugu, annachi pazham (Tamil), anarosh (Bengali), and in Malayalam, kaitha chakka. In Malay, pineapples are known as "nanas" or "nenas". In the Maldivian language of Dhivehi, pineapples are known as alanaasi. A large, sweet pineapple grown especially in Brazil is called abacaxi [abakaˈʃiː].

The pineapple is a herbaceous perennial plant which grows to 1.0 to 1.5 metres (3.3 to 4.9 ft) tall with 30 or more trough-shaped and pointed leaves 30 to 100 centimetres (1.0 to 3.3 ft) long, surrounding a thick stem. The pineapple is an example of a multiple fruit: multiple, helically-arranged flowers along the axis each produce a fleshy fruit that becomes pressed against the fruits of adjacent flowers, forming what appears to be a single fleshy fruit.

The fruit of a pineapple are arranged in two interlocking helices, eight in one direction, thirteen in the other, each being a Fibonacci number.

The leaves of the cultivar 'Smooth Cayenne' mostly lack spines except at the leaf tip, but the cultivars 'Spanish' and 'Queen' have large spines along the leaf margins.[citation needed]

The natural (or most common) pollinator of the pineapple is the hummingbird.[citation needed] Pollination is required for seed formation; the presence of seeds negatively affects the quality of the fruit. In Hawaii, where pineapple is cultivated on an agricultural scale, importation of hummingbirds is prohibited for this reason.

Certain bat-pollinated wild pineapples, members of the bromeliad family, do the exact opposite of most flowers by opening their flowers at night and closing them during the day.

Pineapple contains a proteolytic enzyme bromelain, which breaks down protein. Pineapple juice can thus be used as a marinade and tenderizer for meat. The enzymes in raw pineapples can interfere with the preparation of some foods, such as jelly or other gelatin-based desserts. The bromelain breaks down in cooking or the canning process, thus canned pineapple can generally be used with gelatin. These enzymes can be hazardous to someone suffering from certain protein deficiencies or disorders, such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.[citation needed] Raw pineapples also should not be consumed by those with hemophilia or by those with kidney or liver disease, as it may reduce the time taken to coagulate a consumer's blood.[citation needed]

Consumers of pineapple have claimed that pineapple has benefits for some intestinal disorders and others believe it serves as a pain reliever; others claim that it helps to induce childbirth when a baby is overdue.

Pineapple is a good source of manganese (91 %DV in a 1 cup serving), as well as containing significant amounts of Vitamin C (94 %DV in a 1 cup serving) and Vitamin B1 (8 %DV in a 1 cup serving).

The natives of southern Brazil and Paraguay spread the pineapple throughout South America, and it eventually reached the Caribbean. Columbus discovered it in the Indies and brought it back with him to Europe. The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines, Hawaii (introduced in the early 19th century, first commercial plantation 1886), Zimbabwe and Guam. The fruit was cultivated successfully in European hothouses, and pineapple pits, beginning in 1720. Commonly grown cultivars include 'Red Spanish', 'Hilo', 'Smooth Cayenne', 'St. Michael', 'Kona Sugarloaf', 'Natal Queen', and 'Pernambuco'.

The pineapple was introduced to Hawaii in 1813; exports of canned pineapples began in 1892. Large scale pineapple cultivation by U.S. companies began in the early 1900s on Hawaii. Among the most famous and influential pineapple industrialists was James Dole, who started a pineapple plantation in Hawaii in the year 1900.The companies Dole and Del Monte began growing pineapple on the island of Oahu in 1901 and 1917, respectively. Maui Pineapple Company began pineapple cultivation on the island of Maui in 1909. In 2006, Del Monte announced its withdrawal from pineapple cultivation in Hawaii, leaving only Dole and Maui Pineapple Company in Hawaii as the USA’s largest growers of pineapples. Maui Pineapple Company markets its Maui Gold brand of pineapple and Dole markets its Hawaii Gold brand of pineapple.

In the USA in 1986, the Pineapple Research Institute was dissolved and its assets were divided between Del Monte and Maui Land and Pineapple. Del Monte took 73-114, which it dubbed MD-2, to its plantations in Costa Rica, found it to be well-suited to growing there, and launched it publicly in 1996. (Del Monte also began marketing 73-50, dubbed CO-2, as Del Monte Gold). In 1997, Del Monte began marketing its Gold Extra Sweet pineapple, known internally as MD-2. MD-2 is a hybrid that originated in the breeding program of the now-defunct Pineapple Research Institute in Hawaii, which conducted research on behalf of Del Monte, Maui Land & Pineapple Company, and Dole.

Southeast Asia dominates world production: in 2001 Thailand produced 1.979 million tons, the Philippines 1.618 million tons while in the Americas, Brazil 1.43 million tons. Total world production in 2001 was 14.220 million tons. The primary exporters of fresh pineapples in 2001 were Costa Rica, 322,000 tons; Côte d'Ivoire, 188,000 tons; and the Philippines, 135,000 tons.

At one time, most canned and fresh pineapples came from the cultivar 'Smooth Cayenne'. Since about 2000, the most common fresh pineapple fruit found in U.S. and European supermarkets is a low-acid hybrid that was developed in Hawaii in the early 1970s.

In commercial farming, flowering can be induced artificially, and the early harvesting of the main fruit can encourage the development of a second crop of smaller fruits. Once removed during cleaning, the top of the pineapple can be planted in soil and a new fruit-bearing plant will grow in a manner similar to that of a potato or onion, which will sprout from a cutting. Crowns are the primary method of propagation for home gardeners, though slips and suckers are preferred.[10]
Cultivars

* 'Hilo': A compact 1–1.5 kg (2-3 lb) Hawaiian variant of 'Smooth Cayenne'. The fruit is more cylindrical and produces many suckers but no slips.
* 'Kona Sugarloaf': 2.5–3 kg (5-6 lb), white flesh with no woodiness in the center. Cylindrical in shape, it has a high sugar content but no acid. An unusually sweet fruit.
* 'Natal Queen': 1–1.5 kg (2-3 lb), golden yellow flesh, crisp texture and delicate mild flavor. Well adapted to fresh consumption. Keeps well after ripening. Leaves spiny.
* 'Pernambuco' ('Eleuthera'): 1–2 kg (2-4 lb) with pale yellow to white flesh. Sweet, melting and excellent for eating fresh. Poorly adapted for shipping. Leaves spiny.
* 'Red Spanish': 1–2 kg (2-4 lb), pale yellow flesh with pleasant aroma; squarish in shape. Well adapted for shipping as fresh fruit to distant markets. Leaves spiny.
* 'Smooth Cayenne': 2.5–3 kg (5-6 lb), pale yellow to yellow flesh. Cylindrical in shape and with high sugar and acid content. Well adapted to canning and processing. Leaves without spines. This is the variety from Hawaii, and the most easily obtainable in U.S. grocery stores. Both 73-114 and 73-50 are of this cultivar.

Ethno-medical usage

The root and fruit are either eaten or applied topically as an anti-inflammatory and as a proteolytic agent. It is traditionally used as an antihelminthic agent in the Philippines

Apricot

2010-03-03T22:28:00.002+07:00

Apricot is a drupe fruit. It is closely related to the plum.

Description

* Plant: Small to medium sized tree, 8–12 m tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm in diameter with spreading, dense canopy; leaves are shaped somewhat like a heart, with pointed tips, about 8 cm (1/3 inch) wide.
* Flowers: Flowers are white to pinkish in color.
* Fruit: The fruit has only one seed; the color runs from yellow to orange and may have a red cast; the surface of the fruit is smooth and nearly hairless.

www.apricotseeds.org - includes information on medicinal uses of apricot seeds.

Watermelon flesh drink

2010-03-01T10:37:00.002+07:00

Mix:
Watermelon flesh 50 g (5 tbsp dish).
Syrup 15 grams (1 tsp dish).
Add flour, salt iodine 1 g (1 / 5 teaspoon).
Cooking water 150 grams (10 tsp dish).
A little lime juice

The flesh watermelon syrup, water, salt shaker in place. Lead to mold to savor the details like

Legume

2010-02-24T07:56:00.002+07:00

What legumes have in common

Legumes grow from the carpel, the female reproductive part of a plant. The fruit of a legume is found inside a pod that can be split on both sides. However, there are some foods that grow inside pods that are not legumes.

Healthy?

Legumes contain many healthy nutrients, such as protein. They are good source of protein for vegetarians and vegans, people who do not eat meat. They also contain fibre, which promotes a healthy digestive system. However, they contain some nutrients which humans struggle to digest. It is recommended that a legume is soaked in a weak acid for about 10 hours before cooking, to destroy these nutrients. Some amino acids, such as methionine, are not present in legumes but are needed to help the body use protein. For this reason, legumes are often eaten with grain, which does contain methionine.

Use

India imports (buys from other countries) the most legumes. This may be because a lot of Indians follow the religion of Hinduism, which does not approve of people eating meat. Legumes are a cheap and plentiful source of food in a country were around 22% of the population are in poverty. The top four producers and exporters (selling to other countries) of legumes are:

The USA uses legumes for a variety of reasons, and is the highest producer. It uses soybeans to feed cattle and make vegetable oil. Peanuts are a popular snack food in the USA and these are also a type of legume.

Apple Granita with Wine Jelly

2010-02-16T03:03:00.001+07:00

Ingredients:
40 g caster sugar 600 g Granny Smith apples
A generous pinch of ascorbic acid powder (vitamin C) Juice of ½ lime
4 leaves gelatine 100 ml clear honey
300 ml sweet white wine (Sauternes or Muscat)

Method:

First make the granita. Dissolve the sugar in 2½ tbsp water in a pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Roughly chop the apples, discarding the cores, and toss them with the ascorbic acid to prevent browning. Juice the apples using an electric juicer (or core the apples and then puree in a blender with 100ml water). Add the lime juice to the apple juice, then strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Stir in the sugar syrup

Freeze in a large plastic tray until frozen. This should take about 4 hours. Whisk the granita well after the first hour to prevent large ice crystals from forming. When fully frozen, scrape the granita into a slush with a fork. Keep in a rigid container in the freezer for up to 1 week.

To make the jelly, soak the gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes. Warm the honey in a pan over a medium heat and let it bubble for 3 minutes. Drain the gelatine and squeeze dry, then add to the honey with the wine. Stir over the heat for 2 minutes until the gelatine has melted. Strain into six small glasses (about 150ml) and cool. Refrigerate for 2 hours until set.

To serve, sweeten the yogurt with sugar to taste, then spoon over the jelly and top with the granita.

Sapodilla

2010-02-12T21:15:00.002+07:00

Sapodilla (Manilkara achras [Mill. (Fosberg)]) is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the West Indies. It is grown in huge quantities in India, Mexico and was introduced to the Philippines during Spanish colonisation.

Sapodilla grows to 3-4 m tall. It is wind-resistant and the bark is rich in a white, gummy latex called chicle. The ornamental leaves are medium green and glossy. They are alternate, elliptic to ovate, 7-15 cm long, with an entire margin. The white flowers are inconspicuous and bell-like, with a six-lobed corolla.

The fruit is a large ellipsoid berry, 4-8 cm in diameter, very much resembling a smooth-skinned potato and containing 2-5 seeds. Inside, its flesh ranges from a pale yellow to an earthy brown color with a grainy texture akin to that of a well-ripened pear. The seeds are black and resemble beans, with a hook at one end that can catch in the throat if swallowed. The fruit has a high latex content and does not ripen until picked.

The flavor is exceptionally sweet and very tasty[peacock term], with what can be described as a malty flavor. Many believe the flavor bears a striking resemblance to caramel. The unripe fruit is hard to the touch and contains high amounts of saponin, which has astringent properties similar to tannin, drying out the mouth.

The trees can only survive in warm, typically tropical environments, dying easily if the temperature drops below freezing. From germination, the sapodilla tree will usually take anywhere from 5-8 years to bear fruit. The sapodilla trees yield fruit twice a year, though flowering may continue year round.
Sapotas on Sale at Guntur, India.

In Vietnam, the most famous varieties of sapodilla are grown in Xuân Đỉnh village, Hanoi.

Sapodilla is known as chikoo ("चिक्कू" or "chiku," "चीकू,") in Pakistan & India and sapota in some parts of India (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka), sobeda/sofeda in eastern India and Bangladesh, Sabudheli ("ސަބުދެލި") in Maldives, sawo in Indonesia, hồng xiêm (lit. "Siamese persimmon"), lồng mứt or xa pô chê in Vietnam, lamoot (ละมุด) in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, sapodilla in Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago, naseberry in Jamaica, sapathilla or rata-mi in Sri Lanka, zapote in Colombia, El Salvador, Dominican Republic and Venezuela, níspero in Costa Rica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic, dilly in The Bahamas, naseberry in the rest of the Caribbean, sapoti in Brazil and Haiti, chico or tsiko in the Philippines and chico sapote in Mexico, Hawaii, southern California and southern Florida.[2][3] In Kelantanese Malay, the fruit is called "sawo nilo" which is closer to the original name than the standard Malay "ciku". In Chinese, the name is mistakenly translated by many people roughly as "ginseng fruit" (人參果), though this is also the name used for the pepino, an unrelated fruit; it should instead be "heart fruit" (人心果) because it is shaped like the heart.

Lynchee

2010-02-10T19:45:00.001+07:00

THAILAND IS BLESSED with a large variety of wonderful and delicious fruits which abound in different seasons of the year. And May is the month of the delectable litchee, or lynchee – as the Thai call it. This juicy, refreshing fruit combines the subtle aroma of good quality grapes with its own uniquely delicious flavor. The lynchee is known to have been cultivated in China for the past 4,000 years. The name is derived from the Chinese word lee chee which means “one who gives the pleasures of life”.

Another theory has the fruit originating in the ancient kingdom of Annam, which is now central Vietnam. It did not penetrate the Southeast Asian mainland until the 17th century but made it first reported appearance in northern Thailand in the early 18th century.

Though it is now grown in tropical uplands all over the world and the canned variety is marketed almost everywhere. Lynchee is very exacting in its climatic and soil requirements. It prefers a rich, wet and acid soil for ideal growth, and requires cool winter air for bountiful flowering and fruiting, followed by a hot and humid season for good growth and fruit bearing.

A brief strong cold period is essential prior to the flowering of the lynchee tree, and without the blossoms there is no fruit. It also requires a hot and humid periodfor healthy growth. It has a tolerance for wet soils and is more comfortable in soil with a low pH level, and preferably a soil containing a fungus which aids the roots of the lynchee tree in growth and propogation fruit.

For these reasons, lynchee is grown almost exclusively in the northern provinces of Chiangmai, Chiangrai and Phayao, where these conditions are to be found. Some lynchee is grown in the Northeast when the conditions are right, and there is a heat-tolerant variety grown in Amphawa district of Samoot Songkram, west of Bangkok, but lynchee aficionados will tell you the northern type is the best by far. The three main varieties grown all originated in China, and have names reflective of their homeland: Hong Huay, Ow Hia and Gim Jeng.

Lynchee farms can be readily recoqnized by their lustrous, dark green, spreading bushy trees. The flowers are unremarkable, but once the fruits have set, the trees become transformed. At first the fruit bunches resemble handfuls of cotton buds of a very pale pink. But as the fruits swell and weigh down the branches, these buds darken to the rich maroon-to-brown skin of the mature crop. During this growth phase, the trees require a plentiful supply of water to reach juicy perfection.

The thin, rumpled outer skin conceals a white, juicy, succulent pulp which surrounds a single shiny brown seed. Once the fruit has been picked, it must be marketed and eaten within four days if its full flavor is to be enjoyed. Surplus fruit may be canned or dried for future use, but nothing quite compares with the delicacy of taste and texture of the fresh fruit. The Chinese have long considered the lynchee to be a symbol of love and romance; a gift of ripe lynchee fruit was considered tantamount to a proposal of marriage. On a less romantic level, the delicious lynchee make very good eating for the health concious, since the fruit is high in natural sugars, and one fruit alone contains over 20% of the daily human Vitamin C requirement.

Lynchee has rich nutrition values, 100 gm. lynchee would give 14.3 carbohydrate, 50 mg. Vitamin C, 0.4 gm. Fat, 29 mg. Phosphorus, 0.2 gm. fiber, 10 mg. Calcium, 0.8 gm. Protein, 0.6 mg. Niacin, 0.3 mg. Iron, 0.05 mg. Vitamin B1, 0.06 mg. Vitamin B2.

The northern lynchee crop is picked in the month of May, and, as is typical here in the North, there are many festivals to celebrate this glorious harvest. Each province has its own celebration: a festival in Phayao, festivities in the Fang District of Chiangmai, and a fair in Chiangrai. Each festival will feature traditional music and dance, competitions among growers and displays of lynchee products.

Lemon~Lime Ginger Ale

2010-02-04T19:48:00.003+07:00

Ingredients:

handful of grapes
1 apple, cored and sliced
½ inch fresh ginger (less if you find the taste too strong)
1/2 lime
1/4 lemon
sparkling mineral water

Method:

Remove the grapes from the stem. Juice the apple and ginger together, then juice the rest of the fruit. Pour the juice in a large glass and fill to the top with sparkling water and serve with ice.

Key lime

2010-02-02T22:03:00.002+07:00

The Key lime (Citrus aurantifolia) is a citrus species with a globose fruit, 2.5-5 cm in diameter (1-2 in), that is yellow when ripe but usually picked green commercially. It is smaller, seedier, has a higher acidity, a stronger aroma, and a thinner rind than that of the Persian lime (Citrus x latifolia). It is valued for its unique flavor compared to other limes, with the key lime usually having a more tart and bitter flavor. The name comes from its association with the Florida Keys, where it is best known as the flavoring ingredient in Key lime pie. It is also known as West Indian lime, Bartender's lime, Omani lime, Tahitian lime or Mexican lime, the latter classified as a distinct race with a thicker skin and darker green color.

C. aurantifolia is a shrubby tree, to 5 m (16 ft), with many thorns. Dwarf varieties are popular with home growers and can be grown indoors in winter in colder climates. The trunk rarely grows straight, with many branches that often originate quite far down on the trunk. The leaves are ovate 2.5–9 cm (1–3.5 in) long, resembling orange leaves (the scientific name aurantifolia refers to this resemblance to the leaves of the orange, C. aurantium). The flowers are 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter, are yellowish white with a light purple tinge on the margins. Flowers and fruit appear throughout the year but are most abundant from May to September

C. aurantifolia is native to Southeast Asia. Its apparent path of introduction was through the Middle East to North Africa, thence to Sicily and Andalusia and via Spanish explorers to the West Indies, including the Florida Keys. From the Caribbean, lime cultivation spread to tropical and sub-tropical North America, including Mexico, Florida, and later California.

Since the North American Free Trade Agreement came into effect, many Key limes on the US market are grown in Mexico and Central America. They are also grown in Texas and California.

The English word "lime" was derived, via Spanish then French, from the Arabic word ليمة līma (Persian لیمو Limu) "Key" would seem to have been added some time after the Persian lime cultivar gained prominence commercially in the United States following the 1926 Miami hurricane, which destroyed the bulk of US C. aurantifolia agriculture, leaving it to grow mostly casually in the Florida Keys

Drupe

2010-02-01T18:12:00.002+07:00

In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin; and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a shell (the pit or stone or pyrene) of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries. The definitive characteristic of a drupe is that the hard, lignified stone (or pit) is derived from the ovary wall of the flower.

Other fleshy fruits may have a stony enclosure that comes from the seed coat surrounding the seed, but such fruits are not drupes.

Some flowering plants that produce drupes are coffee, jujube, mango, olive, most palms (including date, coconut and oil palms), pistachio, and all members of the genus Prunus, including the almond (in which the mesocarp is somewhat leathery), apricot, cherry, damson, nectarine, peach, and plum.

Drupes, with their sweet, fleshy outer layer, attract the attention of animals as a food, and the plant population benefits from the resulting dispersal of its seeds. The endocarp (pit or stone) is often swallowed, passing through the digestive tract, and returned to the soil in feces with the seed inside unharmed; sometimes it is dropped after the fleshy part is eaten.

Corking is a nutritional disorder in stone fruit caused by a lack of boron and/or calcium.

Many stone fruits contain sorbitol, which can exacerbate conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and fructose malabsorption.[citation needed]

Terminology

The term stone fruit (also stonefruit) can be a synonym for "drupe" or, more typically, it can mean just the fruit of the Prunus genus.

Freestone refers to a drupe having a free stone, meaning the stone is relatively free of the flesh, and can be removed from it with ease. Thus, freestone varieties of fruits are preferred for uses that require careful removal of the stone, especially if removal will be done by hand. Freestone plums are preferred for making homegrown prunes, and freestone sour cherries are preferred for making pies and cherry soup.

Clingstone refers to a drupe having a clinging stone, meaning the stone is well attached to the flesh, and cannot easily be removed from it. Clingstone varieties of fruits in the genus Prunus are preferred as table fruit and for jams, because the flesh of clingstone fruits tends to be more tender and juicy throughout.

Typical drupes include peaches, plums, and cherries (see pictures below).

The coconut is also a drupe, but the mesocarp is fibrous or dry (termed a husk), so this type of fruit is classified as a simple dry fruit, fibrous drupe. Unlike other drupes, the coconut seed is unlikely to be dispersed by being swallowed by fauna, due to its large size. It can, however, float extremely long distances across oceans.

In an aggregate fruit composed of small, individual drupes, each individual is termed a drupelet. Bramble fruits (such as the blackberry or the raspberry) are aggregates of drupelets. The fruit of blackberries and raspberries comes from a single flower whose pistil is made up of a number of free carpels. However, mulberries, which closely resemble blackberries, are not aggregate fruit, but are multiple fruits, actually derived from bunches of catkins, each drupelet thus belonging to a different flower.

Certain drupes occur in large clusters, as in the case of palm species, where a sizable array of drupes are found in a cluster. Examples of such large drupe clusters include Jubaea chilensis in central Chile and Washingtonia filifera in the Sonoran Desert of North America.

Some fruits are borderline and difficult to categorize. Hickory nuts (Carya) and Walnuts (Juglans) in the Juglandaceae family grow within an outer husk; these fruits are technically drupes or drupaceous nuts, and thus not true botanical nuts. Tryma is a specialized term for such nut-like drupes.

Punch (drink)

2010-01-27T21:18:00.003+07:00

Punch is a general term for any of a wide assortment of mixed drinks, either soft or alcoholic, often rum, generally containing fruit or fruit juice.The drink was brought from India to England in the early seventeenth century, and from there it was introduced into other countries.Punch is typically served at parties in large, wide bowls, known as punch bowls.

The word punch is a loanword from Hindi panch and the drink was made from five different ingredients: spirit, sugar, lemon, water, and tea or spices. The original drink was named paantsch, which comes from the Parsi word panj for five. The word "five" ultimately from Sanskrit panchan-

Alternatively, it may have derived from the word puncheon, a cask that held 72 gallons, from which a punch bowl could be made.

The drink was brought back from India to England by the sailors and employees of the British East India Company in the early seventeenth century, and from there it was introduced into other European countries.

The term punch was first recorded in British documents dating back to 1632. At that time, most punches were of the Wassail type, or with a wine or brandy base, but by around 1655, when Jamaica came out with rum, the 'modern' punch was born and by 1671, there were references to punch houses.

Today, many soft drink manufacturers distribute varying types of "fruit punch" beverages. These are usually colored red and despite the name, most brands garner only a small fraction of their flavor from actual fruit, the majority coming from sugar or corn syrup, citric acid and artificial flavors.

Cups are another type of punch. An English tradition, served before the departure of a hunting party, but today are served at a variety of social events such as garden parties, cricket and tennis matches and at picnics. Cups are generally lower in alcohol to punches and usually have wine, cider, sloe gin, or other low alcohol liqueur as the base, and often include quantities of fruit juices and/or soft drinks. One well known cup is the Pimm's Cup, using Pimm's №1 and British-style lemonade at a ratio of 1:2, a squeeze of lemon juice, then add orange, lemon and apple slice, a couple of cucumber wedges and decorate with borage flowers.

Rum punches

There are several rum-based punches: Planter's Punch, Bajan Rum Punch, Caribbean Rum Punch, and others. The two most historical rum punches are the Planter's Punch and Bajan Rum Punch.

Bajan (Barbadian) Rum Punch is one of the oldest rum punches and has a simple recipe enshrined in a national rhyme: "One of Sour, Two of Sweet, Three of Strong, Four of Weak." That is, 1 part lime juice, 2 parts sweetener, 3 parts rum (preferably Barbados rum), and 4 parts water. It is served with a dash or two of Angostura Bitters and Nutmeg.

The recipe of Planter's Punch varies, containing some combination of rum, lemon juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, orange juice, grenadine, soda water, curaçao, Angostura bitters, and cayenne pepper.

The first known print reference to Planter's Punch was in the August 8, 1908 edition of The New York Times:

PLANTER'S PUNCH

This recipe I give to thee,
Dear brother in the heat.
Take two of sour (lime let it be)
To one and a half of sweet,
Of Old Jamaica pour three strong,
And add four parts of weak.
Then mix and drink. I do no wrong —
I know whereof I speak.

Around the world
Fruit punch

Fruit punches, such as Hawaiian Punch or certain flavors of Kool-Aid, contain no alcohol. These may be used as drink mixers in cocktails.

In the United States and Canada, punches are extremely common among parties for college and university students. These punches tend to be highly alcoholic and made with cheap ingredients. Some even exclude water altogether and have 30% ABV or more.

In a large number of Caribbean, Pacific or Indian Ocean countries, punch is drunk as an apéritif before meals.

In Korean culture, sujeonggwa is a traditional punch made from dried persimmons, cinnamon and ginger.

In Mexico, agua loca ("crazy water") is a very sweet punch usually made from fermented sugarcane, mezcal or tequila, and mixed with aguas frescas (usually agua de Jamaica) or horchata. Due to its sweetness, the drinker may not notice the taste of the alcohol and may become intoxicated more quickly than he or she had anticipated. This drink is popular on college campuses as a cheap way to get drunk.

In Germanic culture, punch (or Punsch in German) refers to a mixture of several fruit juices and spices, often with wine or liquor added. Punch is popular in Germany, as well as with many Germans who emigrated to America. The traditional German Christmas often includes a Feuerzangenbowle ("Burnt Punch" or, literally, "Fire Tongs Bowl"). This is a punch made from red wine and flaming rum, poured over a Zuckerhut ("sugar hat"), a large conical sugar cube placed on the "Feuerzange" which supports it above the bowl.

Cider

2010-01-26T20:21:00.002+07:00

Cider (or cyder) is a drink made from fruit juice, most often from apples.

In Europe and Oceania it is an alcoholic drink that is made from apple juice, through a process called fermentation. In the United States and parts of Canada, cider containing alcohol is called hard cider or alcoholic cider, while cider or apple cider means less-sweet, usually unfiltered, apple juice.

Most people drink home-made cider when there are apples, that is in autumn.

In the United States and Canada people drink a special kind of cider around Halloween and Thanksgiving. This cider is usually unfiltered, rather thick, and it is often heated and spiced with cinnamon before drinking it. This is different from the cider in Europe, which usually is not heated.

How cider is made
American Cider

Usually to make cider, apples with a high concentration of tannins are chosen. The fermentation of the apples takes place at around 4-15° Celsius. The temperature influences the duration of the fermentation. The temperature at which the fermentation occurs also has an effect on the taste of the cider.

Shortly before all the sugar has been fermented away, the cider is put in a new barrel which is made air-tight. The rest of the sugar will then become carbonic acid. This will also add to the life-span of the cider (no pasteurisation is needed).

Cider is also the starting-point for distilling Calvados This alcoholic drink is famous and very expensive.

Where cider is made

Cider is made almost anywhere where there are cider-apple trees, most notably

* France, with its main cider-producing regions:
o Normandy, especially the AOC Pays d'Auge (since march 1996)
o Calvados, Normandy: Calvados the drink is made of cider through a process called double distillation. In the first pass, the result is a liquid containing 28% to 30% alcohol. In a second pass, the amount of alcohol is augmented to about 40%.
o Brittany, especially AOC of Fouesnant and of Cornouaille
o Pays de la Loire
o Nord-Pas-de-Calais
o Champagne (Pays d'Othe)
o Savoie
o Somme
o Thiérache
* Spain :
o Asturias
o the Basque country
o Galicia
* Germany, in particular around Frankfurt am Main
* Belgium, in the 'pays d'Herve; and in the east of the Province of Liège
* United Kingdom
* Channel Islands
* North America

In France, Normandy is the first region as to the production of cider-apples (300 000 tonnes), and the first in cider production (7000 kilolitres).

In France, some ciders can benefit from a protected naming. This is the cidre normand and the cidre breton.

France is the country in the world that produces the biggest quantity of cider.

The United Kingdom produces the most varieties, and along with Ireland holds the biggest market for cider.

Kinds of cider

Cider contains alcohol, which affects the taste of the cider. This can be influenced by choosing the right moment when to stop fermentation:

* With 3° of alcohol and below, the cider will be sweet, similar to apple juice. In France they call this cidre doux, and use it to go with desserts.
* Between 3° and 5° of alcohol, you get a cider that can accompany a meal of fish or meat. The French call this cider cidre demi-sec or cidre brut (classique).
* Traditional cider (hard cider) usually has 5° alcohol or more.
* Calvados is made of cider through a process called double distillation. In the first pass, the result is a liquid containing 28% to 30% alcohol. In a second pass, the amount of alcohol is augmented to about 40%.

In France, the most popular are the first, second and fourth categories. In the English-speaking countries, it is possible to find cider with up to 12° of alcohol.
[change] When to drink cider
"Pint of cider"

The French and Spanish cuisines have recipes where cider is needed to make them. The French and Spanish also often drink cider instead of wine made from grapes.

In Europe, many young people drink cider. Cider costs less than wine, and is often served in pubs and other places where young people go.

The effects of cider are the same as those of any alcoholic drink.

Mulberry

2010-01-25T23:45:00.001+07:00

Mulberry (Morus) is a genus of 10–16 species of trees. They are native to warm regions of Asia, Africa and the Americas, with most of the species native to Asia.

Mulberries are fast-growing when young, but soon become slow-growing and rarely grow over 10-15 meters tall. The leaves are simple, often lobed, and ridged. The fruit grows in bunches, 2-3 centimeters long, is red to dark purple in color, edible, and sweet with a good flavor in several species.

The fruit is used in pies, tarts, and wines. The fruit of the Black Mulberry, native to southwest Asia, and the Red Mulberry, native to eastern North America, have the strongest flavor. The fruit of the White Mulberry, an east Asian species, has a very weak flavor.

Mulberry leaves, particularly those of the White Mulberry, are also important as food of the silkworm, the cocoon of which is used to make silk.

Mulberries can be grown from seeds, and this is the best idea as seedling-grown trees are generally healthier. However, they are most often planted from large pieces cut from other Mulberry trees, which easily take root.

Legume

2010-01-23T11:13:00.004+07:00

A legume is a type of dry fruit. Legumes can be a variety of fruits: peas and beans are types of legumes.

What legumes have in common

Legumes grow from the carpel, the female reproductive part of a plant. The fruit of a legume is found inside a pod that can be split on both sides. However, there are some foods that grow inside pods that are not legumes.

Healthy?

Legumes contain many healthy nutrients, such as protein. They are good source of protein for vegetarians and vegans, people who do not eat meat. They also contain fibre, which promotes a healthy digestive system. However, they contain some nutrients which humans struggle to digest. It is recommended that a legume is soaked in a weak acid for about 10 hours before cooking, to destroy these nutrients. Some amino acids, such as methionine, are not present in legumes but are needed to help the body use protein. For this reason, legumes are often eaten with grain, which does contain methionine.

Use

India imports (buys from other countries) the most legumes. This may be because a lot of Indians follow the religion of Hinduism, which does not approve of people eating meat. Legumes are a cheap and plentiful source of food in a country were around 22% of the population are in poverty. The top four producers and exporters (selling to other countries) of legumes are:

* Canada
* Myanmar
* Australia
* USA

The USA uses legumes for a variety of reasons, and is the highest producer. It uses soybeans to feed cattle and make vegetable oil. Peanuts are a popular snack food in the USA and these are also a type of legume.

Feijoa

2010-01-20T15:58:00.001+07:00

The Feijoa (Feijoa sellowiana, synonym Acca sellowiana), also known as Pineapple Guava or Guavasteen, is an evergreen shrub or small tree, 1-7 m in height. It comes from the highlands of southern Brazil, parts of Colombia, Uruguay and northern Argentina.

Description of fruit and plant

The fruit matures in autumn and is green, chicken-egg-sized, and ellipsoid-shaped. It has a sweet, aromatic flavour. The flesh is juicy. The fruit drops when ripe, but can be picked from the tree before to prevent bruising. Feijoa fruit have a distinctive smell. The ester methyl benzoate smells strongly of feijoas and the aroma of the fruit is caused mostly by this and other closely related esters.

Growing conditions

It is a warm-temperate to subtropical plant that will also grow in the tropics but requires some winter chilling to fruit. In the northern hemisphere it has been cultivated as far north as western Scotland but does not fruit every year, as winter temperatures below about -9°C will kill the flower buds. Large quantities are grown in New Zealand, where the fruit is a popular garden tree and the fruit is commonly available in season.

Consumption and uses

The fruit is usually eaten by cutting it in half, then scooping out the pulp with a spoon. The fruits have a juicy sweet seed pulp, and slightly gritty flesh nearer the skin. The flavour is aromatic and sweet. If the utensils needed to eat it this way are not available, the feijoa can be torn or bitten in half, and the contents squeezed out and consumed.
Cut overmature fruit

Fruit maturity is not always apparent from the outside as the fruits remain green until they are overmature or rotting. When the fruits are immature the seed pulp is white and opaque, becoming clear and jelly-like when ripe. Fruits are at their optimum maturity when the seed pulp has turned into a clear jelly with no hint of browning. Once the seed pulp and surrounding flesh start to brown, the fruit is over mature and should not be eaten.

Sugar-apple

2010-01-17T21:32:00.001+07:00

Annona squamosa (also called sugar-apple, or sweetsop) is a species of Annona native to the tropical Americas, India and Pakistan. Its exact native range is unknown due to extensive cultivation, but thought to be in the Caribbean; the species was described from Jamaica.

It is a semi-evergreen shrub or small tree reaching 6–8 meters (20–26 ft) tall. The leaves are alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, 5–17 cm (2.0–6.7 in) long and 2–5 centimeters (0.79–2.0 in) broad. The flowers are produced in clusters of 3-4, each flower 1.5–3 cm (0.59–1.2 in) across, with three large petals and three minute ones, yellow-green spotted purple at the base.

The fruit is usually round, slightly pine cone-like, 6–10 cm (2.4–3.9 in) diameter and weighing 100–230 g (3.5–8.1 oz), with a scaly or lumpy skin. There are variations in shape and size. The fruit flesh is sweet, white to light yellow, and resembles and tastes like custard. The edible portion coats the seeds generously; a bit like the gooey portion of a tomato seed. Sugar-apple has a very distinct, sweet-smelling fragrance. The texture of the flesh that coats the seeds is a bit like the center of a very ripe guava (excluding the seeds). It is slightly grainy, a bit slippery, very sweet and very soft. The seeds are scattered through the fruit flesh; the seed coats are blackish-brown, 12–18 mm (0.47–0.71 in) long, and hard and shiny.

There are also new varieties being developed in Taiwan. There is a pineapple sugar-apple, which is similar in sweetness but has a very different taste. Like the name suggests, it tastes like pineapple. The arrangement of seeds is in spaced rows, with the fruit's flesh filling most of the fruit and making grooves for the seeds, instead of the flesh only occurring around the seeds.

Different cultures have many names for the species. In English it is most widely known as sugar-apple or sweetsop, also sometimes custard-apple (especially in India) though technically incorrectly, as this name usually refers to Annona reticulata, another closely related species. In Latin America regional names include anón, anón de azucar, anona blanca, fruta do conde, cachiman, saramuyo, and many others. In India it is known as Ata, aarticum, shareefa, sitaphal or seethaphal (सीता फळ literally meaning "sita fruit" as the fruit has too many seeds and monkeys don't eat them – monkeys are believed to be friends of Rama, Sita's husband), and in Indonesia, srimatikiya or mostly people call it as "srikaya". The Taiwanese call it Sakya (traditional Chinese: 釋迦; pinyin: shìjiā; Taiwanese: sek-khia, sek-kia) because one cultivar resembles the top part of Sakyamuni's (釋迦牟尼) head. Its name in Burmese is aajaa thee. In Indonesia, it is called srikaya. In the Philippines it is called atis. In Thailand it is called noi-na (น้อยหน่า) which is also the common name for a hand-grenade because of its appearance. In Vietnam, it is called mãng cầu ta or na. In Brazil, it is called fruta do conde, pinha or ata. In the Middle East region, it is called "achta".

Cultivation and uses

Sugar-apple fruit is high in calories and is a good source of iron. It is the most widely cultivated of all the species of Annona, being grown widely throughout the tropics and warmer subtropics such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Taiwan; it was introduced to southern Asia before 1590. It is naturalized north to southern Florida in the United States and south to Bahia in Brazil, and is an invasive species in some areas.

Like most species of Annona, it requires a tropical or subtropical climate with summer temperatures from 25 °C (77 °F) to 41 °C (106 °F), and mean winter temperatures above 15 °C (59 °F). It is sensitive to cold and frost, being defoliated below 10 °C and killed by temperatures of a few degrees below freezing. It is only moderately drought-tolerant, requiring rainfall above 700 mm, and not producing fruit well during droughts.

It is quite a prolific bearer and will produce fruit in as little as two to three years. A tree five years old may produce as many as 50 sugar-apples. Poor fruit production has been reported in Florida because there are few natural pollinators (honeybees have a difficult time penetrating the tightly closed female flowers); however hand pollination with a natural fiber brush is effective in increasing yield.

In the Philippines, the fruit is commonly eaten by the Philippine Fruit Bat (Kabag or Kabog) which then spreads the seeds from island to island. In the Philippines there is a company that produces Sugar apple wine.

It is a host plant for larvae of the butterfly Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay).

It is used by some societies in India to prepare a hair tonic. The seeds are also ground and applied to hair to get rid of lice, however, it must be kept away from the eyes as it is highly irritant and can cause blindness.

Kumquat

2010-01-14T19:23:00.002+07:00

The kumquats or cumquats are a group of small fruit-bearing trees.[1] The edible fruit (which is also called kumquat) is similar to other Citrus but is smaller.

Kumquats are slow-growing, evergreen shrubs or small trees, from 2.5–4.5 m tall, with dense branches. Sometimes they have small thorns. The leaves are dark glossy green, and the flowers pure white, similar to citrus flowers.

Kumquats came from China (they are known in literature of the 12th century), and have long been cultivated there and in Japan. They were introduced to Europe in 1846 by Robert Fortune, who was collector for the London Horticultural Society, and a short time later into North America.

They are much hardier than citrus plants as oranges. The 'Nagami' kumquat needs a hot summer, ranging from 25 ºC(77ºF) to 38º C(100.4ºF), but can withstand frost down to about −10 °C(14ºF). It grows in the tea regions of China where the climate is too cold for other citrus fruits, even the Mikan (also known as the Satsuma) orange.

Etymology

The English name "kumquat" derives from the Cantonese pronunciation gam1 gwat1 (given in Jyutping romanization). The alternate name 柑橘, also pronounced gam1 gwat1 in Cantonese (gān jú in Mandarin, literally "large tangerine orange") is now more commonly written by Cantonese speakers.

Names in other Asian languages include:

* Japanese: kinkan (金柑)
* Korean: geumgyul (금귤)
* Mandarin: jīnjú (金橘)
* Thai: somchíd (ส้มจี๊ด)
* Vietnamese: cam quất (from the Cantonese) or, less commonly, (quả) kim quất (if transliterated from the characters 金橘 into Sino-Vietnamese; "quả" (果) is the Sino-Vietnamese prefix for "fruit")

Otaheite gooseberry

2010-01-11T23:42:00.002+07:00

he Otaheite gooseberry (Phyllanthus acidus), also called Malay gooseberry, Tahitian gooseberry, country gooseberry, star gooseberry, West India gooseberry, simply gooseberry tree, Mayom in Thai or chùm ruột in Vietnamese, is one of the trees with edible fruit in the Phyllanthaceae family. Despite its name, the plant does not resemble the gooseberry, except for the acidity of its fruits. It is called Nela Usiri in Telugu and Chinna Nellikkai (small gooseberry) in Tamil. It is mostly cultivated for ornamentation.

The plant is a curious intermediary between shrubs and tree, reaching 2 to 9 m in height. The tree's dense and bushy crown is composed of thickish, tough main branches, at the end of which are clusters of deciduous, greenish, 15-to-30-cm long branchlets. The branchlets bear alternate leaves that are ovate or lanceolate in form, with short petioles and pointed ends. The leaves are 2-7.5 cm long and thin, they are green and smooth on the upperside and blue-green on the underside. In general, the Otaheite gooseberry very much looks like the bilimbi tree.
Leaves

The flowers can be male, female or hermaphrodite. They are small and pinkish and appear in clusters in 5-to-12.5-cm long panicles. Flowers are formed at leafless parts of the main branches, at the upper part of the tree. The fruits are numerous, oblate, with 6 to 8 ribs, develop so densely that they actually form spectacular masses. They are pale yellow or white, waxy, crisp and juicy, and very sour. It has only one seed in each fruit.

Origin and distribution

This tropical or subtropical species is thought to originate in Madagascar, then carried to the East Indies. Now it is generally found in South India, and Southeast Asian countries, such as Southern Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Northern Malaya. It also occurs in the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues and also in Guam, Hawaii and several other Pacific islands. In 1793, the plant was introduced to Jamaica (where it is commonly referred to as "Jumbilin" or "Jimbilin") from Timor. From there, it progressively spread to the whole Caribbean region, as far as the Bahamas or Bermuda and Nevis. It is now naturalized in Central and South America.

In the United States, the tree is occasionally found as a curiosity in Florida. For instance, it is resistant enough to fruit in Tampa.

Cultivation and culinary interest

The Otaheite gooseberry prefers moist soil. Although it usually grows from seeds, the tree can also be multiplied from budding, greenwood cuttings or air-layers. It bears two crops per year in South India: one in April-May and the other in August-September. Elsewhere, it is mainly harvested in January.

The juice can be used in beverage, or the fruit pickled in sugar. When cooked with plenty of sugar, the fruit turns ruby red and produces a kind of jelly, which is called mứt chùm ruột in Vietnamese. It can also be salted.

The fruit is called "Grosella" in Puerto Rico. Since the fruit is tart, it is often eaten in "Dulce de Grosellas". The preparation of this dessert consist in simmering the berries with sugar until they are soft and turn red in color. The liquid from the cooking is also used as a beverage.

Green Marula fruits

2010-01-09T12:21:00.002+07:00

The Marula (Sclerocarya birrea) (Greek σκληρός skleros hard, καρυά karya walnut in reference to the stone inside the fleshy drupe) is a medium-sized dioecious tree, indigenous to the miombo woodlands of Southern Africa and the Sudano-Sahelian range of West Africa. The tree is a single stemmed tree with a wide spreading crown. It is characterised by a grey mottled bark. The tree grows up to 18m tall mostly in low altitudes and open woodlands. The fruits are used in the liqueur Amarula. The distribution of this species throughout Africa has followed the Bantu in their migrations, as it has been an important item in their diet since time immemorial.

When ripe, the fruits have a light yellow skin, with white flesh, rich in vitamin C - about 8 times the amount found in an orange - are succulent, tart with a strong and distinctive flavour.[1] Inside is a walnut-sized, thick-walled stone. These stones, when dry, expose the seeds by shedding 2 (sometimes 3) small circular plugs at one end. The seeds have a delicate nutty flavour and are much sought after, especially by small rodents who know to gnaw exactly where the plugs are located.

Common names: maroela (Afrikaans), Boran (Kenya) - didissa ; English - jelly plum, cat thorn, morula, cider tree, marula, maroola nut/plum; Hausa - dania; Kamba (Kenya) - muua; Kwangali - ufuongo; Lovedu - marula; Maasai (Kenya) - ol-mangwai; Meru (Kenya) - mura; Ndebele - iganu, ikanyi, umganu, umkano; Pedi [fruits] - lerula, marula; Pedi [tree] - morula, merula; Pokot (Kenya) - oruluo; Portuguese (Mozambique) - canhoeiro; Ronga (Mozambique) - ncanhi; Sebei (Kenya) - katetalum; Shangaan - nkanyi, inkanyi; Shona - mutsomo, mukwakwa, mushomo, muganu, mupfura; Shona [fruits] - pfura; Shona [tree] - mufura, mafuna, marula; Swahili, Diga (Kenya) - mngongo; SiSwati - [fruits]- emaganu,[tree]umganu; Swazi - umganu; Tonga - tsua, tsula, umganu; Tswana - morula; Tugen (Kenya) - tololokwo; Zulu [fruits]- amaganu, [seeds] - umganu, [tree] - umganu.

Relationships: Belongs to the same family Anacardiaceae as the mango, cashew nut, pistachio and Rhus, and is closely related to the genus Poupartia from Madagascar.

A traditional food plant in Africa, this little-known fruit has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.[2]

* The seed kernels are high in protein and fat with a subtle nutty flavour and constitute an important emergency food.

* Fruits are commonly eaten fresh or used to prepare juice, jelly and alcoholic drink. The alcoholic distilled beverage (maroela mampoer) made from the fruit is referenced in the stories of the South African writer Herman Charles Bosman.

* Marula oil, made from the seed kernel, is a delicious additive to meals in Africa, and can be used as a type of skin care oil. It contains antioxidants and oleic acid.

* The bark is used both as treatment and a prophylaxis for malaria.

* Gums exudates from the stem are mixed with water and soot to make ink by certain tribes in the region.

* The bark also yields a red-brown dye used in colouring traditional craft ware.

* The leaves are chewed upon to help indigestion and to treat heartburn.

* The fruit infusion is used to bathe tick-infested livestock. The fruit is regarded as a potent insecticide.

* The marula fruit is also eaten by various animals in Southern Africa. In the movie Animals Are Beautiful People by Jamie Uys, released in 1974, some scenes portray elephants, warthogs and monkeys becoming intoxicated from eating fermented marula fruit. Later research showed that these scenes were improbable and, in all probability, staged. Elephants would need a huge amount of fermented marulas to have any effect on them, and other animals prefer the ripe fruit. The amount of water drunk by elephants each day would also dilute the effect of the fruit to such an extent that they would not be affected by it.[3]

* An infusion of the inner bark of the marula tree may be applied to scorpion stings and snake bites to alleviate pain.

Apple juice

2010-01-07T03:27:00.002+07:00

Apple juice is a fruit juice manufactured by the maceration and pressing of apples. The resulting expelled juice may be further treated by enzymatic and centrifugal clarification to remove the starch and pectin, which holds fine particulate in suspension, and then pasteurised for packaging in glass, metal or aseptic processing system containers, or further treated by dehydration processes to a concentrate. Apple juice may also be sold in an untreated state.

Due to the complex and costly equipment required to extract and clarify juice from apples in large volume, apple juice is normally commercially produced. In the United States, unfiltered fresh apple juice is produced by smaller operations in areas of high apple production, in the form of unclarified apple cider. Apple juice is one of the most common fruit juices in the world, with world production led by China, followed by Poland, Germany and the United States.

Uses

Apple juice is a common beverage for both children and adults, but in North America, it is often marketed specifically to children, who are informally considered its major consumers. Apple juice is also a component of several cocktails, and is a filler in some other fruit drinks, because it is less expensive and more widely available than other juices. It may also be produced and consumed in a carbonated form, referred to as sparkling apple juice.

Health benefits

Vitamin C is sometimes added by fortification, because content is variable, and much of that is lost in processing. Other vitamin concentrations are low, but apple juice does contain various mineral nutrients, including boron, which may promote healthy bones.Apple juice has a significant concentration of polyphenols that may protect from diseases associated with ageing due to the antioxidant effects which help reduce the likeliness of developing cancer. Research from the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) suggests that apple juice increases acetylcholine in the brain, resulting in increased memory

Apple cider

While "apple juice" generally refers to the filtered, pasteurised product of apple pressing, an unfiltered and sometimes unpasteurised, product commonly known as apple cider in the United States and parts of Canada, may be packaged and sold as "apple juice". In the U.S., there is an unclear distinction between filtered apple juice and "natural" apple cider.In other places, such as New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom, "apple cider" is an alcoholic beverage. The alcoholic beverage referred to as "cider" in these areas, is usually referred to as "hard cider" in the United States.

Mango juices

2010-01-01T17:22:00.001+07:00

Pomelo

2009-12-30T22:00:00.002+07:00

Pomelo is well known economic fruit as it could grow in every region of Thailand. The best taste pomelo recognized nationally is found especially in Sampran, NakhonPathom. Pomelo is a good source for vitamin C and high in calcium. Consuming pomelo would help moisten your throat and feeling refresh. It could befound allyear round. The mosssst famous species are Khao puang, Khao Tongdhi, Khao Nampueng.

Pomelo helps to eilmlnate phlegm, reduce coughing, and increase the efficlency of the digestive system, stop bleeding gums, aid in decreasing trapped wind, acting as a good relief for alcohol consumption.

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Peach

2009-12-27T17:34:00.001+07:00

Peach is a tree that at first grew in China. Peaches are also the fruit the peach tree makes. Peaches are called stone fruits because they have a shell of hard wood around their seed, called a stone or a pit. Cherries, plums, and apricots are other stone fruits. There are two types of peaches: freestone and clingstone. Freestone peaches do not stick to their pits, while clingstone peaches do.

The skin of a peach is an orange-yellow color, and it is covered in small, fine hairs called peach fuzz. A peach without the fuzz is commonly called a nectarine. The inside of a peach is a golden color. The inside of a peach is sweet and sticky. Because they taste sweet, peaches are often part of dessert.

Many North Americans enjoy this fruit, as well as others all over the world.

Peaches are often confused with nectarines, the difference is that a peach has fine and small hairs, (peach fuzz) but a peach with no fuzz is a nectarine. Peaches are grown all over the world these days but they are now becoming very expensive. In Peru, peaches are cald panigwats, (meaning sweet fruit). Scientists say that peaches are so rare that the species of the peach might get wiped out1

Jujube

2009-12-25T12:54:00.003+07:00

Ziziphus zizyphus (from Greek ζίζυφον, zizyfon), commonly called Jujube, Red Date, or Chinese Date, is a species of Ziziphus in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae, used primarily for its fruits.

Distribution

Its precise natural distribution is uncertain due to extensive cultivation, but is thought to be in southern Asia, between Lebanon, northern India, the Korean peninsula, and southern and central China, and also southeastern Europe though more likely introduced there.

Growth

It is a small deciduous tree or shrub reaching a height of 5–10 m, usually with thorny branches. The leaves are shiny-green, ovate-acute, 2–7-cm wide and 1–3-cm broad, with three conspicuous veins at the base, and a finely toothed margin. The flowers are small, 5-mm wide, with five inconspicuous yellowish-green petals. The fruit is an edible oval drupe 1.5–3-cm deep; when immature it is smooth-green, with the consistency and taste of an apple, maturing dark red to purplish-black and eventually wrinkled, looking like a small date. There is a single hard stone similar to an olive stone.

Nomenclature

The species has a curious nomenclatural history, due to a combination of botanical naming regulations, and variations in spelling. It was first described scientifically by Carolus Linnaeus as Rhamnus zizyphus, in Species Plantarum in 1753. Later, in 1768, Philip Miller concluded it was sufficiently distinct from Rhamnus to merit separation into a new genus, in which he named it Ziziphus jujube, using Linnaeus' species name for the genus but with a probably accidental single letter spelling difference, 'i' for 'y'; for the species name he used a different name, as tautonyms (repetition of exactly the same name in the genus and species) are not permitted in botanical naming. However, because of Miller's slightly different spelling, the combination correctly using the earliest species name (from Linnaeus) with the new genus, Ziziphus zizyphus, is not a tautonym, and therefore permitted as a botanical name; this combination was made by Hermann Karsten in 1882

Cultivation and uses

Jujube was domesticated in the Indian subcontinent by 9000 BCE.[3] Over 400 cultivars have been selected.

The tree tolerates a wide range of temperatures and rainfall, though it requires hot summers and sufficient water for acceptable fruiting. Unlike most of the other species in the genus, it tolerates fairly cold winters, surviving temperatures down to about −15°C. This enables the jujube to grow in desert habitats, provided there is access to underground water through the summer. Virtually no temperature seems to be too high in summertime.

Medicinal use

The fruits are used in Chinese and Korean traditional medicine, where they are believed to alleviate stress.[citation needed] The jujube-based Australian drink 1-bil avoids making specific stress-related claims, but does suggest drinking 1-bil "when you feel yourself becoming distressed".

Ziziphin, a compound in the leaves of the jujube, suppresses the ability to perceive sweet taste in humans.The fruit, being mucilaginous, is also very soothing to the throat and decoctions of jujube have often been used in pharmacy to treat sore throats.

Culinary use
Dried jujube fruits, which naturally turn red upon drying.

The freshly harvested as well as the candied dried fruits are often eaten as a snack, or with tea. They are available in either red or black (called hóng zǎo or hēi zǎo, respectively, in Chinese), the latter being smoked to enhance their flavor. In mainland China, Korea, and Taiwan, a sweetened tea syrup containing jujube fruits is available in glass jars, and canned jujube tea or jujube tea in the form of teabags is also available. Although not widely available, jujube juice and jujube vinegar (called 枣醋 or 红枣醋 in Chinese) are also produced. They are used for making pickles (কুলের আচার) in West Bengal and Bangladesh.

In China, a wine made from jujubes called hong zao jiu (红枣酒) is also produced.Jujubes are sometimes preserved by storing in a jar filled with baijiu (Chinese liquor), which allows them to be kept fresh for a long time, especially through the winter. Such jujubes are called jiu zao (酒枣; literally "spirited jujube"). In Korea, jujubes are called daechu (대추) and are used in teas and samgyetang. It is said to be helpful in aiding the common cold.

In addition, jujubes, often stoned, are a significant ingredient in a wide variety of Chinese delicacies. In Persian cuisine, the dried drupes are known as annab.

In Tamil-speaking regions, the fruit is called ilanthai pazham (இலந்தை பழம்). Traditionally, the fruits are dried in the sun and the hard nuts are removed. Then, it is pound with tamarind, red chillies, salt, and jaggery. Small dishs are made from this dough and again dried in the sun, and are referred to as ilanthai vadai.

Other uses

The jujube's sweet smell is said to make teenagers fall in love, and as a result, in the Himalaya and Karakoram regions, men take a stem of sweet-smelling jujube flowers with them or put it on their hats to attract women.[citation needed]

In the traditional Chinese wedding ceremony, jujube and walnut were often placed in the newlyweds' bedroom as a sign of fertility.

In Bhutan, the leaves are used as a potpourri to help keep the houses of the inhabitants smelling fresh and clean. It is also said to keep bugs and other insects out of the house and free of infestation.

In Japan, the natsume has given its name to a style of tea caddy used in the Japanese tea ceremony.

In Korea, the wood is used to make the body of the taepyeongso, a double-reed wind instrument. The wood is also used to make go bowls.

In Vietnam, the jujube fruit is eaten freshly picked from the tree as a snack. It is also dried and used in desserts, such as sâm bổ lượng, a cold beverage that includes the dried jujube, longan, fresh seaweed, barley, and lotus seeds.

Apricot

2009-12-21T19:44:00.003+07:00

The Apricot (Prunus armeniaca, "Armenian plum" in Latin, syn. Armeniaca vulgaris Lam., Armenian: Ծիրան "Tsiran") is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation, but most likely is India

Description
It is a small tree, 8–12 m tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter and a dense, spreading canopy. The leaves are ovate, 5–9 cm long and 4–8 cm wide, with a rounded base, a pointed tip and a finely serrated margin. The flowers are 2–4.5 cm diameter, with five white to pinkish petals; they are produced singly or in pairs in early spring before the leaves. The fruit is a drupe similar to a small peach, 1.5–2.5 cm diameter (larger in some modern cultivars), from yellow to orange, often tinged red on the side most exposed to the sun; its surface is usually pubescent. The single seed is enclosed in a hard stony shell, often called a "stone", with a grainy, smooth texture except for three ridges running down one side.

Cultivation and uses
The Apricot was first cultivated in India in about 3000 BC. In Armenia it was known from ancient times - it has been cultivated there so long it is often thought to be native there.. An archeological excavation in Armenia found apricot seeds in an Eneolithic-era site. [7] Its introduction to Greece is attributed to Alexander the Great,and the Roman General Lucullus (106-57 B.C.E.) also exported some trees, cherry,

white heart cherry and apricot from Armenia to Europe. Subsequent sources were often much confused over the origin of the species. Loudon (1838) believed it had a wide native range including Armenia, Caucasus, the Himalaya, China and Japan.

Nearly all sources presume that because it is named armeniaca, the tree must be native to or have originated in Armenia as the Romans knew it. For example, De Poerderlé asserts: "Cet arbre tire son nom de l'Arménie, province d'Asie, d'où il est originaire et d'où il fut porté en Europe ..." ("this tree takes its name from Armenia, province of Asia, where it is native, and whence it was brought to Europe ...") There is no scientific evidence to support such a view. Today the cultivars have spread to all parts of the globe with climates that support it.

Apricots have been cultivated in Persia since antiquity, and dried ones were an important commodity on Persian trade routes. Apricots remain an important fruit in modern-day Iran where they are known under the common name of Zard-ālū (Persian: زردالو).

Egyptians usually dry apricot and sweeten it then use it to make a drink called "'amar al-dīn".

More recently, English settlers brought the apricot to the English colonies in the New World. Most of modern American production of apricots comes from the seedlings carried to the west coast by Spanish missionaries. Almost all U.S. production is in California, with some in Washington and Utah.

Many apricots are also cultivated in Australia, particularly South Australia where they are commonly grown in the region known as the Riverland and in a small town called Mypolonga in the Lower Murray region of the state. In states other than South Australia apricots are still grown, particularly in Tasmania and western Victoria and southwest New South Wales, but they are less common than in South Australia.

Cultivation
lthough often thought of as a "subtropical" fruit, this is actually false – the Apricot is native to a continental climate region with cold winters, although it can grow in Mediterranean climates very well. The tree is slightly more cold-hardy than the peach, tolerating winter temperatures as cold as −30 °C or lower if healthy. The limiting factor in apricot culture is spring frosts: They tend to flower very early, around the time of the vernal equinox even in northern locations like the Great Lakes region, meaning spring frost often kills the flowers. Furthermore, the trees are sensitive to temperature changes during the winter season. In their native China, winters can be very cold, but temperatures tend to be more stable than in Europe and especially North America, where large temperature swings can occur in winter. The trees do need some winter cold (even if minimal) to bear and grow properly and do well in Mediterranean climate locations since spring frosts are less severe but there is some cool winter weather to allow a proper dormancy. The dry climate of these areas is best for good fruit production. Hybridisation with the closely related Prunus sibirica (Siberian Apricot; hardy to −50°C but with less palatable fruit) offers options for breeding more cold-tolerant plants.

Apricot cultivars are most often grafted on plum or peach rootstocks. A cutting of an existing apricot plant provides the fruit characteristics such as flavour, size, etc., but the rootstock provides the growth characteristics of the plant. Apricots and plums can hybridize with each other and produce fruit that are variously called pluots, plumcots, or apriums.

Apricots have a chilling requirement of 300 to 900 chilling units. They are hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8. Some of the more popular cultivars of apricots include Blenheim, Wenatchee Moorpark, Tilton, and Perfection.

There is an old adage that an apricot tree will not grow far from the mother tree. The implication is that apricots are particular about the soil conditions in which they are grown. They prefer a well-drained soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. If fertilizer is needed, as indicated by yellow-green leaves, then 1/4 pound of 10-10-10 fertilizer should be applied in the second year. Granular fertilizer should be scattered beneath the branches of the tree. An additional 1/4 pound should be applied for every year of age of the tree in early spring, before growth starts. Apricots are self-compatible and do not require pollinizer trees, with the exception of the 'Moongold' and 'Sungold' cultivars, which can pollinate each other. Apricots are susceptible to numerous bacterial diseases including bacterial canker and blast, bacterial spot and crown gall. They are susceptible to an even longer list of fungal diseases including brown rot, Alternaria spot and fruit rot, and powdery mildew. Other problems for apricots are nematodes and viral diseases, including graft-transmissible problems.

Etymology
The scientific name armeniaca was first used by Gaspard Bauhin in his Pinax Theatri Botanici (page 442), referring to the species as mala armeniaca "Armenian apple". Most believed and many still believe that it came from Pliny the Elder; however, it is not used by Pliny or any other classical author, even in Late Latin. Linnaeus took up Bauhin's epithet in the first edition of his Species Plantarum in 1753.[15] A popular name for this species is apricock.

The epithet probably is derived from an etymological identification of a tree mentioned in Pliny with the apricot. Pliny says "We give the name of apples (mala) ... to peaches (persica) and pomegranates (granata) ...."[16] Later in the same section he states "The Asiatic peach ripens at the end of autumn, though an early variety (praecocia) ripens in summer - these were discovered within the last thirty years ...."

From this praecocia comes the standard etymology of "apricot". The classical authors connected armeniaca with praecocia: Pedanius Dioscorides' "... Ἀρμενιακὰ, Ῥωμαιστὶ δὲ βρεκόκκια"and Martial's "Armeniaca, et praecocia latine dicuntur".Putting together the Armeniaca and the mala obtains the well-known epithet, but there is no evidence the ancients did it; Armeniaca alone meant the apricot.

Accordingly the American Heritage Dictionary under apricot derives praecocia from praecoquus, "cooked or ripened beforehand", becoming Greek πραικόκιον "apricot" and Arabic al-barqūq "apricot" (although in most of the Arab world the word now means "plum"). The English name comes from earlier "abrecock" in turn from the Middle French abricot, from Catalan abercoc.Both the latter and Spanish albaricoque were adaptations of the Arabic, dating from the Moorish occupation of Spain. However, in Argentina and Chile the word for "apricot" is damasco, which probably indicates that to the Spanish settlers of Argentina the fruit was associated with Damascus in Syria.

The anecdotal evidence is the only link between the apricot and Pliny's tree, but even if true, the origin of the word is not the origin of the tree. The Romans had no idea why the tree was called armeniaca and presumed as did later botanists that it was "from Armenia", whatever that should mean. Scientifically nothing at all about the evolution or production of the wild tree or any of its cultivars or about the native range at the time of the Romans or any other time in history is implied. At best the tradition reflects Roman literary opinion concerning some now obscure

Blackberry

2009-12-19T15:16:00.002+07:00

The blackberry is an edible berry in the Rubus genus and the Rosaceae family. The fruit are botanically termed an aggregate fruit and they are produced on plants that typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and raspberries are also called caneberries or brambles. It is a widespread, and well known group of over 375 species, many of which are closely related apomictic microspecies native throughout the temperate Northern hemisphere and South America

In its first year, a new stem, the primocane, grows vigorously to its full length of 3-6 m (in some cases, up to 9 m), arching or trailing along the ground and bearing large palmately compound leaves with five or seven leaflets; it does not produce any flowers. In its second year, the cane becomes a floricane and the stem does not grow longer, but the flower buds break to produce flowering laterals, which bear smaller leaves with three or five leaflets.[2] First and second year shoots are usually spiny with numerous short curved very sharp thorns (thornless cultivars have been developed purposefully). Recently the University of Arkansas has developed primocane fruiting blackberries that grow and flower on first year growth much as the primocane (also called fall bearing or everbearing) fruiting red raspberries.

Unmanaged mature plants form a tangle of dense arching stems, the branches rooting from the node tip on many species when they reach the ground. Vigorous and growing rapidly in woods, scrub, hillsides and hedgerows, blackberry shrubs tolerate poor soils, readily colonizing wasteland, ditches and vacant lots.[1][3]

The flowers are produced in late spring and early summer on short racemes on the tips of the flowering laterals.[2] Each flower is about 2-3 cm in diameter with five white or pale pink petals.[2] The newly developed primocane fruiting produces flowers and fruits on the new growth.
A bee pollinating blackberries

The early flowers typically form more drupelets than the later ones as they develop more fully as the flower buds develop during the dormant period. This can also be a symptom of exhausted reserves in the plant's roots, marginal pollinator populations, or infection with a virus such as Raspberry bushy dwarf virus. Even a small change in conditions, such as a rainy day or a day too hot for bees to work after early morning, can reduce the number of bee visits to the flower, thus reducing the quality of the fruit. The drupelets only develop around ovules that are fertilized by the male gamete from a pollen grain.

In botanical terminology, the fruit is not a berry, but an aggregate fruit of numerous drupelets ripening to black or dark purple.

Blackberry leaves are also a food for certain caterpillars and grazing mammals, especially deer, are very fond of the leaves. See List of Lepidoptera that feed on Rubus

Cultivation and uses
Primary cultivation takes place in the state of Oregon located in the United States of America. Recorded in 1995 and 2006: 6,180 acres (25.0 km2) to 6,900 acres (28 km2) of blackberries, producing 42.6 to 41.5 million pounds, making Oregon the leading blackberry producer in the world.[4][5]. While Oregon may lead the world in volume of fruit produced, Serbia has tremendous acreage and Mexico has had dramatically increasing acreage and will soon lead the world in hectarage and production.

The soft fruit is popular for use in desserts, jams, seedless jellies and sometimes wine. Since the many species form hybrids easily, there are numerous cultivars with more than one species in their ancestry.

Good nectar producers, blackberry shrubs bearing flowers yield a medium to dark, fruity honey.
Blackberry flower.

The blackberry is known to contain polyphenol antioxidants, naturally occurring chemicals that can upregulate certain beneficial metabolic processes in mammals. The astringent blackberry root is sometimes used in herbal medicine as a treatment for diarrhea and dysentery.The related but smaller dewberry can be distinguished by the white, waxy coating on the fruits, which also usually have fewer drupelets. (Rubus caesius) is in its own section (Caesii) within the subgenus Rubus.

In some parts of the world, such as in Australia, Chile, New Zealand and the Pacific Northwest region of North America, some blackberry species, particularly Rubus armeniacus (syn. R. procerus, 'Himalaya') and Rubus laciniatus ('Evergreen') are naturalised and considered an invasive species and a serious weed.

As there is forensic evidence from the Iron Age Haraldskær Woman that she consumed blackberries some 2500 years ago, it is reasonable to conclude that blackberries have been eaten by humans over thousands

Longan

2009-12-18T22:52:00.001+07:00

Longan is a fruit from warm climates that has a sweet taste and is easily ripe from June to August, There are 2 types of Longan: local Longan (or Kradook Longan) and Kralok Longan. The most famous areas for growing Longan are Chiangmai, Lampoon, Chiangrai, Prae, Uttaradit, Maehongsorn, Sukhothai, Chantaburi, Loei, and Nongkai

A Quality of the Longan fruit is to cure symptoms of weakness, fatigue, insomnia, palpitating heart, and forgetfulness. It could best be used in nurturing the body. Longan is considered as a fruit full of useful minerals such as glucose, sucrose, and fructose and vitamins such as vitamin C, B1, and B2 which help to protect pins and needies, calories clogged within blood vessels and is generally good protection for cold.

Thank You : http://www.ezythaicooking.com/free_recipes.htm

Thai Papaya Salad Recipe

2009-12-17T08:13:00.002+07:00

Ingredients :

2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 ½ tablespoon palm sugar, if not available can substitute it with regular sugar
3 tablespoon lime juice
½ cups tomato, wedged
1/3 cup dried shrimp
¼ cup peanuts
10 green chilli
5 cloves garlic

Method :

1.Peel the papaya, quarter it lengthways and remove any seeds and soft center.

2.Grate the papaya as thinly as possible, and place i n a serving bowl.

3.Combine the chilies, fish sauce and lime juice and pour over the papaya.

4.Add the shrimps, tomatoes, spring onion, coriander and shallots, and mix well.

5.Serve immediately with steamed white rice.

Grapefruit

2009-12-13T21:53:00.002+07:00

The grapefruit is a subtropical citrus tree known for its bitter fruit, an 18th-century hybrid first bred in Jamaica.When found in Barbados it was named the "forbidden fruit";it is also called the "shaddock", after its creator.

These evergreen trees are usually found at around 5–6 metres (16–20 ft) tall, although they can reach 13–15 metres (43–49 ft). The leaves are dark green, long (up to 150 mm, or 6 inches) and thin. It produces 5 cm (2 in) white four-petaled flowers. The fruit is yellow-orange skinned and largely oblate, and ranges in diameter from 10–15 cm. The flesh is segmented and acidic, varying in color depending on the cultivars, which include white, pink and red pulps of varying sweetness. The 1929 US Ruby Red (of the Redblush variety) has the first grapefruit patent.

The fruit has only become popular from the late 19th century; before that it was only grown as an ornamental plant. The US quickly became a major producer of the fruit, with orchards in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. In Spanish, the fruit is known as toronja or pomelo.

One ancestor was the Jamaican sweet orange (Citrus sinensis); the other was the Indonesian pomelo (Citrus maxima). Captain Shaddock brought pomelo seeds to Jamaica and bred the first fruit.

The hybrid fruit was in 1750 documented by the Rev. Griffith Hughes describing specimens from Barbados.Currently, the grapefruit is said to be one of the "Seven Wonders of Barbados."It was brought to Florida by Count Odette Philippe in 1823 in what is now known as Safety Harbor. Further crosses have produced the tangelo (1905), the minneola (1931), and the sweetie (1984). The sweetie has very small genetic and other differences from pomelo.

The grapefruit was known as the shaddock or shattuck until the 1800s. Its current name alludes to clusters of the fruit on the tree, which often appear similar to grapes.Botanically, it was not distinguished from the pomelo until the 1830s, when it was given the name Citrus paradisi. Its true origins were not determined until the 1940s. This led to the official name being altered to Citrus × paradisi.

The 1929 Ruby Red patent was associated with real commercial success, which came after the discovery of a red grapefruit growing on a pink variety. Only with the introduction of the Ruby Red did the grapefruit transform into a real agricultural success. The Red grapefruit, starting with the Ruby Red, has even become a symbolic fruit of Texas, where white "inferior" grapefruit were eliminated and only red grapefruit were grown for decades. Using radiation to trigger mutations, new varieties were developed to retain the red tones which typically faded to pink,the Rio Red variety is the current (2007) Texas grapefruit with registered trademarks Rio Star and Ruby-Sweet, also sometimes promoted as "Reddest" and "Texas Choice".

The Florida Department of Citrus stated "the primary varieties of Florida grapefruit are Ruby Red, Pink, Thompson, Marsh and Duncan. The fresh grapefruit season typically runs from October through June."

Grapefruit comes in many varieties, determinable by color, which is caused by the pigmentation of the fruit in respect of both its state of ripeness and genetic bent.The most popular varieties cultivated today are red, white, and pink hues, referring to the internal pulp color of the fruit. The family of flavors range from highly acidic and somewhat bitter to sweet and tart. Grapefruit mercaptan, a sulfur-containing terpene, is one of the substances which has a strong influence on the taste and odor of grapefruit, compared with other citrus fruits

Grapefruit can have a number of interactions with drugs, often increasing the effective potency of compounds. Grapefruit contains naringin, bergamottin and dihydroxybergamottin, which inhibit the protein isoform CYP3A4 predominately in the small intestine, but at higher doses, hepatic CYP3A4 inhibition is present as well.It is via inhibition of this enzyme that grapefruit increases the effects of a variety of drugs by increasing their bioavailability.The effect of grapefruit juice with regard to drug absorption was originally discovered in 1989. However, the effect became well-publicized after being responsible for a number of deaths due to overdosing on medication.

Grapefruit juice may be the first documented, but apple and orange juices have been also implicated in interfering with etoposide, a chemotherapy drug, some beta blocker drugs used to treat high blood pressure, and cyclosporine, taken by transplant patients to prevent rejection of their new organs.

Unlike other fruits grapefruit contains a large amount of naringin, and it can take up to 72 hours before the effects of the naringin on the CYP3A4 enzyme is seen. This is particularly problematic due to the fact that only 4 oz of grapefruit contain enough naringin to inhibit substrates of

Grapefruit is an excellent source of many nutrients and phytochemicals that contribute to a healthy diet. Grapefruit is a good source of vitamin C, pectin fiber, and the pink and red hues contain the beneficial antioxidant lycopene.Studies have shown grapefruit helps lower cholesterol and there is evidence that the seeds have high levels of antioxidant properties.Grapefruit forms a core part of the "grapefruit diet", the theory being that the fruit's low glycemic index is able to help the body's metabolism burn fat.

Grapefruit seed extract has been claimed to have strong antimicrobial properties, with proven activity against bacteria and fungi. However, no studies have demonstrated any efficacy by grapefruit seed extract as an antimicrobial for either bacteria or fungi. Additionally, although GSE is promoted as a highly effective plant-based preservative by some natural personal care manufacturers, studies have shown that the apparent antimicrobial activity associated with GSE preparations is merely due to contamination with synthetic preservatives.

A 2007 study found a correlation between eating a quarter of grapefruit daily and a 30% increase in risk for breast cancer in post-menopausal women. The study points to the inhibition of CYP3A4 enzyme by grapefruit, which metabolizes estrogen.However, there is a study showing that grapefruit consumption may not increase breast cancer risk. Furthermore, related studies showed a significant decrease in breast cancer risk with greater intake of grapefruit in women who never used hormone therapy.

How to Carve Fruit Centerpieces : Filling The Baby Stroller Centerpiece With Fruit

2009-12-13T21:49:00.000+07:00

Thai Fruit Carving

2009-12-13T21:43:00.000+07:00

Gooseberry

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The gooseberry Ribes uva-crispa (syn. R. grossularia) is a species of Ribes, native to Europe, northwestern Africa and southwestern Asia. It is one of several similar species in the subgenus Grossularia; for the other related species (e.g., North American Gooseberry Ribes hirtellum), see the genus page Ribes.

Although usually placed as a subgenus within Ribes, a few taxonomists treat Grossularia as a separate genus, although hybrids between gooseberry and blackcurrant (e.g., the Jostaberry) are possible. The subgenus Grossularia differs somewhat from currants, chiefly in their spiny stems, and in that their flowers grow one to three together on short stems, not in racemes.

Gooseberry bushes produce an edible fruit and are grown on both a commercial and domestic basis

Growth habit and physical characteristics

The gooseberry is a straggling bush growing to 1-3 meters (3-10 feet) tall, the branches being thickly set with sharp spines, standing out singly or in diverging tufts of two or three from the bases of the short spurs or lateral leaf shoots. The bell-shaped flowers are produced, singly or in pairs, from the groups of rounded, deeply-crenated 3 or 5 lobed leaves. The fruit of wild gooseberries is smaller than in the cultivated varieties, but is often of good flavour; it is generally hairy, but in one variety smooth, constituting the R. uva-crispa of writers; berries' colour is usually green, but there are red variants and occasionally deep purple berries occur.

The gooseberry is indigenous in Europe and western Asia, growing naturally in alpine thickets and rocky woods in the lower country, from France eastward, well into the Himalayas and peninsular India.

In Britain, gooseberry bushes are often found in copses and hedgerows and about old ruins, but the gooseberry has been cultivated for so long that it is difficult to distinguish wild bushes from feral ones, or where the gooseberry fits into the native flora of the island. Common as it is now on some of the lower slopes of the Alps of Piedmont and Savoy, it is uncertain whether the Romans were acquainted with the gooseberry, though it may possibly be alluded to in a vague passage of Pliny the Elder's Natural History; the hot summers of Italy, in ancient times as at present, would be unfavourable to its cultivation. Although gooseberries are now abundant in Germany and France, it does not appear to have been much grown there in the Middle Ages, though the wild fruit was held in some esteem medicinally for the cooling properties of its acid juice in fevers; while the old English name, Fea-berry, still surviving in some provincial dialects, indicates that it was similarly valued in Britain, where it was planted in gardens at a comparatively early period.
William Turner describes the gooseberry in his Herball, written about the middle of the 16th century, and a few years later it is mentioned in one of Thomas Tusser's quaint rhymes as an ordinary object of garden culture. Improved varieties were probably first raised by the skilful gardeners of Holland, whose name for the fruit, Kruisbezie, may have been easily corrupted into the present English vernacular word. Towards the end of the 18th century the gooseberry became a favourite object of cottage-horticulture, especially in Lancashire, where the working cotton-spinners have raised numerous varieties from seed, their efforts having been chiefly directed to increasing the size of the fruit.

Of the many hundred varieties enumerated in recent horticultural works, few perhaps equal in flavour some of the older denizens of the fruit-garden, such as the old rough red and hairy amber. The climate of the British Isles seems peculiarly adapted to bring the gooseberry to perfection, and it may be grown successfully even in the most northern parts of Scotland where it is commonly known as a "grozet"; indeed, the flavour of the fruit is said to improve with increasing latitude. In Norway (where it’s named “stikkelsbær” — or “prickly berry”), the bush flourishes in gardens on the west coast nearly up to the Arctic circle, and it is found wild as far north as 63°. The dry summers of the French and German plains are less suited to it, though it is grown in some hilly districts with tolerable success. The gooseberry in the south of England will grow well in cool situations, and may be sometimes seen in gardens near London flourishing under the partial shade of apple trees; but in the north it needs full exposure to the sun to bring the fruit to perfection. It will succeed in almost any soil, but prefers a rich loam or black alluvium, and, though naturally a plant of rather dry places, will do well in moist land, if drained.

he easiest method of propagating gooseberries is by cuttings rather than raising from seed; cuttings planted in the autumn will take root quickly and can begin to bear fruit within a few years.

Vigorous pruning may be necessary; fruit is produced on lateral spurs and the previous year's shoots, so the 19th-century custom was to trim side branches in the winter, and perhaps trim leading shoots at that time or remove their tips in the summer.

Large berries can be produced by heavy composting, especially if the majority of the fruit is picked off while small to allow room for a few berries to continue to grow. Grafting of gooseberry vines onto ornamental golden currants (Ribes aurum) or other Ribes species can be helpful for this purpose. Some 19th- and early 20th-century cultivators produced single gooseberries near to two ounces in weight, but, as with many varieties of fruit, larger sizes of gooseberry proved to have weaker flavor.

Gooseberry bushes are vulnerable to magpie moth (Abraxas grossulariata) caterpillars. In cultivation, the best method for removing them is to remove the larvae by hand soon after they hatch; its eggs are laid on fallen gooseberry leaves.

Other potential threats are V-moth (Macaria wauaria) and Gooseberry sawfly (Nematus ribesii). Nematus reibesii grubs will bury themselves in the ground to pupate; on hatching into adult form, they lay their eggs, which soon hatch into larvae, on the underside of gooseberry leaves. 19th-century insecticides against these included tar water, weak solutions of carbolic acid, and powdered hellebore, which worked against magpie moths and V-moths as well as gooseberry sawflies. (Foxglove and tobacco infusions were also sometimes used.) Careful removal of fallen leaves and tilling of the ground around the plant will also destroy most eggs and chrysalises of these insects.

Potassium sulfide was known to be an effective treatment for blights and other parasitic growths, such as American gooseberry mildew.

Note that like most Ribes, the gooseberry is a potential host for white pine blister rust, which can cause serious damage to white pines; thus, gooseberry cultivation is illegal in some areas.

Gooseberry bushes are vulnerable to magpie moth (Abraxas grossulariata) caterpillars. In cultivation, the best method for removing them is to remove the larvae by hand soon after they hatch; its eggs are laid on fallen gooseberry leaves.

Other potential threats are V-moth (Macaria wauaria) and Gooseberry sawfly (Nematus ribesii). Nematus reibesii grubs will bury themselves in the ground to pupate; on hatching into adult form, they lay their eggs, which soon hatch into larvae, on the underside of gooseberry leaves. 19th-century insecticides against these included tar water, weak solutions of carbolic acid, and powdered hellebore, which worked against magpie moths and V-moths as well as gooseberry sawflies. (Foxglove and tobacco infusions were also sometimes used.) Careful removal of fallen leaves and tilling of the ground around the plant will also destroy most eggs and chrysalises of these insects.

Potassium sulfide was known to be an effective treatment for blights and other parasitic growths, such as American gooseberry mildew.

Note that like most Ribes, the gooseberry is a potential host for white pine blister rust, which can cause serious damage to white pines; thus, gooseberry cultivation is illegal in some areas.

Gooseberries are best known for their use in desserts such as Gooseberry Fool and Gooseberry Crumble. In some countries, like Portugal, gooseberries are very appreciated as a beverage, being mostly used mixed with soda, water or even milk.

Plum

2009-12-10T05:26:00.002+07:00

A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera (peaches, cherries, bird cherries, etc) in the shoots having a terminal bud and the side buds solitary (not clustered), the flowers being grouped 1-5 together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one side, and a smooth stone.

Mature plum fruits may have a dusty-white coating that that gives them a glaucous appearance and is easily rubbed off. This is an epicuticular wax coating and is known as "wax bloom".

Cultivation and uses

Plum fruit tastes sweet and/or tart; the skin may be particularly tart. It is juicy and can be eaten fresh or used in jam-making or other recipes. Plum juice can be fermented into plum wine; when distilled, this produces a brandy known in Eastern Europe as Slivovitz, Rakia, Tzuica or Palinka. Dried plums are also known simply as prunes, as if 'prune' signified merely a dried plum - however, prunes are a distinct type of plum, and may have predated the fruits that we know more commonly as plums.[citation needed] Prunes are also sweet and juicy and contain several antioxidants. Plums and prunes are known for their laxative effect. This effect has been attributed to various compounds present in the fruits, such as dietary fiber, sorbitol,and isatin.Prunes and prune juice are often used to help regulate the functioning of the digestive system.

As with many other members of the rose family, plum seeds contain cyanogenetic glycosides, including amygdalin.These substances are capable of decomposing into a sugar molecule and hydrogen cyanide gas. While plum seeds are not the most toxic within the rose family, that dubious honor going to the bitter almond, large doses of these chemicals from any source are hazardous to human health.

Dried prune marketers in the United States have, in recent years, begun marketing their product as "dried plums." This is due to "prune" having negative connotations connected with elderly people suffering from constipation.

Dried, salted plums are used as a snack, sometimes known as salaito or salao. Various flavors of dried plum are available at Chinese grocers and specialty stores worldwide. They tend to be much drier than the standard prune. Cream, Ginsing, Spicy, and Salty are among the common varieties. Licorice is generally used to intensify the flavor of these plums and is used to make salty plum drinks and toppings for Shaved Ice or baobing.

Pickled plums are another type of preserve available in Asia and international specialty stores. The Japanese variety, called umeboshi, is often used for rice balls, called "Onigiri" or "Omusubi." The ume, from which umeboshi are made, is however more closely related to the apricot than to the plum.

Prune kernel oil is made from the fleshy inner part of the pit of the plum.

Plums come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. Some are much firmer-fleshed than others and some have yellow, white, green or red flesh, with equally varying skin color.
Blossoming plum, by Chinese artist Wang Mian (1287-1359).

Plum cultivars in use today include:

* Damson, or Damask Plum
* Greengage (Firm, green flesh and skin even when ripe.)
* Mirabelle (Dark yellow, predominantly grown in northeast France.)
* Satsuma plum (Firm red flesh with a red skin.)
* Yellowgage, or Golden plum (Similar to Greengage, but yellow.)

When it flowers in the early spring, a plum tree will be covered in blossom, and in a good year approximately 50% of the flowers will be pollinated and become plums. Flowering starts after 80 growing degree days.

If the weather is too dry the plums will not develop past a certain stage, but will fall from the tree while still tiny green buds, and if it is unseasonably wet or if the plums are not harvested as soon as they are ripe, the fruit may develop a fungal condition called brown rot. Brown rot is not toxic, and very small affected areas can be cut out of the fruit, but unless the rot is caught immediately the fruit will no longer be edible. Plum is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera including November Moth, Willow Beauty and Short-cloaked Moth.

The Serbian plum (Serbian: шљива / šljiva) is the third most produced in the world and the alcoholic drink slivovitz (Plum brandy) (Serbian: шљивовица / šljivovica) is the national drink of Serbia. The plum production averages 424,300 tons per year; FAO 1991–2001.[citation needed]

A large number of plums are also grown in Hungary where they are called szilva and are used to make lekvar (a plum paste jam), palinka (a slivovitz-type liquor), plum dumplings, and other foods. The region of Szabolcs-Szatmár, in the northeastern part of the country near the borders with Ukraine and Romania, is a major producer of plums.

The mei blossom (Prunus mume), along with the peony, are considered traditional floral emblems of China. On June 21, 1964, the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China officially designated the mei blossom to be its national flower, with the triple grouping of stamens (one long and two short) representing the Three Principles of the People and the five petals symbolizing the five branches of the ROC government.The designation repeats a previous statement by the ROC government in 1929.

The mei blossom is also the floral symbol of the ancient Chinese city Nanjing, which served as the former capital (and remained designated as the official capital) of the Republic of China.

Etymology

The fruit Prunus armeniaca gained its name from the beliefs of Pliny the Elder, a Roman historian and scientist of the 1st century, who maintained that the apricot was a kind of a plum, and had originally come from Armenia. Armenian sources support their claims by referring to a 6,000-year-old apricot pit found in an archaeological site near Yerevan.Other historians point that Mesopotamia as a clue to the Latin name. Apricots were cultivated in Mesopotamia, and it was known as armanu in the Akkadian language.

Top 10 Foods Highest in Beta Carotene...10

2009-12-06T08:03:00.002+07:00

#10: Collards
A cousin of cabbage and also a good source of calcium, collards provide 3842μg of beta-carotene per 100g serving. Cooked collards provide even more with 4814μg per 100g serving.

The Cultivar Group name Acephala ("without a head" in Greek) refers to the fact that this variety of B. oleracea does not have the usual close-knit core of leaves ("head") like cabbage. The plant is a biennial where winter frost occurs, perennial in even colder regions. It is also moderately sensitive to salinity. It has an upright stalk, often growing up to 2 feet tall. The plant is very similar to kale. Popular cultivars of collard greens include Georgia Southern, Morris Heading, Butter Collard (or couve-manteiga), and couve tronchuda.

Nutrition:
Widely considered to be healthy foods, collards are good sources of vitamin C and soluble fiber and contain multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties, such as diindolylmethane and sulforaphane.[citation needed] Roughly a quarter pound (approx. 100 g) of cooked collards contains 46 calories.

Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have recently discovered that 3,3'-Diindolylmethane in Brassica vegetables such as collard greens is a potent modulator of the innate immune response system with potent anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer activity.[citation needed]

Top 10 Foods Highest in Beta Carotene...9

2009-12-06T08:00:00.002+07:00

#9: Lettuce
In regards to beta-carotene, the kind of lettuce does matter. Dark colorful lettuces provide the most beta-carotene with Red-Leaf Lettuce providing 4495μg per 100g, Green-Leaf providing 4443μg per 100g, and Iceberg only providing 299μg per 100g.

The lettuce plant has a short stem initially (a rosette growth habit), but when it gradually blooms, the stem and branches lengthens; and produces many flower heads that look like those of dandelions, but smaller. This is referred to as bolting. When grown to eat, lettuce is harvested before it bolts. Lettuce is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera.

Top 10 Foods Highest in Beta Carotene...8

2009-12-06T07:49:00.002+07:00

#8: Butternut Squash
This dark orange squash has a delicious nutty and sweet flavor. 100 grams baked provides 4570μg of beta-carotene, 100 grams raw will provide 4226μg.

Butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata), also known in Australia as Butternut pumpkin[1], is a type of winter squash. It has a sweet, nutty taste that is similar to pumpkin. It has yellow skin and orange fleshy pulp. When ripe, it turns increasingly deep orange, and becomes sweeter and richer. It grows on a vine. The most popular variety, the Waltham Butternut, originated in Stow, Massachusetts, on what is now the Butternut Farm Golf Club
Butternut squash is a fruit that can be roasted and toasted and also be puréed or mashed into soups, casseroles, breads, and muffins.

In Australia it is regarded as a pumpkin, and used interchangeably with other types of pumpkin.

A common vegetable in South Africa, it is used in soup and can be cooked on a grill wrapped in foil with spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon.

It is a good source of fibre, vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, and potassium. It is also an excellent source of vitamin A

Top 10 Foods Highest in Beta Carotene..7t

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#7: Dried Herbs
Dried herbs are so packed with vitamins they appear on practically every HealthAliciousNess top 10 list. Make it a habit to add a pinch of dried herb to everything you prepare. Dried Basil provides the most beta-carotene with 5584μg per 100g serving, it is followed by Dried Parsley (5380μg), Marjoram (4806μg), Dried Oregano (4112μg), Ground Sage (3485μg), Dried Coriander (3407μg), and Fresh Thyme (2851μg).

Top 10 Foods Highest in Beta Carotene...6

2009-12-06T07:37:00.001+07:00

#6: Spinach
An excellent vegetable to add to a wrap or calzone, raw spinach provides 5626μg of beta-carotene per 100g serving. Due to water loss during cooking, cooked spinach provides even more beta-carotene with 6288μg per 100g serving.

Nutrition:
Spinach has a high nutritional value and is extremely rich in antioxidants, especially when fresh, steamed, or quickly boiled. It is a rich source of vitamin A (and lutein), vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, folate, iron, vitamin B2, calcium, potassium, vitamin B6, folic acid, copper, protein, phosphorus, zinc, niacin, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids. Recently, opioid peptides called rubiscolins have also been found in spinach. It is a source of folic acid (Vitamin B9), and this vitamin was first purified from spinach. To benefit from the folate in spinach, it is better to steam it than to boil it. Boiling spinach for four minutes can halve the level of folate

Top 10 Foods Highest in Beta Carotene...5

2009-12-06T07:16:00.002+07:00

#5: Mustard Greens
Mustard green have even more spice than turnip greens and are great in a salad or wrap. Mustard greens provide 6300μg of beta-carotene per 100g serving, cooked mustard greens will provide 3794μg.

Mustards are several plant species in the genera Brassica and Sinapis whose small mustard seeds are used as a spice and, by grinding and mixing them with water, vinegar or other liquids, are turned into the condiment known as mustard. The seeds are also pressed to make mustard oil, and the edible leaves can be eaten as mustard greens.

Mild white mustard (Sinapis hirta) grows wild in North Africa, the Middle East and Mediterranean Europe and has spread farther by long cultivation; brown or Indian mustard (B. juncea), originally from the foothills of the Himalaya, is grown commercially in the UK, Canada, Denmark and the US; black mustard (B. nigra) in Argentina, Chile, the US and some European countries. Canada grows 90% of all the mustard seed for the international market. The Canadian province of Saskatchewan produces almost half of the world's supply of mustard seed.

In addition to the mustards, the genus Brassica also includes cabbages, cauliflower, rapeseed, and turnips.

Although some varieties of mustard plants were well-established crops in Hellenistic and Roman times, Zohary and Hopf note that: "There are almost no archeological records available for any of these crops." Wild forms of mustard and its relatives the radish and turnip can be found over west Asia and Europe, suggesting that their domestication took place somewhere in that area. However, Zohary and Hopf conclude: "Suggestions as to the origins of these plants are necessarily based on linguistic considerations."

There has been recent research into varieties of mustards that have a high oil content for use in the production of biodiesel, a renewable liquid fuel similar to diesel fuel. The biodiesel made from mustard oil has good cold flow properties and cetane ratings. The leftover meal after pressing out the oil has also been found to be an effective pesticide.

An interesting genetic relationship between many species of mustard has been observed, and is described as the Triangle of U.

Nutrition

Leaf vegetables are typically low in calories, low in fat, high in protein per calorie, high in dietary fiber, high in iron and calcium, and very high in phytochemicals such as vitamin C, carotenoids, lutein and folic acid as well as Vitamin K.

Top 10 Foods Highest in Beta Carotene

2009-12-06T07:12:00.002+07:00

#4: Turnip Greens
Turnip greens add a nice note of spice to any salad or soup. 100 grams of raw turnip greens provides 6952μg of beta-carotene, 100 grams cooked provides 4575μg.

The most common type of turnip is mostly white-skinned apart from the upper 1–6 centimeters, which protrude above the ground and are purple, red, or greenish wherever sunlight has fallen. This above-ground part develops from stem tissue, but is fused with the root. The interior flesh is entirely white. The entire root is roughly conical, but can be occasionally tomato-shaped, about 5–20 centimeters in diameter, and lacks side roots. The taproot (the normal root below the swollen storage root) is thin and 10 centimeters or more in length; it is trimmed off before marketing. The leaves grow directly from the above-ground shoulder of the root, with little or no visible crown or neck (as found in rutabagas).

Turnip leaves are sometimes eaten as "turnip greens" ("turnip tops" in the UK), and they resemble mustard greens in flavor. Turnip greens are a common side dish in southeastern US cooking, primarily during late fall and winter. Smaller leaves are preferred; however, any bitter taste of larger leaves can be reduced by pouring off the water from initial boiling and replacing it with fresh water. Varieties specifically grown for the leaves resemble mustard greens more than those grown for the roots, with small or no storage roots. Varieties of B. rapa that have been developed only for use as leaves are called Chinese cabbage. Both leaves and root have a pungent flavor similar to raw cabbage or radishes that becomes mild after cooking.

Turnip roots weigh up to about 1 kilogram, although they can be harvested when smaller. Size is partly a function of variety and partly a function of the length of time that the turnip has grown. Most very small turnips (also called baby turnips) are specialty varieties. These are only available when freshly harvested and do not keep well. Most baby turnips can be eaten whole, including their leaves. Baby turnips come in yellow-, orange-, and red-fleshed varieties as well as white-fleshed. Their flavor is mild, so they can be eaten raw in salads like radishes.

Nutrition:
The turnip's root is high only in Vitamin C. The green leaves of the turnip top ("turnip greens") are a good source of Vitamin A, folate, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and calcium. Turnip greens are high in lutein (8.4 mg / 100g).

Top 10 Foods Highest in Beta Carotene...3

2009-12-06T07:08:00.002+07:00

#3: Carrots
The beta-carotene in carrots gives them their orange color. 100 grams of raw carrots provides 8285μg of beta-carotene, one medium sized carrot(61g) will provide 5053μg, and one baby carrot(10g) will provide 639μg.

The carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus, Etymology: Middle French carotte, from Late Latin carōta, from Greek karōton, originally from the Indo-European root ker- (horn), due to its horn-like shape) is a root vegetable, usually orange, purple, red, white, or yellow in colour, with a crisp texture when fresh. The edible part of a carrot is a taproot. It is a domesticated form of the wild carrot Daucus carota, native to Europe and southwestern Asia. It has been bred for its greatly enlarged and more palatable, less woody-textured edible taproot, but is still the same species.

It is a biennial plant which grows a rosette of leaves in the spring and summer, while building up the stout taproot, which stores large amounts of sugars for the plant to flower in the second year. The flowering stem grows to about 1 metre (3 ft) tall, with an umbel of white flowers that produce a fruit called a mericarp by botanists, which is a type of schizocarp

Use and nutrition
Carrots can be eaten in a variety of ways. The simplest way is raw as carrots are perfectly digestible without requiring cooking. Alternatively they may be chopped and boiled, fried or steamed, and cooked in soups and stews, as well as baby and pet foods. A well known dish is carrots julienne. Grated carrots are used in carrot cakes, as well as carrot puddings, an old English dish thought to have originated in the early 1800s. The greens are edible as a leaf vegetable, but are rarely eaten by humans, as they are mildly toxiTogether with onion and celery, carrots are one of the primary vegetables used in a mirepoix to make various broths.
Carrot flowers

Ever since the late 1980s, baby carrots or mini-carrots (carrots that have been peeled and cut into uniform cylinders) have been a popular ready-to-eat snack food available in many supermarkets.

Carrot juice is also widely marketed, especially as a health drink, either stand-alone or blended with fruits and other vegetables.

The carrot gets its characteristic and bright orange colour from β-carotene, which is metabolised into vitamin A in humans when bile salts are present in the intestines.[3] Massive overconsumption of carrots can cause carotenosis, a benign condition in which the skin turns orange. Carrots are also rich in dietary fibre, antioxidants, and minerals.

Lack of Vitamin A can cause poor vision, including night vision, and vision can be restored by adding Vitamin A back into the diet. An urban legend says eating large amounts of carrots will allow one to see in the dark. The legend developed from stories of British gunners in World War II who were able to shoot down German planes in the darkness of night. The legend arose during the Battle of Britain when the RAF circulated a story about their pilots' carrot consumption as an attempt to cover up the discovery and effective use of radar technologies in engaging enemy planes, as well as the use of red light (which does not destroy night vision) in aircraft instruments.[4][5] It reinforced existing German folklore and helped to encourage Britons—looking to improve their night vision during the blackouts—to grow and eat the vegetable.

Ethnomedically, the roots are used to treat digestive problems, intestinal parasites, and tonsillitis or constipation.

Top 10 Foods Highest in Beta Carotene..2

2009-12-06T07:02:00.003+07:00

#2: Kale
Kale is considered to be an early form of cabbage, and is delicious steamed with wine. 100 grams of raw kale will provide 9226μg of beta-carotene, 100 grams cooked will provide 8173μg.

Kale or borecole is a form of cabbage (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group), green or purple, in which the central leaves do not form a head. It is considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms. The species Brassica oleracea contains a wide array of vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and brussels sprouts. The Cultivar Group Acephala also includes spring greens and collard greens, which are extremely similar genetically.

Nutritional value
Kale is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties and is anti-inflammatory.[2]

Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Because of its high vitamin K content, patients taking anti-coagulants such as warfarin are encouraged to avoid this food since it increases the vitamin K concentration in the blood, which is what the drugs are often attempting to lower.

Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties