Fruit Facts

Archive for the ‘Special Fruits’ Category

Cooking vegetables right on the grill adds flavor to every meal. Baste firm vegetables like peppers, corn, eggplant or onions. Season them with herbs and place on a hot grill until they are kind and brown — typically about 10 to 15 minutes.

Place sliced zucchini, tomatoes and carrots on heavy-duty foil and dust with a little water and seasoning. Wrap the halt and grill six to eight minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Make kabobs out of pineapples, peaches and bananas and grill on small heat until the fruit is hot and slightly golden.

Another great reason to add fruits and vegetables to your outside cooking repertoire: With the abundance of produce obtainable this time of year, it’s simple to consume your suggested five 1.5- to 2-cup servings of fruits and vegetables a day for optimal health.

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APPLES, strawberries and oranges are immense and all but how about trying something a little different? Here are five fruits worth seeking out.

Guanabana: Also known as sour sop or custard apple, this tropical-growing fruit looks like a small watermelon but has soft flesh that tastes like a cross between coconut, pineapple and banana.

Huckleberry: Huckleberries, a native U.S. fruit that grows feral in the Pacific Northwest and the Santa Cruz Mountains, looks and tastes like a blueberry. If you could find this summer fruit, expect to pay a lot.

Mangos teen: One of the most sought-after fruits in the world, the mangos teen is not obtainable fresh in the continental United States but growers in Hawaii are working to export it to the mainland

Paw paw: With a flavor like to the guanabana, the paw paw is the major fruit native to the U.S.

Rambutan: The delicate, melon like white flesh of the rambutan is covered in a spiny red covering that makes it one of the most exotic-looking fruits around.

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TRAVERSE CITY — Cherries are not the only product plucked from the fields of northern Michigan these days. Local farmers are selection cucumbers, summer squash, lettuce, onions and a few early varieties of potatoes.

Mid-July means an ample variety of fruits and vegetables are set for — or close to — harvest throughout the region. The local sweet corn crop must ripen over the next couple of weeks, apricots are near harvest and carrots, broccoli and tomatoes are receiving close. August would bring more selection to the local harvest table, plus blueberries, blackberries and other produce such as beets, beans and cauliflower.

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NEW DELHI: Mango lovers in the national capital, assists by cool winds and rains to add to their joy, were in for a unique treat on Sunday as they got an chance to savor more than 550 varieties of the “king of fruits” put on show during a two-day festival here.

“The two-day 18th Annual Mango Festival that concluded Sunday at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium drew over 30,000 visitors and provided a package of interaction, education and entertainment to celebrate the mango,” said Suman Sharma, chief manager (events) of Delhi Tourism.

“More than 50 mango growers from across the country, mainly from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Delhi, were given an interactive platform to present the “king of fruits,” Sharma said.

“The visitors, who normally think mango has just five or six varieties, were educated through quizzes and competitions about the huge variety of the fruit grown and innumerable possibilities of using mango in cuisine. They also enjoyed colorful entertainment programmers’ of music and dance.”

Sharma said the festival was intended at providing experience to the domestic mango industry and exporters.

“It is an informal and international platform with a two-fold approach, to promote tourism as well as mango export.”

The varieties of mango on exhibit included Alphonso, Totapari, Mallika, Rataul, Himsagar, Amrapali, Mumbai Green, Kesar, Fazli and Banganpalli. There were also mangoes with camouflaging looks of other fruits like banana, guava and watermelon, but having the inherent taste of a mango.

Popularity: 4% [?]

People who are livin’ la vida low-carb by now know almonds are a brilliant low-carb snack packed full of protein, fiber and healthy fats. But this Food Navigator column cites a new learn that finds almonds are just as healthy for your body as the highly-touted fruits and vegetables for the reason that of the density of antioxidants in them.

Lead researcher Dr. Jeffrey B. Blumberg, Senior Scientist and Director of the Antioxidant Research Laboratory at Tufts University, experienced the eight most common kinds of almonds grown in California for their nutritional content.

What he found was that the almonds tested contained three exact antioxidants: catechin, epicatechin and kaempferol. Each of these are famous for their restorative properties of cells damaged by free radicals which could generally cause the rapid spread of diseases like heart disease, cancer and strokes as well as a noticeable decline in overall health in humans.

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ISLAMABAD: The 15th National Mango and Summer Fruits Exposition 2006 would start from today (Friday) at the Zarai Taraqiati Bank, Zero Point, in Islamabad.

The three-day expo has been organized by the Horticultural Foundation of Pakistan in collaboration the Zarai Taraqiati Bank.

Policy makers, expatriates, exporters, researchers, fruit growers and representatives of fruit dispensation industries would attend the show. The event is intended at humanizing horticultural production and processing in the country.

Mango peeling and eating contest and display of fruit baskets would be added attractions. The show would be opened to public on Friday between 6pm to 8pm. RA Chughtai, the president of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank, would install the expo. Staff report.

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Tholen – The past few years, the export of French summer fruit has been moribund continually. The pear export decreases with 17%, and the peach and nectarine export even with 25%. To revitalize the French export market, the French company Sunshine Fruits and the UK-based business Red bridge are teaming up to promote the wholesale trade of French summer fruit.

Their joint promotion campaign would start in July. They aim to augment the sales volumes at wholesale markets. The companies budgeted £ 60.000 ($ 96.000) for their campaign.

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Are you not sure how to increase your fruit and vegetable intake? Start the day with 100 per cent fruit or vegetable juice. Slice bananas or strawberries on peak of your cereal. Have a salad with lunch, and carrot sticks for an afternoon snack. Include a vegetable with dinner and you by now have the optional five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. If you need more than five, try adding a piece of fruit for a snack or an extra vegetable (like carrots or green beans) at dinner.

. There are so many choices when selecting fruits and vegetables. Have you ever tried kiwi fruit? How about asparagus? Try amazing new that helps you reach your goal.

. Keep things fresh and attractive by combining fruits and vegetables of different flavors and colors, such as red grapes with pineapple chunks, or cucumbers and red peppers.

. When you keep fruits and vegetables visible and easily accessible, you tend to eat more; for example, store cut-and-cleaned produce at eye-level in the refrigerator, or keep a big bowl of fruit on the table.

You can get some of your fruits and vegetables at restaurants too. Try some of these healthy choices:

. Veggie pizza
. Pasta with vegetables (but look at out for those high-fat cream sauces))
. Fresh vegetable wraps
. Vegetable soup
. Small salad (instead of fries)
. Plenty of fresh vegetables from the salad bar.

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Fuzhou city on China’s mainland has established 40 tons of fruit and vegetables from Taiwan. Two hundred kilos included varieties incoming from Taiwan for the first time.

Nine varieties of fruits and vegetables have just been arranged open access to the mainland market including lettuce, taro, loofah, broccoli, bitter melons and also Chinese cabbage.

This batch of produce was laden a week ago and transported to Fuzhou via Japan. Experts say eight days of transportation might affect produce freshness.

Yang Jinfa, Fujian Super Modern Agriculture Group said: “Long transportation time adds to the cost. If there are direct flights, the cost would be reduced by 30 per cent. We’re now calling for direct transportation of fruits and vegetables between the mainland and Taiwan to increase cross-straits agricultural exchanges and cooperation.”

These Taiwan fruit and vegetables would arrive at the Fuzhou Cross-Straits Conference on Economy and Trade on Thursday. Fuzhou residents could also buy the items at local supermarkets.

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What is it about the summer months that stir up a spirited streak in the otherwise mild-mannered food geek? Sure, the farmers markets run over with heirloom tomatoes and just-picked stone fruit, but there’s amazing about the more obscure produce that unleashes our inner Iron Chef. So read along and dazzle your foodie friends with esoteric information about corn fungus tacos and candied Buddha’s hand.

FRUITS

Buddha’s hand

Strange facts If the 5,000 fingers of Dr. T were crossed with a chiefly bumpy lemon, it would almost certainly look like this semitropical citrus fruit. The mutant variety of the citron is a favorite in Asia, and fable says that it was carried from India to China by monks for whom the alien-looking fruit was a sign of health and happiness. The mad scientists at new Alameda tiki bar Forbidden Island are bringing inner calm to bar goers everywhere with their drink Buddha’s Palm, a riff on the Arnold Palmer that include Hangar One’s citron Buddha’s hand vodka.

Prep tips since the inside of the Buddha’s hand is nearly all pith and has small fruit, it is most prized for its peel, which can be candied or tested. Throw candied zest into approximately any custard-based dessert, from panna cotta to homemade ice cream, for a surprising and agreeable textural and flavor contrast. Chef Mourad Lahlou from Aziza sprinkles Buddha’s hand zest on his slow-cooked taglines’. Lazy cooks could just put the exotic-looking fruit on the counter or hang it in the closet for a natural air freshener. Trust us, everyone would be asking about that new scent you’re wearing!

Fresh finds when shopping for this fragile fruit, take note of vibrant, firm specimens with glossy peels. Also, check every crevice cautiously for signs of mold or softness. Hamada Farms sells Buddha’s hand at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, and it’s also obtainable at Rainbow Grocery and Berkeley Bowl.

Popularity: 6% [?]