Welcome to the September thru December '99 Archive !
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Produce Quiz --- What am I?
I am the smallest member of my
family. I wasn't always this small, I've just become rounded over the years.
Native to China, where I was cultivated over 5000 years ago, I was basically
flat. The Chinese turned on the Greeks to me and before long I was in every
European garden worth mentioning. While my medicinal value is limited when
compared to the relief my relatives offer, I fooled many a country into
believing I was magic. I had them hang me up by the bunch in hopes of warding
off evil spirits and disease. Truth be told, I did none of this, but I made for
nice decoration when dried. My sulfur content is very slight so you won't get
any bitter overtones from me, like you would from my brothers and sisters. From
my tall thin filiform leaves, I produce lovely flowers in white, pink or purple
that are a perfect garnish or colorful addition sprinkled over a salad. We are
cut in bunches and never uprooted because we continually grow back. Our
delicate texture and subtle flavor, along with our elegant length, is perfect
for numerous fresh uses. You will find us cooked into eggs, potatoes, and
several sauces, but we must be added at the last minute or our flavor will be
lost. In decorative fashion we are often found holding the asparagus or beans
together. We also help poor people hold onto their change, providing a civic
duty to the community. I have also been known to get dried, tied, and
classically supplied. If you want to juice me, I can be used as a
vermifuge.(12/31/99)
I am the world's most expensive
spice. Cultivated in the Mediterranean area since ancient times, they say I
originated in Asia Minor, and who am I to argue? A favorite of the Phoenician
traders, they took me everywhere. Thanks to them, I can be found in Spain, my
major producer, as well as Cornwall, England, where I was traded for tin. You
won't notice my underground corm, but you'll be mesmerized in autumn by my
lilac-purple flowers with protruding red stigmas. My stigma is the main thing.
Only have three stigma per flower, you will need about 251,789 of my flowers
just to make one pound of me. If you're lucky enough to find my flower, call
your friends and relatives because my stigma has to be picked from my flower by
hand. Because of this intensive process, you will often find me adulterated
with the likes of water, oil, safflower, arnica, turmeric, or marigolds. To
keep me pure buy me as a thread not ground. Remove air and light, and I'll hang
around. If you come across my meadow variety, stay away; it's a killer and will
make you crocus. Look for my cousin sativus, as he is most prized and will
taste best. Used in bread as part of a traditional Christmas feast in Sweden, I
am also an essential ingredient in paella and bouillabaisse. A nice bath before
use allows me to blend thoroughly. We're not big on nutrients but we've been
known to relieve flatulence and stimulate menstruation. Just a pinch of me will
do, or I'll turn your food purple through and through. (12/??/99)
I am a perennial found
throughout southern India. I became a popular in Greek and Roman cooking after
Alexander the Great's soldiers introduced me to Europe. Today I remain popular
in Eastern and Arab countries but receive little attention in the west with the
exception of Scandinavia, who, strangely enough, has taken quite a liking to me.
I am elite in my class, only being out priced by the likes of vanilla and
saffron. Beginning as a thumb thick creeping root stock I grow up to 8 feet tall
producing a three-celled pod containing up to 18 seeds. Long dark-green leaves
with lanceolate tops and silky smooth bottoms protect my pod. My yellow or
bluish flowers can be found near the ground. My Malabar variety is tops, but
often substituted with the lesser qualities of the Cambodian or Sri Lankan
varieties, respectively. Although I can be found in ground or seed form, it is
best to buy me by the pod to insure I am not mixed with imposters. My pod color
will vary by region due to the style of processing. I'm sun-dried and green in
India, oven-dried and brown in Asia and Europe, and bleached white in the United
States. Used as a substitute for gluten, I can be found in breads and cereals.
I also add flavor to eggnogs, wines and liqueurs, fruit compotes, fruitcakes and
marinades. I am a prime ingredient in curry and garam masala. A few of my
seeds steeped in boiling water makes a soothing tea that will aid digestion.
Sometimes you will find me used as a replacement for ginger or cinnamon. I am a
good source of potassium and also provide calcium, iron and zinc. (12/10/99)
I know you're not going to
believe this, and though I'm not sure I can explain it, I speak the truth. I AM
MANY DIFFERENT PLANTS!! I know .. I know .. But please, let me try to
explain. Originally I was a direct descendent of the maranata originating in
South America, Brazil most likely. Spreading fast through the West Indies and
Europe, I was soon to be found in every tropical region of the world, and then,
well, everywhere. Then it happened. Other tuberous roots started making me!
How am I supposed to remain clear when my name is so clouded up? Everyone's
jumped into the "my name" game. Rhizome, rootstock, corm and tuber,
jumped on the bandwagon, even stems use my name. Fern like Zamia, coontie and
comfortroot in the USA, Musa in the West Indies, and some ginger relative in
East India all make me. Want more? Cassava in Brazil, palm in the South
Pacific, My spotted arum version has some very colorful names including
cuckoopoint (ENG), skunk cabbage (USA), and hare's bread (FRA). Get it? It's
hard to remain clear and thick in times of such stew. I know it's easy for you
to swallow, after all I'm just starch, but it's a poison tip to me. When I'm
not figuring out who I am, you'll find me in cakes, flours, gravies, soups,
puddings, curing and/or creating wounds, or just hanging out in the cool water.
(12/3/99)
One of my earliest appearances
is estimated to have been around 3400 BC. My first sighting was in Tehuacan that
is south of Mexico. Almost immediately someone spotted me in Peru. Today I am
primarily cultivated in South America and Europe. For the most part I am a long
trailing or climbing plant, but a few of my relatives do the bushy thing. Yellow
flowers and large shallowly lobed leaves protect me from the elements and snoopy
passers-by. As a member of the cushaw family I have a smooth, nutty taste that
is well complimented by cinnamon or nutmeg. By category, winter is in my name,
but I am harvested during two other seasons. When harvested in summer I am
tender and best suited for stewing, boiling, or baking in a pie. When I am
harvested in autumn it is often fashionable to split me in half, parboil me
(yooouch!), then stuff and bake me. My second harvest yields good meat for jams,
preserves, or pickles. I am best when 10 to 12 inches long and about 5 inches in
diameter. With a body shaped like a pear, my pale, tan, smooth skin peels easily
to reveal my beautiful, finely textured, sweet, orange flesh (stay away if my
skin is tinted green; it means I'm not yet ready). I am a great source of
beta-carotene I am also a good source of Iron and Riboflavin along with vitamins
A & C. Most likely you will enjoy me in one form or another on your turkey
table today. (11/25/99)
Of the 600 genuses and 13,000
species that I come from, I am in league of my own because I taste the best! My
family and I have been cultivated for the past 11,000 years. Contrary to my
name, my particular species originated in Central and South America. Like
potatoes and maize, I was a present to Europe, not a native as so many were
wrought to think. I can be found growing wild in Mexico and Guatemala, but when
I'm wild I reach for the sky. It was only after the 1500's when the Spanish came
to the New World that I was introduced to Europe and Asia. Misnamed and
mispronounced seems to be my lot in life. Not even the European weevil will
partake of me, but humans have come to hold me in high esteem as a culinary
delight. I have a rich green color with a slight bloom to my skin. I am a fast
grower, so many can't figure out why I am sometimes in short supply. I require
warm soil to germinate, but I can germinate indoors and then be moved outdoors.
I am a self-pollinator and so I can keep myself happy and don't need a mate. As
long as you pluck me often I will continue to produce. As I said, when it comes
to taste I am king, I'm the one you want. I am a high-end alternative used in niçoise
salad. To the palate I am silky and smooth, tender when young eat me raw in
salads. Otherwise you can steam, boil, marinate or pickle me. As are all of my
relatives, I am high in folic acid, potassium, iron, and magnesium. I also
supply thiamin, zinc and copper, and I am a rich source of fiber and vitamin C.
My price also soars every holiday. (11/18/99)
Although I am a member of the
carrot family, I have no fear of being eaten by rabbits. I am beautiful and
internationally popular. One of my names is derived from the word "bedbug",
because it is said that I emit a similar odor. An ironic fact considering that
I am known for increasing the appetite as well as being a fragrant ingredient in
various perfumes and cosmetics. Dating back over 3000 years, I was used by
Hippocrates as a medication. The romans added me to vinegar to preserve meats,
and the Chinese Han dynasty (207 B.C. - A.D.220) believed I possessed the powers
to give immortality. In the Arabian fantasy, The Thousand and One Nights, I was
referred to as an aphrodisiac. Every part of me is useful, from my roots, up to
my leaves and seeds. My flowers are white, pink and pale mauve. My leaves are
light green and look a bit like flat parsley, but my flavor has much more bite.
My long roots have a nutty flavor while my seeds have citrus overtones. I am
everywhere in the culinary world and I can often be found mixing with my
friends; beet, onion, and spud. My leaves and seeds are essential in any good
curry, and any guacamole worth mentioning couldn't survive without my leaves
blended in. My roots are very fond of mushrooms (it's an earthy thing ya know)
and they usually end up spending all night floating around in a marinade. Roots
have also been spotted hanging around with tomatoes or pasta hoping for a quick
mix in a salad. My seeds make a lovely afternoon tea or help your digestion
after a meal. I provide vitamin A, potassium, calcium, and a bitter herb for
your Passover Sedar, but you will also find me inside many a turkey in about two
weeks. (11/11/99)
(TO THE TUNE OF "I AM
CITRUS"- by Melon Redi)
I am citrus use my zest I am sour at my best And my flowers linger fragrant all night long. Spain is where I first did pledge But I am much more than a hedge I knew my 'ssential oil would make me strong. Oh yes, I survived But I don't need to be revived Making perfume and Earl Grey tea can't be wrong.
My thorns are thick as wood But my oil it sure tastes good And my green and juicy pulps' no use at all. Scrape my skin and mix me in Or just rub me on your chin In your face or mixing bowl you'll have a ball. And if, you're in France, The town of Nancy by chance You'll find barley sugar with me at the mall.
Try to find me if you dare I can't be found just anywhere But you might be using me to wash your hair. In Calabria or Sicily Is where you'll have a chance to see How they use my precious oil to make candy. Here and now I can say That I'll never go away As long as there is eau de cologne there will be me!
I begin green with envy but turn
red with fire. Cultivated in the Veneto region of Italy dating back to the
1500's, Italy is still my largest producer. While Southern France has also been
known to fill their fields with me I am also becoming a favorite along America's
West Coast, as well as excited farmers in Central America. My wine-red leaves
are striking when contrasted with my creamy white ribs. I must have cool nights
to achieve my appealing color. If I am kept completely in the dark I fail to
achieve my full red stature and my head of leave becomes marbled in pink. With
limited light I get a patchy green or copper color. I'm really happy with warm
days and cool nights, so leave me that way and I'll glow for you, OK? . People
like my tight compact head, and it seems the heavier the better. My bitter
flavor contrasts well in fresh green salads but it's tough to get a whole leaf
of me unless you pick from my center. I am also good as a vessel for chicken,
shrimp, potato, rice or fruit salads and I can brighten up any stir-fry. When
poached I become a bit softer, but the trade off is loss of color. I have also
been found in pasta dishes, omelets, or halved and charred on the grill. Know
to stimulate appetite and as a diuretic, I contain folic acid, potassium, and
vitamin C. (10/29/99)
I am the flavor. Others are
jealous. They call me misfit, fat, short and stubby. But when it comes to taste
they know who's boss. My immediate family has origins in the Baltic Regions of
Russia, and South America. It is sad but most likely true that I arrived in the
United States in a horse's feed bag. From these most humble beginnings it's
somewhat hard to believe that my pinkish-red skin would dazzle taste buds
several generations later. It is also true that when compared to my siblings, I
am rounder, and shorter. OK I admit it, I'm not exactly what my variety implies.
While my smooth, moist yellow flesh is a show stopper on its own, eaters are
consistently amazed with my interior streaking of pink. And my flavor, Oh, that
nutty, rich, earthy flavor just can't be beat. This makes me possibly the
prettiest and tastiest tuber on the planet. As if all that is not enough, I hail
from France, so good taste and good looks are simply natural to me. Best when
baked whole and consumed warm for maximum flavor, I can also be roasted,
steamed, grilled, fried, and sautéed, to reveal my creamy flesh and nutty
flavor. No butter, sour cream, or bacon bits are needed on me, I'll shine plain
and simple. Keep me cool and dry and I will last a season or two. Get me wet and
warm and I'll grow purple tipped eyes to watch you. An excellent source of
potassium, and when fresh a good source of vitamin C. I also contain good
amounts of copper, folic acid, magnesium, and iron. (10/22/99)
I'm often called a homely tuber,
and being thin-skinned doesn't help. Some people consider me a cross between a
potato and an apple. My roots can be traced back to the days of the Aztecs and
Incas, and I have always been very popular throughout Central and South America.
Today I am also grown in Asia. Although I am a legume, I am grown mainly for my
tuberous roots. I have a nubby, pointed end, white juicy flesh, and a thin
fibrous dusty brown skin. When full grown I can be as large as one foot in
diameter, and weigh as much as 22 pounds, but I am usually dug up when I am
about 5 inches in diameter and about 35 pounds. Cold kills, so you won't find us
in regions that have frost. Don't even think about growing us anywhere North of
the Texas Oklahoma border. I have two varieties: pachyrhizus tuberosus &
pachyrhizus erosus (the second is the one you usually see). I have a sweet nutty
flavor. While I'm watery when young my older, dried up relatives are usually
ground into flour. I maintain my crispness when cooked. I get a beautiful tan
and taste very sweet when deep fried. I can also be simmered in soup or sliced
raw into salads, baked, steamed, boiled, or mashed. Use me like water chestnuts
or grate as a passable (milder) daikon radish substitute. Loaded with starch, I
am also high in vitamin C, and I have some iron. (10/14/99)
You Must Read This Quiz Out Loud
People red believe white I originated yellow in purple southwestern Asia bran
some endosperm 10,000 years ago, creamed and cracked I was found in shampoo
ancient germ Mesopotamian beer ruins as far starch back as germ 5000 BCE. I
whole belong to cakes the cookies family bread gramineae, hard and soft belong
golden to flour the pasta genus berry triticum. Christopher Columbus brought
husk to the protein New World crackers in 1493, and pancakes in the 19th century
winter Russian immigrants amber waves brought me to tabbouleh Kansas. Now I
spring grow conditioner all over the United States but durum especially in the
amber waves Mid-West. I am bulgur high in fiber, protein, cereal B complex and
muffin minerals. (10/8/99)
We've been raised hard, not
soft. From years on the ground our skin has grown tough, not thin. You have one
narrow window of opportunity to eat us, but you'll be robbing the cradle. Some
desperate folk steal our unripe, 3 to 4-inch children. Can you imagine! Our
roots are thick, tough and ancient. People in Africa call some of us "woo
lo gwa". Our exact origins are a mystery. It's a toss up between Africa and
South America, or perhaps we were old enough to have originated on Pangeia.
Either way our seeds arrived from one continent to the other via ocean currents.
We were cultivated in North America over 8,000 years ago and in South
America/Africa over 12,000 years ago. But today we can be found growing all over
the world, some of us in trees but most of us on vines. We are fruits believe it
or not, and we produce flowers that are white. We come in all sizes, shapes and
colors, with lumps, bumps, knobs, protrusions, warts, and grooves. With all
these complexion problems we are still admired for our beauty, or perhaps our
extreme ugliness. We have so many shapes that we have developed numerous
functional uses. For soup, we can be the soup, the ladle, the bowl or all
three. Some of us are shaped like basketballs, but we don't bounce, so don't
try. Others of us look like bananas but you can't bite into them raw, and they
don't peel. Our Canteen cousin is aptly named as it can be used to carry water.
Many family members are shaped like a Club, and some are carved into
breadbaskets. We also come in a Nine-Gallon size, my largest form. Some of us
are called Apple, but not of your eye. Some of us are called snake, but we won't
slither by. We may not be as high in potassium and carotene as some of our
relatives, but we are still a good source of fiber. We have small amounts of
calcium, magnesium and a bit of iron and zinc. When ripe we have fair amounts of
vitamin C and folic acid. (10/1/99)
Don't leaf me out, because I'm
the main event. Well, okay there is the fruit, but you can't eat it. Maybe you
will use its bumpy peel for concentrated aromatic oils in curry, or for some
zest in your "jungle soup" (gkaeng bpah), but that's it. I'm what
you want! I'm the bay leaf of the Far East. I am a citrus sub-species of the
family peapeda. I am a lovely dark green with a glossy sheen. My leaves (often
pounded into a jelly or mixed with hot chili paste) grow in couplets, smaller on
top, broader on the bottom, and range from one half inch to over three inches
long. I'm not an easy pick as my growth is slow and you will fight thorny
branches to reach me. In tropical Thailand my tree is a fixture in every
countryside home. Often seen out on the town with lemon grass, together we
create a mean dtom yam, and often we don't get home 'til dawn. It's my scent
that the public craves making me essential in soups, salads, curries,
stir-fries, broth or stew. I am a secret ingredient in many fish dishes and I
provide an excellent texture, and great presentation. Cut me into slivers to
release my seriously tempting aromatic citrus flavor. The more you cut me the
stronger I get, until I eventually dominate everything I surround. Aside from
being spelled wrong on Culinary's "Weekly L.A. Hot List," I also have
many household uses. My uses include invigorating shampoos, insect repellents,
stain removers, as well as being a tooth and gum strengthener. So if you can
find me, don't leaf me behind. Get it? (9/24/99)
I am tired of being the bowl.
Cut off my head, scoop out my seeds, and fill me up with soup. This is often the
story of my life. Named after squirrel food due to my shape my skin can be
green, gold, white or variegated in green, yellow and orange. I am a shrubby;
creeping plant and my shape is conical with a pointed apex and longitudinally
grooved. Compared to my summer cousins I take a long time to grow, averaging
about 80 to 100 days. I am in the same family as the melon and cucumber and I am
believed to have wild origins in Central America, between Mexico and Guatemala
dating back over ten thousand years. Christopher Columbus is credited with
introducing my ancestors to Europe. My thin skin is very hard to peel so it is
usually left intact. My flesh will reveal a peppery hazelnut flavor that is
universally admired. In fact, when not being used as a bowl, you can just cut
me in half, drizzle some butter (tanning oil to me) on my flesh, then top with
honey, cinnamon, brown sugar, and/or nutmeg. Roast me for just under an hour
and I'll prove to you that bowls are better in plastic, paper or china. Don't
forget to cover me in the oven or my top layer will burn, and I never got along
well with aloe. While I am an excellent source of potassium and vitamin A, I
also contain vitamin C, folic acid and copper. (9/17/99)
I come from a large family of
over 100 species. I originated primarily in East Asian countries, and I am now
found growing from Ontario, Canada to Maine and from Michigan to Texas. In South
Carolina I was used during America's Civil War to spice up people's tea. Prior
to America's argument I was loved by and used by many Native Americans as both a
culinary and a medicinal item. The Ojibwa and Iroquois Indians used my leaves
and twigs to season meat and tea. The Cherokee and Iroquois used me as an herbal
steam. Although I am a bush, I grow as tall as 15 feet. I prefer moist
woodlands, and I love to grow along forest lanes. My pleasantly pungent, strong,
spicy aroma fills the forest and can be detected from a long way off. I have
tiny yellow flowers that have no petals, instead my flowers are spikes that
produce clusters of scrumptious bright red and oval shaped berries. But you
probably don't want to eat the berries straight from the bush because I'm to
fresh for you right off the bush. To tame this tart, cook me as you would a
spice. My rich oil is highly scented, leading some to use me in aromatic
therapy, as a medicine to ease cramps, and as a decongestant. The bark, leaves,
and twigs of my bush can be used as a substitute for Allspice. So you can
imagine my culinary uses are diverse. Because I am a spice my nutritional value
is little to none. But use me to spice up your food or your life, and you can be
certain to gain some wonderful medicinal side effect. Combined with paw paws I
am super in ice cream. (9/10/99)
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