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Produce Quiz --- What am I?
An ancient flavoring used by the
Aztecs, I was even once considered an aphrodisiac reserved for royalty. I am
still quite valuable, since I can only be picked from a single type of flower
that is painstakingly fertilized. In fact, my climbing vine’s flower is
the only one of my 20,000-member family that bears anything edible. An unripe
fruit, you won’t be attracted to my pod until after I’m cured: I get
picked , dropped in boiling water, then I am alternately sun bathed and sweat
wrapped in a blanket; before I’m dried and stored. Once you experience me
in this fermented form, you’ll want me bad and want me pure, whether whole
or processed. My synthetic processed products, though more affordable and
widely used can’t match my flavor and aroma, plus many are made from wood
pulp. Whole, I can be reused several times to impart flavor. Cut and scraped,
you’ll enjoy my flavor in ice cream, pudding, candy and liqueurs. I’m
a tonic, antiseptic, digestive and stimulant, but don’t overindulge or you’ll
get a tummy ache. I’m not at all plain like they say, but quite seductive
and intoxicating. Think of me as a long thin lady, perfumed in a sparkled long
dark gown. (4/28/00)
I'm a 1-2 centimeter drupe on an
annual herb, but don't let my hard heart put you off; it's edible too. You can
forage for me, if you know where to look, and you'll get me easiest by just
shaking my stem and letting me fall to the ground I'm already black and blue.
I'm wild and a rare find since you can't propagate, transplant or cultivate me.
My summer harvest size is unpredictable since it depends on nature, soil,
rainfall, frost, and sunlight, and when in low supply, watch out for hungry
bears. Purists will insist that only my Northeast U.S. black and dangle types
are the real things, but many bear my name in the western states with larger
harvests of red, blue, Californian, squaw, Mountain, big or hairy. Remarkably
juicy, with a rich, spicy and sweet flavor, you'll find me most often frozen or
made into juice, pies and preserves. I have vitamins C and B. If you've never
seen or eaten me fresh, you've missed a real delicacy, but you'll know my name.
My bloodhound namesake was the first animated series to win an Emmy. An
American classic gave my name to a barefoot boy. And, you'll even find me in
the song, Moon River. (4/20/00)
I first gained fame in 1850 when
I helped save Brussels from famine. My common name comes from a relative's
Latin surname and we both share a Latin first name. Members of the Composite
family, our names have been interchanged through the years, but only I have a
Flemish name and have been called white gold. I am an herb an it is my complex
cultivated form that is a delicacy -- they cut off my head, hide me in the dark,
and wait for my second growth. Usually a slender blonde, I'm 4-8 inches long and
2 inches in diameter. Enjoy my mild bitter sweet taste fresh in salads or
stuffed. Braised or gratinéed, I am excellent just with butter or in
recipes with cured meats. When crossed with Radicchio, I'm red-tipped and
milder, but will lose my flavor if cooked. My roots are a substitute for
coffee, but commonly go by that other name. I stimulate the appetite, cleanse
the intestines, aid digestion, and contain folic acid, potassium, and vitamin C.
During the 1988 Iowa caucus, presidential hopeful Michael Dukakis was derided
for suggesting me as an alternative crop for American farmers. (4/14/00)
Long a European favorite, I have
grown in the forest for as long as the trees. I can grow quite large, up to six
inches high, weighing close to half a pound, but usually, I'm closer to half
that size, with some of my family being only a few ounces. Don't try to
cultivate my friendship, I can only be handpicked, usually summer through late
winter. Some say I smell woodsy and of apricot; my flavors are all exquisite,
from pleasantly mild to flowery or nutty. My name refers to my entire family,
but is often applied only to the most favored golden child, amongst the many
colors I wear. I have a very particular shape, but don't blow me. You'll want me
firm, plump, smooth, clean and unbroken. All of me is edible and I retain my
firm texture when cooked. Enjoy me fresh or cook me with my best
friends--chicken and other light meats, cream, starches and grains. You'll love
me simply simmered in butter. I also make a wonderful sauté, stuffing,
sauce or side dish. Only some of us are good dried, since many of us won't
reconstitute well. Look closely and don't confuse me with a look-alike,
poisonous Jack O'Lantern in North America. I'm very low in calories, mostly
protein and carbohydrates, with traces of vitamins and minerals. A Pyrenees dog
breed, wildflowers, restaurants, and the first string of a violin share my name.
(4/7/00)
A native of Europe, I'm over
3,000 years old and still planted and harvested mostly by hand. A hardy
perennial herb, I'm a member of the mustard family, spreading like a weed and
growing 2 feet tall. My young leaves can be eaten in salad, but I'm known for my
thick white root, which is nearly cylindrical, somewhat enlarged at the crown.
My name refers to my large size, coarseness, and strength. I'm mild and
unassuming until you break my skin; with age, I darken and lose my power.
Pungent, with a hot, biting taste, I bring tears to the eyes, and clarity to the
sinuses. The Delphic oracle told Apollo: "The radish is worth its weight
in lead, the beet its weight in silver, [and I, my] weight in gold." One
of the five bitter herbs Jews were told to eat at Passover Seder, I was used
medicinally for ages before becoming a condiment. A stimulant, aperient,
rubefacient, diuretic, and antiseptic, I'm most delightful along with meats and
seafood. I'm low in sodium, high in fiber, and fat free. I wore the H.J. Heinz
Co. label in 1870, six years before their world-famous tomato ketchup. I'm also
required on Dagwood Bumstead's sandwiches in the Blondie comics. If you still
don't know me, visit Illinois where they produce 60% of my world's supply.
(3/31/00)
In Ancient Greece, when Daphne
begged the gods to protect her from the amorous Apollo, they turned her into my
tree -- sweet, noble and true. Indigenous to the Mediterranean basin, but
originally from Asia Minor, my tender perennial evergreen is a member of the
avocado family and grows to 10-20 feet with clusters of tiny greenish yellow
flowers that produce shiny blue-black berries. I am oval, smooth, firm, glossy
dark and about 2-4 inches long. Recently seen fresh, but usually dried, you
love my strong flavor and aroma, but only if you drop me in, then pull me out,
before you eat whatever I'm flavoring -- sauces, soups, stews, meat, poultry,
fish, vegetables, legumes, pates, marinades. My volatile oil is cineole and is
popular in liquors, colognes, and aftershaves. An indispensable seasoning since
the 1st century AD, I am antiseptic, digestive, expectorant, and antirheumatic.
I'm good for stress reduction, wound disinfectant, and for vericose veins.
I'll live for a long time, sealed and hidden in the dark, but when I get old and
impotent, please be kind and discard me. You may not know that when crushed, I
repel cockroaches; whole, I will keep weevils out of your dried goods. Without
me, you wouldn't have bouquet garni, an Old shellfish boil, a Nobel or poet
laureate. (3/24/00)
There are more than a thousand
varieties in my family. A child of the seventies, I'm American born and bred,
but I've settled-in worldwide. My mother was English and my father was Chinese,
originally from the Mediterranean. I got my mama's sweetness and plumpness, and
my father's skin. I grow on a herbaceous annual plant with weak, hollow stems
and can climb as high as 8 feet. If you pick my flowers, I'll never form.
You'll value eating all of me, because my seed hull lacks the stiff papery
parchment that is not edible on my mother's side of the family. I grow in
cooler climates, so please leave my jacket on. Firm, smooth, crisp, 2 to 3
inches long -- select me when I'm fully turgid, but before I bulge; and eat me
right away, before my seeds turn starchy. You'll enjoy me topped and tailed and
always unstrung, eaten raw or lightly cooked. Like many legumes, I am a
high-energy food source, but if large quantities are consumed, I'll cause
flatulence. I'll add vitamins A and C, iron, niacin and fiber to your diet.
Some of my varieties are even resistant to powdery mildew disease. The child of
two cultures, I'm unique, but sometimes suffer an identity crisis with others of
my father's family. (3/16/00)
A native of the New World, I was
introduced to Europe at the beginning of the sixteenth century and am now also
naturalized in parts of the Mediterranean, Africa, Asia, and Australia. My
plant produces a fruit and me, a vegetable. You may call me by my spanish name,
but I am usually sold under a botanically incorrect term, as I am actually the
tender oval pads or new growth joints of my plant's stem. I'm crisp, with a
slipperiness like okra and a flavor like green pepper, string beans and
asparagus, with a tangy edge. I'm around from early spring to late fall, but I
peak in mid-spring. Buy me bright and firm, then remove any prickers or eyes
before you chop, dice or slice me. Serve me raw or cooked -- steam, saute, or
add me to soup or stew. My plant was named the state fruit/vegetable by Texas
in 1995 and I'm a favorite food of the kangaroo rat. Acitrones are me, candied,
packed in sugar syrup, and available in cans or jars. I have large amounts of
vitamins A and C, as well as B and iron and my mucilage is valued by the
cosmetics and medical industries. You used to have to go "South of the
border, down Mexico way . . ." as an old song says, to enjoy these.
(3/10/00)
I've gone from growing wild, to
slave plantations, to industrial production. A perennial grass, I am grown in
about 80 countries in the tropics and subtropics and can grow from 6 to 23 feet
in height. My cut shoots are 1 - 2 inches in diameter. I am first documented
in India in 1000 BC. Early on, I was used in medicine; Dioscorides, a
first-century Greek physician, considered me "worth my weight in silver."
You'll find me mentioned by Jeremiah, Ezekial and Isaiah in the Old Testament.
Europeans viewed me as a fabulous food and expensive medicine brought through
deserts to their ports. In fact, in 966, Venice's fate and fortune were founded
on me and on the trade of silks and spices. My most popular output is -- cut;
crushed for my juice which is extracted with water; purified, concentrated by
evaporation, and crystallized. In ancient times, you might have chewed me, or in
an Arab harem, made me into a depilatory. For nouveau cuisine, cook me as a
skewer for shrimp. Raw, I am 96-99% sucrose. Originally a rare and valuable
plant, I became so popular that by 1979 there were more of my products produced
than could be consumed. Today, ecologists propose my juice as an alternative
food source for pigs and poultry, and scientists are mapping my DNA to help
understand plant genes. In gourmet markets you can find me gassed and swizzled.
(3/2/00)
Famous English sea captains,
like Cook, were my early proponents. My seedlings survived two documented sea
voyages before being transplanted from Tahiti to the West Indies. Today, my
massive tree offers shade and subsistence to many in the Pacific Islands, the
Caribbean, and Brazil. Although most parts of my plant have value, my fruit is
quite unusual in appearance, texture, and taste. The slaves I was sent to
sustain, fed me to animals for decades before accepting me. You could say I'm
thin-skinned about my appearance, and my rind is rough with hard, bumpy
protrusions. I'm rounded and green, turning brown to yellow as I ripen,
averaging 8 inches in diameter and weighing 2-5 pounds. When green, I am hard
like a raw potato; slightly ripe, I resemble eggplant and partly baked dough,
fully ripened, my flesh is rather sweet and tacky, creamy, runny, or tender. I'm
20% starch, so cook me like a white or sweet potato; my cooked texture is like a
sticky potato mixed with plantain. I have a bland, slightly musky, fruity
flavor. Despite my seedlings' early sea voyage, I do not transport well. I'm
primarily used as a vegetable, not a fruit or a baked good, despite my name. If
I could talk, I'd also tell a famous tale of mutiny, where it took all my
signficant amounts of fiber to survive. The bits of vitamin C and folic acid
didn't hurt either. (2/24/00)
I am a Mediterranean cultivated
creature. In Greek mythology, Venus transformed me, a favorite priestess, into
a plant to preserve me from an unstoppable admirer. My branches adorned Venus'
brow when Paris awarded her the golden apple. Even the Romans displayed me at
special occasions. I'm an herb of love and fertility, so brides weave me into
wreaths and bouquets. My leaves are shiny, small and dark green with a sweet,
spicy, citrus smell. My flowers are pure white and I have dark blue berries.
Potpourri can include my fragrant dried flowers and leaves. An evergreen often
used in decorative gardening, I can grow 8-10 feet tall, so you may not know
about my culinary characteristics. My dried fruits, leaves, and flower buds are
used to flavor meats, poultry, sauces, liqueurs, and syrups. Italians eat my
flower buds, but not the bitter green part. Try a branch of me under roast pork
or on barbecues when grilling lamb. Homeopathically, I am astringent and
antiseptic. You might know my name from the spreading ground cover in your
yard, an old aunt's name, or you might enjoy my sand and surf in South Carolina.
(2/18/00)
Ancient and Asian, I'm larger
and more revered than my western counterparts, and my long, white (sometimes
green-shouldered), shape distinguishes me from American and European varieties.
My earliest existence is documented in archeological remains of northern China;
it's believed that I traveled westward following the path of human migrations.
I was introduced to Japan only one thousand years ago and am now the country's
most widely grown vegetable. In England, in the Middle Ages, I was prescribed as
a remedy for "woman's chatter" and depression. Early on, sailors ate
me to prevent scurvy and as a remedy for colds. In addition to lots of vitamin
C, I have only 10 calories per half cup. Raw, I'm fresh and snappy, with a
juicy crispness; I can be sweet and mild to fairly hot and pungent. Peel me
like a carrot, cook me like a turnip, grate me or foam me, pickle me, or carve
me into decorative shapes. I'm loved in tempura dipping sauces, with sushi, or
call me Mooli and cook me in Indian food. You may use my black Spanish relative
because he's the same size and shape, but only I can be gift-wrapped as a token
of esteem in Japan. (2/11/00)
Of ancient origin, Marco Polo
might have enjoyed me at street vendors when he visited Kubla Khan in the
thirteenth century. In the beginning, I was at the start of our evolution -- I
am a loose-headed variety, then came the semi-headed, the fluffy-headed, then
the headed. A Chinese favorite, I am a cool-weather crop only recently grown in
the west. I'm a delicate creature, whether you find me partially or classically
prostrate. My leaves are crepe-like or puckered and borne on narrow leaf stalks;
my midribs are small. The contrast of my dark green (almost black) leaves with
my light stalks makes for a special beauty. My round soft leaves fold convexly,
making some say my shape resembles a rose; indeed, my latin name ends in
rosularis, but I don't flower. When used individually or in clusters of four
or five, I look like I'm related to a mustard or cress or a Chinese soup spoon,
but I'm not. Whether you use me in a salad, a soup, or cooked as a vegetable,
you'll love my delicate flavor, similar to bok choy, but with twice the mineral
content of pak choi. My baby is sweet and a foundation for mesclun mixes. You
know me best by my Japanese name, which rhymes with, but shouldn't be confused
with, choy and choi. (2/4/00)
A native of southeastern China,
I am also very common in Vietnam and central Asia. My Chinese name means eight
points. Late in the sixteenth century, Europeans actually used me widely as
bait in mousetraps, leading to my latin name "Illicium," meaning lure
or bait. I grow on an evergreen tree of the magnolia family and my pretty
reddish-brown woody fruit is picked prior to ripening, then sun-dried. Each of
my fruits' points contains an oval seed with longitudinal ridges. Chewing my
seeds freshens your breath with a licorice-like taste. In addition to being used
in oriental cuisine, I flavor liqueurs, chewing gum, and confections. I'm very
familiar in a famous spice mixture -- ground-up with four other spices,
specifically fagara, cinnamon or cassia, fennel seeds and cloves, along with
cardamom, dried ginger or licorice root -- where my pungent, sweet flavor
dominates the powder. I am said to be diuretic, carminative, stomachic,
antispasmodic, digestive, and expectorant, and a stimulant, so use me to tone up
the heart, stimulate digestion, combat flatulence, and soothe coughs and asthma.
My essential oil contains anethole, a substance also found in fennel (whose
seeds taste similar to mine). Thousands of years old, I am, perhaps best
recognized for my shape, but there's never been a sidewalk ceremony for me.
(1/28/00)
Judas died in my presence. Not
actually mine, but my ancestors were there. Actually they were there first,
doing their thing on a elder tree when all of a sudden a huge weight was seen
dangling from a thick branch. They say that's how we got our name, but I'm just
glad my relatives weren't shaken to the ground. I guess our short stalk paid
off. When we are not fearing for our lives, our gelatinous yet firm translucent
brownish beige flesh can be found growing on the trunks of beech, walnut, and of
course elder trees. We are very organized about our growth and as such, we
arrange ourselves in rows or tiers. My outer surface is covered with downy
hairs and my inner surface is shiny, satiny soft, but wrinkled. Sometimes our
looks are compared to those funky fleshy protrusions on a human head, but I
think we have much more character than that. We are known for our texture and
color. Our flavor is so mild it lacks distinction, but we thrive on absorbing
other flavors. Popular both dried or fresh we are an excellent addition to most
foods, as we only require a few minutes of heat. Excellent in soups; combined
with any members of the allium family; blanched, fried, or boiled; in pastas,
salads, stews or tea. We are rich in iron, potassium and magnesium. We are
currently being studied for our effects on the blood and may prove helpful in
controlling heart attacks and strokes.
My "b" became a "v"
for no particular reason, and we have always suspected the Romans who wanted to
change everything and make it their own. Originating in the Mediterranean region
and South West Asia, today you will find me thriving in the fields of over fifty
countries, which is no surprise as I am one of the oldest food plants. My
earliest remains on record date back to the Neolithic period (6800-6500 BC).
China remains my largest region of cultivation. My erect, hardy, annual plant
has created terror and joy throughout the centuries. While Egyptian leaders
used me as offerings to the gods, Egyptian priests feared my hollow stems. I
remain a reminder of rebirth and new life and take great pride in being a global
staple from early civilizations to the present. Only the potato can rival my
popularity, and that has been very recent, say, the last 200 years. I am a
pulse in the vetch family. My thick green skin reveals a white pith-like
interior, which provide protection for my green, brown or sometimes red seeds.
Dried or fresh, we have numerous uses, but other than our very young, don't eat
us raw, it's a hard way to discover my potential toxins. We are broad based and
cary the nicknames of Horse, Tick or Windsor. I'm not all good: I am
responsible for an haemolytic anaemia "ism" that affects over 100
million people who suffer from an inborn metabolic enzyme deficiency that
creates a great challenge in dealing with my digestion. You will find me ground
into flours, steamed, or sautéed fresh with bacon or ham, in cassoulets,
dried in soups, or as Hannibal likes them, eaten with liver and Chianti. I am a
good source of protein and carbohydrates while being low in fat. I also contain
carotenes and vitamin C. (1/14/00)
I am probably most famous as a
stick, although I have recently been seen in Buffalo with chicken parts. It all
started when my wild ancestors were cultivated in the 16th century. Long
considered a powerful aphrodisiac, my leaves were used by the Greeks to adorn
the crown presented to victorious athletes. These stars also drank my wine.
The Romans used me as a seasoning and as an elixir to aide digestion and soothe
arthritic pain. Medieval magicians put my seeds in their shoes, hoping they
would help them fly, but regretfully they did not. I am a fleshy, ribbed stalk
that ranges in color from blanched white to dark green. My stalk, that can grow
up to 16 inches, is my most popular part, but my leaves, seeds, and roots also
are used. My most popular variety was cultivated in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in
1874. I was introduced to many consumers at local Michigan train stations,
where I was handed out to passengers for free. In 1960 at Chicago's Ambassador
East Hotel, I gained fame and recognition with bartenders. In 1897, I was
featured as a muscle relaxer in the Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog. Today,
scientists believe that eating two of me a day will help reduce blood pressure.
My crunch is created by the collapse of my numerous air filled cells. In the
United States over two billion pounds of us are harvested annually. The average
person consumes about 8 pounds of me a year. I am an excellent source of
potassium and a good source of vitamin C, folic acid and vitamin B6. (1/7/00)
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