Welcome to the September thru December '96 Archive !
The Produce Quiz Home Page
Produce Quiz --- What am I?
In one form or another I am the
most popular fruit of the new year. Together, my relatives and I, comprise the
world's single largest fruit crop. My Family consists of over ten thousand
varieties! ( You can't possibly imagine what the family reunions are like. All
that inbreeding really shows.) My flavor and quality depend very much on the
area and the type of land I am grown on as well as sunshine, watering and how I
am harvested. I do not ripen after harvest. Indeed it was a prohibitionist who
first made me into juice, making communion significantly more sober. The dusty
film on my exterior that is often mistaken for pesticides is acctually an
natural waterproofing produced by my cells in or near my surface to prevent my
skin from cracking. I come in green, red, purple, and black and run the gambit
of all shades in between. I am sweet and tart, seedless, and seeded. I am used
as an oil, a drink, a vessel christener, a souring agent (in Europe prior to
vinegar), a snack, a friend on a lonely cold night, a syrup, a liquid for
celebration, jellies, jams, life savers, cereals, and numerous baked goods. I
am "sour". I am the "wrath". (12/26/96)
I'm nuts. I'm native American.
I'm over seventy percent fat. (we won't even begin to discuss the blood pressure
and cholesterol levels.) My name come from an Algonquian word meaning "tough
nut to crack". My trees prefer temperate climates and are widely grown in
Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas, and as far north as Virginia. I was a staple food
of native Americans dating back to 1528. My hard thin shell averages about one
inch in legnth. I am golden brown on the outside and beige in the middle.
Other than fat (which probably accounts for my great taste) I am a good source
of protein and fiber. I also contain some iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium,
and B vitamins. I am used for eating out of hand, in sweet and savory dishes,
but probably most famous for stuffing, cookies, and pies. (12/19/96)
I am not a papaya! I am a member
of the Anona family (the only temperate member) and only remotely connected to
the papaya due to similar sounding names. I am not tropical! In fact, I am
the largest edible fruit that is native to the United States. Boone and Twain
were fans of mine. McCoy's were tied to my bark and executed. I even have my
own Foundation with over 300 members. I am native to 25 States in the U.S.
ranging from northern Florida to Ontario (Canada) and as far west as Nebraska.
I have an oblong shape, like a small potato, with green skin. I grow singly or
in clusters of up to nine. My clusters resemble that of a tropical banana
plant. This, along with my very sweet taste combining banana, mango, and
pineapple, have led to the nicknames, "Kentucky Banana" or "poor
man's banana". Historically I have been used for making brandy, but I'm
best used in purees, ice creams, custards, cookies, yogurts, and of course out
of hand. I produce natural defense compounds (annonaceous acetogenins) in my
leaf, bark and twig tissues that are being researched for anti- cancer drugs and
natural pesticides. (12/12/96)
My family is famous for their
perfume, thought to have originated in Persia or Media, but was cultivated in
the West as early as 300 B.C. I am the family freak! I was originated in China
in the 4th Century AD. I have the finest perfume of them all and I was
considered a symbol of happiness. My lobes are so special that I was the one
placed in household alters, not those lumpy etrog's. As an everblooming shrub
with a holy name I even found work in Japan, and was valued as a ornamental
throughout the Orient. Like my relatives I am rarely eaten fresh, rather
candied or crystallized and usually used in cakes and confectionary. My pulp is
way sour, my peel is greenish yellow and my flesh is very pithy. We are also
the base for the liqueur Cedratine. (12/5/96)
I am a brassica. I am a salad
green. I am a seed. I am a condiment. I am a powder. I am an oil. Medically I
have been known to cure the common cold. My name comes from a mixture of Roman
words meaning unfermented grape juice and burning wine. I was eaten by
prehistoric man and spread throughout the world by Romans. As a spice, I am
second in global usage only to pepper. Some people think I come standard in a
Rolls Royce, but that's just those crazy advertising mogols taking advantage of
my extremely good taste. When I'm moody and crushed I can be real hot, you will
see my dark side, its downright black! In one form or another I can be used in
anything and everything savory. In America I hail as a major component of a
ballgame favorite. To my knowledge I have never been "cut".
(11/28/96)
I am a member of the mint
family, and you're not!! My name is derived from the Latin "salvus,"
meaning "safe," a reference to my believed healing powers. Greeks,
Romans, and Arabs used me as a general tonic, for snakebites, to clean teeth,
for improved memory. and to alleviate grief. I have also been known to increase
fertility, and my rosmarinic acid is used to stop perspiration. My
camphoraceous oil, consisting of 50% thujone is hallucinogenic and addictive in
excess (but so are Chinese dumplings). I have a much stronger scent when dried.
I am used in teas, veal, liver, sausages, fish, stuffing, advice, tomato based
sauces, and salads. My flowers make a beautiful garnish. (11/21/96)
Although my juice was used for
making lozenges to alleviate chest complaints, I am not well known in the West.
I am the fruit of a small spiny tree originally grown in China. I am now grown
in mid-temperate, dry areas of both hemispheres and cultivated in China, Japan,
Afghanistan, and areas of the Mediterranean. I am an olive sized fruit with
leathery skin. Depending on my variety I can be either red or white. I can be
eaten fresh, but I am most often candied. In fact, there is a candy named after
me, but there is none of me in it! Frankly I feel this is fraud but those
powerfull candy lobby folks, well, you get the picture. Sometimes the liquid is
sucked out of me and I imitate a date. I am used in sweet and savory dishes by
Chinese cooks. I've been boiled with millet and rice, stewed, baked, dried and
used in breads, and turned into glace' fruits. I am a feature ( soon to appear
in Vegas) ingredient (along with red bean paste, raisins, and other ingredients)
in the well known Chinese dish called Eight Treasure Rice Pudding. (11/15/96)
I am perhaps best known as a
crayon color. My red-orange skin is similiar in shape and pulp to a tomato. My
creamy, tangy, sweet flavor is a cross between a plum and a pumpkin. I have
several brothers and sisters, some soft, others firm. Depending on their tannin
levels they must be eaten ripe, (or you would be better off eating the crayon).
I love to cuddle with my family in a paper bag kept warm. Native to China and
Japan, I also grew wild in Virginia and was used as a valuable food to early
settlers. Containing good amounts of vitamin A and C, I am used in puddings,
baked goods, and game sauces. I can be frozen whole (which removes any traces
of tannin), thawed slightly, and used as a frozen dessert. I am deciduously
delicious! (11/7/96)
I am a root vegetable in the
mustard family. I have little nutritive value but it is believed that I
stimulate appetite. I was grown by the Egyptians in about 2780 BC, when they
were included in the rations given to the workers on the Great Pyramid. My
nutlike root ranges in exterior color from white, red and white, through yellow,
purple, and black and I have a white crunchy inside. I can be round, oval,
elongated, and can weigh a couple of ounces or well over fifty pounds. I am
used in salads, as a garnish, cooked in soups, or carved into flowers or
butterflies. My leaves and seedlings are often eaten cooked, and my sprouts
have recently become a popular fresh ingredient. (10/31/96)
Grown in hot regions all over the
world, I am the most popular of all tropical fruits. Carib Indians hung me
whole or a crown of my leaves above the entrance to their huts as a sign of
welcome and a promise of food and drink. I am native to the lowlands of Brazil,
and spread throughout the world easily propagated by cuttings. I have dwarf
siblings whose core is completely edible, and I have monster parents who weigh
over eleven pounds. If you want me sweet you better pick me ripe because I have
no reserve of starch to turn to sugar. I can be used fresh, sauteed, broiled,
grilled, frozen, canned, or juiced. I am famous as a cake and in fruit salads.
I have been used as a sore throat remedy and a meat tenderizer and I am object
of art, in furniture, floors, jewelry, and paintings. (10/24/96)
Resembling an orange, cellular
differences make me not a true citrus as I am a member of the genus Fortunella.
In fact, my genus is named after Robert Fortune, who introduced me to Europe in
1846. Native to South-East China, I am also grown in the United States and
Japan. My golden skin is thin, soft and sweet so I am eaten whole, even with my
rather dry, sour pulp. I am no more than an inch and a half in diameter. In
Western countries an entire plant of me was placed on the table at fashionable
dinners for palette cleansing between courses. Other than being eaten out of
hand, and in salads, I am preserved in honey, ccandied, syruped, maramladed, or
as garnish. (10/16/96)
I am a root. A sweet "huMAN
shaped" root. It has been said of me, that the more I resemble a man, the
greater are my powers. I have been credited for centuries with being everything
from an aphrodisiac to a treatment for high blood pressure. Although some
criticize my regular use with an "abuse syndrome", most agree I am a
stimulant of well being and increased motor and cognitive functions. When
sundried I am referred to as white, but when steamed and heat dried I am
referred to as red. I am both wild and cultivated, but my wild variety is twice
as potent and I'm gonna cost ya 'bout twice as much! In the United States
(ain't this just like the new world?) 90 % of my crop is exported, yet 90% of
the product used in the states is imported. I am truly the chinese wonder root.
My most popular use is powdered in tea. (10/10/96)
Native to the Middle East my
name comes from the Greek meaning finger, after the shape of my fruit. Nomadic
tribes took me to the Sahara and the Moors brought me to North Africa and Spain.
Spanish Missionaries brought me to California. In our family, the mans flower
grows on a different tree than the woman's, and the female flower emits no scent
to attract insects. Humans actually collect the pollen from the men and gently
blow it on the female pods. After our boys are drained and our girls are blown,
a paper bag is put over the ladies pods to generate heat and make sure the
pollen does not blow away. When our ladies bear fruit a fruit stalk is tied to
one of their lower leaves and a paper parasol wrapping is used to protect our
fruit. Exhausting, isn't it? My average fruit contains 24 calories. I am rich
in folic acid and fiber. I contain no sodium or fat. I am also cholesterol
free. My skin is thin and papery and my flesh is cloyingly sweet. I am
harvested green and unripe but I turn yellow, golden brown, black, or mahogany
red when ripe. I am great stuffed, rolled, in cakes, or plain. (10/3/96)
Ok, Ok! I admit it. I am
bitter, especially in the long hot summer, but isn't everybody? Bitter yes, but
that's no reason to tie me up with string or a ribber band, now is it?
Sometimes I even get a bucket stuck on my head! Can you imagine? There oughta
be a law!! I am an annual, beautiful ground plant dating back at least to
ancient Egypt and possibly used as bitter herbs at the Passover Seder. I have
curly slender leaves that range in color from yellow-white to yellow-green. I am
large,loose, open headed,feathery light,and add beauty to any dish. I am
primarily used in salads, but taste delicious in a saute' or by myself. I'm not
real sure, but if compared side by side there might have been a hairstyle named
after me. (9/26/96)
Acording to the Romans (who
called us diamond-makers) consumption of us was rumored to enhance a diner's
mental agility, but Mark Antony chewed on us for days to assure victory at the
battle of Actium, so go figure. We have been described as old mens legs with
clenched green fists clinging to them, and for the record we are seriously
offended. Others have said we are two of the three vegetables grown in Britain
and this is just silly. Originally cultivated in the 16th century, we are
members of the cabbage family. We are high in vitamins A and C, potassium, and
iron. We also contain folic acid which is said to protect against cervical
cancer and some birth defects. We are best boiled or steamed, adding butter,
chestnuts, bacon bits, poppy seeds, sour cream, cheese, or white sauce. Some
crazies even scoop out our centers and insert tiny fish eggs. The nerve!
(9/19/96)
Once used in love potions and
to perfume wealthy Romans, I come from a tropical evergreen tree. In the middle
ages I was all the rage for those who could afford me. Thanks to the Dutch I
got top billing in Europe. I am sold as a curled stick from my bark or a
powder, and my pods produce and oil used medicinally or for flavoring. I am
native to Sri Lanka, southern India, and the West Indies. I am used in
everything, but my favorite places are buns, chocolates, coffees, ice-creams,
and anything apple. I have two main varieties, but my flavor fads fast so don't
get stick with me! (9/12/96)
I am an apple. Traditionally I
am harvested from a wild apple tree. My tree has a fragrant pink and white
blossom. I am so beautiful I am often found in gardens and orchards. My color
can be yellow, red, or greenish red, depending on my tree variety. My fruit is
no more than one inch in diameter with a large proportion of core to flesh. You
can eat me raw, but I am mouth-puckeringly tart. I am usually available in the
fall. I make brilliant, clear, jewel-like jellies, best eaten with hot toast or
scones. As an herbal jelly I am an excellent and unusual compliment to serve
with meats such as pork or pheasant. (9/5/96)
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