Welcome to the April thru January '97 Archive !
The Produce Quiz Home Page
Produce Quiz --- What am I?
I am the Hercules of the cabbage
family, able to withstand frost and snow. (Kryptonite ain't nothing but I can't
leap tall buildings in a single bound... yet.) I am a staple winter vegetable,
especially in rural areas of Ireland where I am used in colcannon. Origianlly
cultivated in the Mediterranean region, I was an important crop in roman times
and a staple food among peasants during the Middle Ages. I am a sproutng plant,
and like broccoli or spring greens I'm heartless. I don't even have a head, I
just kinda hang out openly with curly, wavy, or toothed leaves. I am the
rainbow of colors ranging from reddish brown to bluish green, pink, white and
purple. As an adult I must be cooked to be digested, while my Peacock, and
Nagoya varieties are often picked young and used as salad compnents or in
mesclun's. I am so dammed pretty that I am often used just to line a plate,
platter, sidewalk, garden, or hedge. With a flavor reminiscent of cauliflower
and broccoli I can be braised, steamed, grilled, boiled, or stir-fried. I am
great with bacon, garlic and cheese. Vinegar or lemon juice will help retain my
color when cooked. (4/24/97)
I am a native of southwestern
Africa and like last weeks answer I am also a member of the cucumber family.
Introduced to New Zealand in 1930 and cultivated their for decorative purposes,
my popularity began to rise. I am about four inches long, two inches wide, and
weigh between one half pound and a pound. I have a spiky, brilliant,
gold/orange skin with emerald green flesh filled with edible seeds. I provide a
unique flavor combination of banana, watermelon, mango, pineapple, and cucumber.
Often my insides are trashed and my stunning shell is used as a service vessel
for salads, slaws, soups, or desserts. Sometimes my top is lopped off, my
innards are gutted and I am converted to barware. My strained liquid is an
excellent substitute for vinegar, or combined with a sweetener for a great
thirst quencher. My pulp is often added to sauces, soups, salads, sorbets,
yogurts, as well as eaten outy of hand. I am rich in vitamin C and I also
contain iron and potassium. (4/17/97)
I am a small mild gourd and a
member of the cucumber family. I am primarily grown in India and Malaysia which
is optimal because that is where I am mostly consumed. I am a wee three inches
long and never more than an inch and a half in diameter. (Good thing I'm not
your boyfriend!) My skin is green with paler green stripes. My flesh is moist
and crisp with many seeds that are edible. When I grow old I turn bitter,
didn't you? When I get bitter I turn red inside but my bitter cools off when
drowned in a hot curry. I am used as a pickle, a side dish, marinated in
salads, on crudite platters, in salsa, or Indian curries. I am fat free, low in
sodium and a good source of Vitamin A and C. (4/11/97)
I am a native to the Alps, but
me and my 50 relatives have been grown throughout Europe and the United States
as well. We are all sweet members of the parsley family. I am totally
consumable. From roots to seeds, and stem to leaves, there is always a use for
me. I have both medicinal and culinary properties. Before dinner I am used to
flavor the Vermouth in your martini. During dinner you might find my young
shoots blanched and added to your salad, or perhaps my ground roots would be
used as a dough instead of bread. In Greenland my foliage is eaten as a
vegetable. For dessert you'll find my crystallized stems on the cake or used
as the sweetener in stewed rhubarb or custards. After dinner my seeds are used
to flavor your aperitif if your drinking Chartreuse or Benedictine. Medicinally
I am used as an anti-inflammatory and I outsell Alka-Seltzer in China. Though
my name may imply it, I have yet to earn my wings. (4/3/97)
Once known as Cow Bitters, today
I am all but forgotten. In my heyday this was definitely my time of year. I've
been used as a bitter herb for the Passover Sedar and I've had Easter cakes
named after me but no one wants me anymore. I am a derivation of the Greek word
for immortality and so named because of the extended bloom of my yellow button
flower. As a perennial herb native to Europe my fern like leaves were once
believed to have great medicinal power, and even rubbed into meat. I was eaten
in the Spring to prevent Summer sickness, and used as a tea to relieve fever. I
had the distinct honor of being declared a Holy Herb in the 17th Century, but
the remedy days proved harmful. If you can find me I can be put to good use in
puddings, stuffing's, salads and omelets. Someday somebody will call me"
heirloom" and I'll be the most popular herb in the world Until then, Happy
Holidays.. (3/27/97)
I am the yellow/orange fruit of
the Eriobotrya japonica evergreen tree from the orient. Because I am not
confined to a tropical climate my coming out party is the first of all Spring
fruits, but my departure is first as well. I am pear shaped and three inches
long. If you judged me by my looks, I would be similar to an apricot and I
impart the flavor of almonds when used in jellies and jams. My flesh is pale
yellow and I have a mild, tart but sweet flavor. I have one to three large
seeds in my center. Keep me away from bruisers as they would have a field day
with me. I am cleanest when close to home. Originating in China I am also
grown in Japan, India, Central South America, and the United States. I am
poached in syrup, eaten out of hand, used in chicken and duck dishes, used in
fruit salads, dried or canned. I am an excellent source of vitamin A and low in
calories. (3/21/97)
They took me indoors, made me an
albino, and now I'm the most delicate of mushrooms. I've got this long
spaghetti-like stem and a dull snowy cap. Such is the life of cultivation. My
relatives are wild but their caps shine from orange to brown. Oh, how I miss
the sun. Anyway, I've got this cool crunchy texture and a mild, almost fruity
taste. I am a clean, easy compliment to fresh salads. In fact I'm always best
fresh. If ya gotta mess with me do it quick 'cause a lotta heat makes me real
tough and you won't want me 'round when that happens. Unlike my tanned woodsy
cousins I am available all year long and I always look exactly the same. I
provide a good source of vitamin D and small amounts of B-complex vitamins. I
can be eaten raw, bunched breaded and fried, used as a garnish, or stirfried.
(3/13/97)
I am the first seasoning whose
use was ever recorded. I date back as far as 3000B.C. Assyria. There is some
confusion about my place of birth. Some believe Africa, others say India. I
have been a popular mainstay in China for over 2000 years but I can't get
residency their, they still consider me a foreigner! I was brought to America
by African slaves and have since become very popular in southern cooking. I'm a
tall straight shooting annual, with egg shaped and deeply veined leaves,
blooming pink and white flowers. My capsules tend to burst when I'm ripe
making harvest impossible, so my pod is picked when I am green. I am popular
all over the world and used for both sweet and savory foods. Reccently I have
become popular blackened but I also regularly appear in white or brown. My
slightly sweet, nutty flavor is used in cookies, on bagels, breads, paste,
halvah, with noodles, or extracted as an oil. Because of my high oil content
(50%) I can turn rancid quickly. Take care of me! Keep me in an airtight
container and put me a a cool dark place. For this I'll give you three months.
In the refer I go for six months, and if you freeze my ass I'll hold out for
year. Although my name is often used to "open" doors, I've never seen
it work. (3/6/97)
My resistance to drought and
cold weather has made me a survivor for over fifteen million years. There is a
petrified forest named after me in Washington State that is estimated to be that
old. I am definately a nut, but sweet one that comes from the center of the
smelly inedible fruit of the greceful and slender maidenhair tree. Originally (
many say I was grown on sacred ground around sacred buddhist places) from China,
I am now found all over the world due to my incredible strength. To access my
soft pale yellow kernel you must first break open my hard shell, usually with a
nutcracker. Then I often get drowned in hot water to loosen my skin. When
cooked I turn green. With my mild flavor I can be eaten raw, grilled, roasted,
deep-fried, or in one pot dishes. I am a essential component of the famed "eight-
jelwlled" cuisine of China. My tree is ofted used as an ornamental and I
and often used at weddings in the Far East. I am available fresh in North
America in the fall. (2/27/97)
I am a plant of the genus Musa,
and though you would never know it, I am a perennial herb and grow a new tree
trunk every year. I die back to my roots after I have flowered and fruited.
According to Ochse I am the highest daily consumption fruit in the world. Known
for both cooking and eating types, my variation abound in tropical regions
where I am grown, but we're limited in temperate climates. My earliest written
record of cultivation is from India, dated back to the 6th century BC. The
Greeks began to enjoy my wonderful flavor when the army of Alexander the Great
noticed me in India in the 4th century BC. Already well established, I debuted
in China around 200 AD and was instantly acclaimed as exotic and rare. I had
arrived!! From here it was nothing but up. Disraeli, in 1831, called me the most
delicious thing in the world. In 1899 two American importers formed the United
Fruit Company, making me available and inexpensive around the globe. Some
republics are even named after me. What can I say, it makes us proud. Primarily
eaten out of hand, I am also used in interesting desserts, breads, candies, and
sauces. In the produce world I am used to ripen tomatoes, and avocados due to
the large amount of ethylene gas I produce. (2/20/97)
On your face and in the ground, I'm the most mistaken fruit around.
A nightshade berry is what I really am, But I would never get in a jam.
Shiny black, purple, canary, striated or white, I'm available year 'round with little fight.
Slice me, dice me, soak me in brine, Fry me, boil me, bake me up fine.
China's 5th century BC is to me be, My original home, not Indiaee. (poetic license)
My bods' shaped like a pear, With large purple flowers. When I blow out my air, I soak up oil for hours. (2/13/97)
Native to Asia, labored over in
Shanghai markets, I have been consumed for thousands of years. Most popular for
my shoots, my leaves, heart, and sweet stem juice are also edible. Some of my
cousins are used to make paper pulp or fertilizer. In spring, my shoots are
harvested when they pop out of the piled up dirt around me, about six inches
long. If left alone I can grow to a height of 98 feet tall. If harvested longer
than six inches I become tough, and if exposed to light I turn green and get
bitter. I can not be eaten raw as I contain hydro- cyanic acid, a bitter
poison. My skin contains slender sharp hairs that must be trimmed before
cooking. I am usually parboiled for an hour or more, then sliced, cooked and
additional five minutes in fresh water and then canned. Rarely am I used fresh,
but you can and I certainly wouldn't mind. I taste like.. well.. uh...
yasee...and... but...uh.. well.. I'm real sweet & crunchy! My "big"
leaves are actually used for wrapping food that is grilled, steamed or smoked.
Gee, I wonder what that could lead to? (2/6/97)
I am the fragrant fruit of the
Carica pentagona. Though closely related to the papaya my tree is smaller, but
I am taller and more slender. Originally from the lowland areas of Central and
South America, unitl recently I was only eaten locally. Rarely found in the
United States, I have found a home in parts of England and have been enjoyed
locally there. I am a five sided fruit with an edible skin. Starting pale
green, I ripen to a rich bright yellow from pointed tip to my blunt end, all ten
inches. Both my color and shape allow for beautiful slices to show off my pale,
moist, pink and juicy flesh. My flavor is a mild cross between banana and
pineapple, but some consider my scent to be that of strawberries. I have a
refreshing melon like texture and the softer I am the sweeter I eat. Though I
have been used for sorbet's, and sauces, I am best eaten out of hand or on fruit
plates. I have three times the amount papain as a papaya which makes me a very
good aid to digestion. I am also a good source of vitamins A and C. (1/30/97)
pieringtartsweetbakedsauteedfrizzle
d,stuffedpearlredwhiteyellowcreamedtorpedo,
peruvianburntdicedchoppedsweatedcured,
picklingshallotflowerfriedchivegreenlilyfamily,
globeboilingpowderflakescubesbreath, saltgroundscallionsodorcrygarlcloaf,
chiveblackdirt (1/23/97)
{ed. note: the above appeared as one continuous line, but has been broken up here to defeat wordwrapping in the middle of a full word.}
I am a member of the pea family.
Peruvians were so awed by my existence they buried pots of me along with their
mummified dead so they would have nourishment on their long journey to the
hereafter. First noticed by the Spaniards in South America, I was later spread
by Portuguese explorers to Africa. I was then planted in southern colonies of
North America by slaves from West Africa as their food crop. Today India and
China acccount for more than fifty percent of my production. I have a yellow
flower, a papery brown skin, and a thin, netted, tan colored pod. My flower
curves down to the ground and then dies forcing its point into the ground. It
is here where I am formed. Usually roasted, I am often drowned in a brine
solution prior to roasting, but sometimes I go right to the boiler,ouch! I am
rich in fat, protien, vitamin B, phosphorus, and iron. I am used in sweet and
savory dishes as an oil, a butter, in oriental dishes, in candy, as a sauce, or
as a paste. (1/16/97)
I am the fruit of a tree
belonging to the Laurel Family. I have three major family types, small thin
skinned, large bumpy skinned, and large leathery skinned. My color ranges from
light green to purplish black. My flesh is a pale yellow-green with a smooth,
rich flavor. I got my name from the Aztec name for testicle because my shape is
similar. I do ripen after harvesting, and perform quite well in a paper bag.
When cut, I will discolor rapidly, so use me fast or give me acid to retain my
color (and sanity). There is a myth that burying my one large pit in a dish I'm
used in will prevent my color form turning, but trust me, I need the acid. I
have 17 vitamins and minerals. A cup of me pureed contains 1,378 milligrams of
potassium and small amounts of sodium. But that same cup will zap you with 324
calories, of which 88% are as fat (monounsaturated). I am used in salads,
sauces, dips, and ocassionally a sauce for agave worms. (1/9/97)
In American style mustard, I am
what makes that golden yellow color. I am over 2000 years old but my flesh
still glows. Originally cultivated in India, China and the Middle East, I am
now grown in all the tropical regions of the world. In Biblical times I was
used to make perfume, and I have long been exploited for dye making purposes. I
was thought to be one of the ancient Persian yellow spices that were associated
with sun worship. Externally I look similar to my older Aunt Ginger, as we are
both underground rhizomes in the same family. I am milder mannered and
intenesly more colorful than those famous big hands. Some people call me Indian
saffron which is a farce. Though we color food the same, our flavors are
radically different. I am very popular in Indian dishes, considered, a mild
digestive and a remedy for liver ailments. I am used as a powder, ground,
dried, fresh, pickling agent, coloring agent, and popular in poultry, fish and
vegetable dishes. (1/2/97)
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