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| Cranberry |
Cranberries grow on vines in boggy areas. Cranberries were first cultivated
in Massachusetts around 1815 and are only one of three major native North
American fruits. Some cranberry beds have been around for over 100 years.
Most of the U.S. cranberry crop is grown in only five states: Massachusetts,
Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington. Each year, more than
110,000 metric tons of cranberries are produced in the United States. Most
cranberries are harvested by machine, but machines damage the berry.
Damaged berries are not suitable to sell fresh but work well for juices,
jellies, and other products. More than one-third of the cranberries grown in
the United States are made into juice. Fresh whole berries may be
purchased, but are often expensive because they have to be hand-picked to
avoid the damage caused by machine-picking.
Native Americans used cranberries for both their medicinal and natural
preservative powers. They brewed cranberry mixtures to draw poison from
arrow wounds. They also pounded cranberries into a paste and mixed the
paste with dried meat to extend the life of the meat.
The name cranberry was given to this plant because the Pilgrims believed the
plant looked like the head of a sandhill crane and was originally named
“craneberry.” Over time, the “e” was dropped.
Read More Cranberry Recipes and Nutrition Facts-E Book
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| Banana |
Bananas are the most popular
fresh fruit in the World.
They have a peel that comes off
easily, they ripen after they've
been picked, there is a generous
supply all year, and they are
inexpensive. Bananas have both a
high amount of carbohydrates as
well as potassium, which also
makes them the fruit of choice
for many athletes.
(Wellness Encyclopedia of Food
and Nutrition, 1992).
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| Pears |
Pears (Pyrus communis) are a pome fruit relative of the apple. One of the
earliest written histories or records comes from Homer's reference to them
as "Gifts from the Gods." The first pears arrived in the United States by
European settlers in the 1700s. Pears rank second to the apple as the most
popular US fruit. They can be eaten and used in a lot of the same ways as
the apple. One distinct feature of the pear besides the shape is the soft
texture. This soft texture is the result of the starch converting to sugar
after being picked from a tree to ripen. (Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and
Nutrition, 1992).
The very shape of a pear speaks of its luscious nature. When ripe and ready
to eat, the pear has a honeyed flavor and beckoning perfume that bewitch
your senses. There are more than 3000 known varieties in the world. US
production comes from states in the Northwest, plus New York,
Pennsylvania, Michigan, and California. Imports come from South America,
Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.
With the numerous varieties and extended growing seasons, pears of all
sizes and colors are available year-round.
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| Peaches |
The peach is a member of the rose family. It was first cultivated in China
and revered as a symbol of longevity. The image was placed on pottery and
received as a gift with great esteem. Travelers along caravan routes carried
the peach seed to Persia before it was cultivated in Europe. In the early
1600s Spanish explorers brought it to the New World and by the 1700s
missionaries had established peaches in California.
Varieties
Peaches are available almost all year. The season dictates the variety. Semi-
freestones (Queencrest) are early season late April to June. In mid-June
the market shifts to freestone (Elegant Lady) or clingstone. On the off
seasons peaches are imported into the U.S. from Chile and Mexico. Fresh
varieties are sold as freestone while clingstone is usually used for canning.
The fruit inside these peaches is either yellow or white. The white flesh is a
"sub-acid" fruit its flavor is more sugary sweet. The more traditional color is
yellow. It's more acidic, which does give it a bit more flavor. Half of the
United States crop comes from the South and the other half from
California. The United States also produces 25% of the total world market
(THE PACKER 1999).
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| Pineapple |
The word "Pineapple," is derived from the
word pina, which was used to describe a
pine cone by the Spanish. Later, it was
introduced to the Hawaiian Islands which
are now the leading producers of this
fruit. Today, in the United States the
pineapple can be marketed as fresh or
canned and it is most widely used as
tropical canned fruit in recipes. (Wellness
Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition, 1992)
Varieties
There are four types of pineapples mainly
found in the marketplace. These include
the Gold, smooth Cayenne, Red Spanish and
Sugar Loaf. They are sold fresh and
canned and all have a sweet flavor. The
Gold variety features an extra sweet
flavor, golden color, and higher vitamin C
content.
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| Persimmons |
Persimmons origins go back to ancient China. Fate
intervened in the 1880’s when a United States
Commander brought back a native Japanese
persimmon variety to Washington, D.C. Now,
persimmons are grown in California where
hundreds of different varieties flourish. This
brightly colored, glossy orange red skinned fruit
is an excellent source of vitamin A, a good source
of vitamin C, and rich in fiber.
Although there are countless different varieties
of persimmons, only two are commercially
available. There are distinguishable by their
shape.
Hachiya: This type of persimmon makes up
approximately 90 percent of the available fruit.
It is identifiable by its acorn like shape. This
persimmon is tart until it becomes soft ripe.
Fuyu: This persimmon is gaining
popularity here as it is in Japan.
Similar in color, but looking like a
squashed tomato, this variety is
smaller, sweeter, and is edible
while still firm.
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| Orange |
Oranges are highly valued for their vitamin C content. It is a primary source
of vitamin C for most Americans. This wonderful fruit has more to offer
nutritionally than just this one nutrient, containing sufficient amounts of
folacin, calcium, potassium, thiamin, niacin and magnesium. Most of the
consumption of oranges is in the form of juice. Eating the whole fruit
provides 130% of the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin C, less
than the juice, but more fiber, which is not present in the juice.
The fruit is technically a hesperidium, a kind of berry. It consists of several
easily separated carpels, or sections, each containing several seeds and many
juice cells, covered by a leathery skin, containing numerous oil glands. Orange
trees are evergreens, seldom exceeding 30 ft in height. The leaves are oval
and glossy and the flowers are white and fragrant.
These semitropical evergreens probably
originated in Southeast Asia. Columbus and
other European travelers brought sweet
orange seed and seedlings with them to the
New World. By 1820 there were groves in
St Augustine, Florida, and by the end of
the Civil War oranges were being shipped
north in groves. A freeze produced a major
set back in production in 1895, but by 1910
crops in Florida had been reestablished.
Florida is the number one citrus producer, producing 70% of the U.S. crop,
with 90% of that going into juice. However, Arizona, Texas, and California
also produce small amounts, with variations in color and peel. (Wellness
Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition, 1992).
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