Ready for Summer? Show Me the Fruits

Apple

Image Source

Apple pie! Enough said!

Originating from Central Asia, the apple is grown all around the world today. There are over 7500 known variants of apples, all with differing characteristics. Often through grafting techniques, cultivars will grow different types of apples upon the same tree. I’ve seen tree saplings at plant nurseries that have done this; an apple tree that produces two or three different types of apples from the same rootstock.

 While ‘the forbidden fruit’ of the Bible is not specifically named, people often associate it with being an apple. Renaissance paintings probably contributed to this notion and this was in turn taken from Greek myth and depictions, as well as the fact that in Latin, the word for “apple” and the word for “evil” are similar (“malus” is apple, “malum” is evil) and the plurals of each is the same, “mala” -although I have never ate an evil apple pie yet.

Orange

Image Source

There are several varieties of oranges, both sweet orange and bitter orange, but the sweet orange is what we are interested in here, the navel orange in particular. A single random mutation of an orange tree in the year 1820 in Brazil produced a conjoined twin, -an under-developed ‘Siamese twin’ mini-orange inside of the main fruit. This mutation left the orange sterile (seedless) of course, but grafting and cuttings of that affected branch successfully propagated the new fruit, eventually leading to worldwide popularity and availability. The naval orange has a distinctive mark on the end that resembles a human navel (a.k.a. ‘bellybutton,’) hence, the name.

Lime

Image Source

Mmmm.. –Key Lime Pie, -a Floridian favorite dessert! The lime is a citrus fruit typically round of shape and green to yellow of color, smaller than a lemon. Limes (in juice form) are often used to accent the flavor of foods, and are a very good source of vitamin-C.

Limes were carried on 19th century British sailing vessels for their vitamin-C benefits to prevent scurvy, the acute vitamin-C deficiency disease that had disastrous consequences for early seafarers. It is commonly held that because of the association of limes with the British sailors that they came to be known as “limeys.”

Kiwi (Kiwifruit)

Image Source

Sometimes called the “Chinese Gooseberry”, this berry fruit should not be confused with the flightless bird by the name “kiwi.” In New Zealand, the fruit is called “kiwifruit” but most westerners just call it “kiwi.” I love this (extreme close-up) image, -it looks like a grizzly bear standing on his hind legs, huh?

Quince – Cydonia oblonga

Image Source

Well here’s an odd fellow, the Quince. They are somewhat astringent, too sour to eat unless they have had a mild frost and allowed to decay a bit. These can be baked or roasted; their flesh turns red after having been cooked. The term “marmalade” was originally used to describe a quince jam, the word coming from the Portuguese word “marmelo” which is the word they use for this fruit.

Papaya

Image Source

Delicious raw or cooked, the papaya is an abundant source of the enzyme “papain”, a protease commonly used as a meat tenderizer! By brand-name, “Adolf’s Meat Tenderizer” contains papain. Because of papain’s ability to break-down proteins (which is what makes it a good meat tenderizer,) it is also a good bee sting remedy. Mix powdered meat tenderizer with water to make a thick gooey paste and apply to the site of the bee sting and allow to dry. It seems to draw the venom out or neutralizes the reaction of the sting, and it does take away the pain and the swelling. When the gooey smear dries, dust it away and you’re fine.

Green papaya is also commonly used ingredient in Thai food, both in the raw and cooked. Some lime squirted over the food is a bonus!

Watermelon

Image Source

Everyone’s all-time summer favorite. A native to southern Africa originally, it was David Livingstone who described this ground fruit of the Kalahari desert as ‘abundant.’ One of the hottest, driest deserts of the world produced one of the most water-abundant fruits known. Pretty cool stuff.