Fruit Guide

 

In cuisine, when discussing fruits as food, the term usually refers to those that are sweet and fleshy (ex. bananas, mangos, pineapples). However, a great many common vegetables, as well as nuts and grains, are the fruit of that plant species. These include cucurbits, tomatoes, peas, beans, corn, eggplant, sweet pepper and spices, such as allspice and chillies. Rarely, a culinary “fruit” will not be a true one in the botanical sense, for example the carrot or rhubarb.

 

Apple

“Malus domestica” is the name of one the most popular and cultivated tree fruit in the world. The tree has a medium size and it is deciduous. It reaches 5-12 m tall and has a dense crown. The leaves are simple, oval shaped with approximate dimensions of 5–12 cm...

Apricot

 The apricot is a species of prunus, first cultivated in China and Western Asia. Chinese consider it the symbol of education and medicine, since Confucius named it to his students. Australians use it as an aphrodisiac, as crushed and applied on the erogenous...

Avocado

The flowering plant native to Mexico and Guam, 20 meters high and the egg shaped pit – as the plant’s fruit are called Avocado. The inconspicuous greenish-yellow flowers measure 5-10 cm and the fruit 7-20 cm. It is also called avocado pear or alligator pear and it...

Banana

The banana is the fruit of a pseudo stem plant, grown from an approximately 7 m high corm. The plant was domesticated in Southeastern Asia and archaeological discoveries have shown that cultivation of the wild variety dated since 500 BC.  The fruit can be very...

Blueberry

Blueberries are native only to North America and they are known all over the world for their great taste and color. The shrub’s height varies depending on the species (from 10 cm to 4 m tall). The berries are small, spherical with an indigo color when ripening. There...

Cherry

Native to the temperate zones in the Northern Hemisphere, cherries are spread in Asia and Europe. The cherry tree is different from the others in its species by its flowers grouped in small corymbs and a small, sweet and smooth fruit with a single pit inside...

Cocoa

 Cacao is the name given by the Maya after the name of one of their gods, Ek Chuah, to the evergreen tree growing in the tropical humid areas and known for its many uses. The Latin name for this plant, “Theobroma cacao” means “the food of the gods”. Maya had a...

Coconut

The Coconut is the fruit of the Coconut Palm, a very tall plant (up to 30 meters) with long leaves (30-60 cm) that grows especially in the tropical areas. The husk is composed of fibers and it is called coir, while the inner stone is sold in non-tropical countries. Inside...

Date

Date Palm is a tree grown in Northern Africa and Middle Asia for its tasteful fruits. This medium size tree reaches up to 20 m and it often grows in oasis. The fruit is called date, and it has a medium size (2-3 cm diameter) drupe with color from bright yellow to red...

Grape

Grapes are non climacteric perennial fruits that grow on the woody vines. The fruit can  be easily recognized by its clusters from 6 to 300 and its color varies from crimson, black and dark blue to yellow, green and pink. First of all it is necessary to say that the most...

Grapefruit

The Grapefruit, with her historical roots in Barbados, is a subtropical citrus plant with fruits originally named “The forbidden fruit”. The tree keeps its green color all over the year and has beautiful, long, dark green leaves and small flowers. The fruit is vividly colored with yellow to orange shades, spherical, with a bright yellow to pink and red flesh...

Jackfruit

The jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is the largest tree borne fruit in the world. It is native to India, Bangladesh, Trinidad, Sri Lanka and Philippines, even 6000 years ago (as the historical evidences reveal). The fruit is known for its large size: it seldom reaches less...

Kiwi

The latin word for kiwi fruit is “Actinidia deliciosa” and the fruit is nated to China. It’s first name was “Chinese GooseBerry”, but was renamed as “melonette” and then as “kiwi fruit” because of marketing reasons.  The most common type of kiwi has an oval shape...

Lemon

The lemon is the most popular citrus fruit in the world at this moment – it’s origins are still mystery for researchers, but it is known to have been domesticated in India and China since ancient times. It is the fruit of a very tall tree (up to 6 meters), with...

Lime

 Lime is a generic word for fruits, especially citruses, usually round, yellow to green colored and containing a sour pulp.  It develops best in tropical areas. Lime is often associated with lemons and is used all over the world for spicing up foods or beverages...

Mango

Mangos are the fruits of the same-named tropical plant. They have been cultivated in Asia for thousands of years and have been chosen to represent India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Philippines. The flowers, produced in terminal...

Orange

The Orange is the fruit of a tall evergreen tree (up to 10 meters high) and it is called a hesperidium – a type of berry. The plant in originally from Southeast Asia and has a tasty orange flesh, covered by a thick skin also orange. Although all the citrus fruits are sour...

Papaya

Papaya is a fruit of the plant Carica Papaya. It is cultivated in countries with tropical climate, such as Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and Central and South America.  It can be easily recognized by its size: the leaves are large, 50-70 cm diameter, the single stem of the tree...

Peach

 The peach is a deciduous tree native to China bearing fruits with the same name. Its flowers are pink and small (2.5 – 3 cm) and produced in early spring together with the lanceolate leaves (7-10 cm). The skin is velvety (or smooth to cultivar named...

Pear

Pears are fruits of the plant in the genus “Pyrus” and their name comes from remote times in Vulgar Latin. They are originally from the temperate zones of the Old World (Western Europe, North Africa and Eastern Asia). Cultivation of pears is dated since ancient times in...

Pineapple

The fist time a pineapple was seen by an European was the time when Christopher Columbus stepped on American land. It was unique at that time in the world. Pineapple was though to be a royal fruit in the Renaissance period. This tropical perennial plant is...

Pomegranate

Pomegranate has been domesticated and cultivated in India, Pakistan and Iran since ancient times. Because they are part of the global fruit industry and have extraordinary nutritional qualities they are called superfruits. The bright red flowers, the medium height...

Pomelo

 Pomelo is the largest citrus fruit. Its size (30 centimeters in diameter) and weight (up to 10 kilos) makes it easily known and explains the name in Latin: “Citrus Maxima”. It grows, like any other citrus, in tropical areas and doesn’t bear low temperatures. It has a spongy thick...

Watermelon

    Citrullus Lanatus is the Latin word for watermelon, a climber and trailer herb originally from South Africa.  The fruit of such plants are known by the botanists as ”pepo” , with a thick rind and a flashy center. The interior flash varies its colors from yellow to orange...

Grapefruit

The Grapefruit, with her historical roots in Barbados, is a subtropical citrus plant with fruits originally named “The forbidden fruit”. The tree keeps its green color all over the year and has beautiful, long, dark green leaves and small flowers. The fruit is vividly colored with yellow to orange shades, spherical, with a bright yellow to pink and red flesh...