Food Literacy Blog

The grapefruit was discovered in Barbados in the 18th century and planted in Florida in the early 19th century. Today, Florida, California, Arizona, and Texas are major producers of commercial grapefruit.

Food Literacy Superhero: Katie

Age: 10

Grade: 5th

Years in food literacy class: 3

Favorite part of program:
“Trying things I haven’t tried before and seeing if we like it.”

When you think of rhubarb, is the first thing that comes to mind rhubarb pie?

Rhubarb is best grown in cool climates of the Northern United States and Canada. Rhubarb season is from April to September. However, the crop should not be harvested within the first year because the stems will not be strong enough. Once ready, rhubarb resembles celery with a reddish-purple coloring. 

What is an endive? Let’s start with the pronunciation: on- deeve. Actually, if “n-dive” is the pronunciation you had in mind you’re not completely off the mark. An endive (n-dive) is the leafy, lettuce-resembling crop that is related to endive (on-deeve). But they aren’t the same plant.

Limes are small, round citrus fruits that are green to yellow in color. Its evergreen tree is in the Rue family which also includes lemons, oranges and kumquats. 

Logans are small, round fruits with a soft shell and a juicy center that are native to southern China, India, Burma and Ceylon. The logan tree is a member of the Soapberry Family and its fruit is a close cousin of the lychee and the rambutan.

Winter squash is in season and the farmers’ market is awash in a large variety of squash in many sizes, shapes and colors. One such variety is kabocha squash, also known as the Japanese pumpkin. They typically have bumpy green skins with orange spots but there also are orange and yellow varieties as well.

Feijoa is a fruit from an evergreen, perennial shrub that’s grown as an ornamental tree. The fruit resembles a pear or guava, with a skin that’s dull green in color and rough in texture. Its juicy flesh is divided into a clear gelatinous seed pulp and a firmer opaque flesh. Each fruit has about 20 to 30 small seeds.

The fruit is native to southern Brazil, northern Argentina, western Paraguay and Uruguay where it grows wild in the mountains. Feijoa is nicknamed pineapple guava, Brazilian guava, fig guava, guavasteen in Hawaii and New Zealand banana.

A member of the cabbage family, turnips are a root vegetable that is creamy white with a beautiful purple, red or green hue on the upper area where it has been exposed to sunlight.

Before potatoes were cultivated, turnips were one of the main sources of nourishment for the English peasantry in the Middle Ages. Grown in temperate climates, turnips thrive in cold, damp conditions.

The pomegranate is an incredibly healthy fruit with a deep red leathery skin encompassing juicy edible red seeds wrapped in a spongy white membrane. The red seeds are called arils and they are actually juice sacs with one seed in each sac.

Affectionately known as “the little gems of the citrus family,” the kumquat is native to China and its name means “gold orange” in Chinese. Shaped like a small oval orange, the kumquat is seen as a lucky symbol for Lunar New Year symbolizing gold and wealth. Families will decorate their house with kumquat trees to invite luck into the home.

Kumquats have been growing in North America, particularly in California, Florida and Texas, since the mid-19th Century.

Eggplant is a member of the nightshade family, and it’s related to the potato and tomato. Often mistaken for a vegetable, eggplant is actually a fruit, and to be more precise, it’s a berry.

It’s typically large and dark purple, but eggplants come in a variety of sizes (from two to 12 inches), oblong and round shapes, and white, green and purple colors. The name “eggplant” came from how the first varieties of the fruit were actually egg-shaped. It’s known as aubergine in France, and brinjal in India, Malaysia, Singapore, the West Indies and South Africa.