Filed under: West Coast , Fruit , Raves & Reviews The different varieties of grape are not well known to me, despite having spent significant amounts of time in the California wine country, because the grapes offered in stores are most likely to be tagged as either "red grapes" or "green grapes." Occasionally, there will be a variation, when "black" is thrown into the mix. Why all the vagueness when there hundreds of types of grape grown in the world? Perhaps the stores don't want t set the bar too high. Some grapes are definitely better than others.

Filed under: Vegetables , Fruit Rhubarb is a stalk vegetable that is usually eaten as a fruit. In appearance, rhubarb very closely resembles celery and ranges in color from a light pinkish green to a deep, brilliant fuchsia. The plant is actually a member of the buckwheat family and only the stalks are edible, since the leaves contain a fairly high amount of oxalic acid, a compound which can be lethal (though you would have to eat quite a bit to reach that dose). In small amounts, oxalic acid inhibits calcium absorption and can detract from the nutritional value of foods.

Filed under: Farming , Trends , On the Blogs , America There is a movement gaining popularity that concerns the way we eat. Some say that we should focus on organics, but this movement says that isn't quite enough. They think that people should eat locally produced and grown products . Exclusively, if possible. Some of the biggest proponents of this movement, the Locavores , are based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Filed under: Midwest Rural , Midwest Cities , Fruit , Trends , Newspapers , America Following in the recent footsteps of Alabama making the peach their state fruit, the Minnesota Senate recently voted to make the Honeycrisp apple the state's official fruit. The Honeycrisp was developed at the University of Minnesota in the sixties in hopes of creating a durable fruit for the state's harsh cold, according to the Duluth News Tribune . Like the Walla Walla onion in Washington, the Honeycrisp's path to being the official-state-fruit-dom was forged by a school project, in this case by a class of fourth-graders. Like Florida, with it's official pie , Minnesota has an official state baked good in the blueberry muffin, according to the Pioneer Press . More info on Honeycrisp apples is available at Honeycrisp.org . Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Snacks , Poultry , Fruit , Did you know? It is safe to say that  when the word "drumstick" is uttered, several things might come to mind. For a musician, that first thing could be the sort of drumstick that is used to, well, play the drums. The more common thought is that of a piece of poultry, also known as the drumstick . This drumstick is the lower part of the leg the fowl. Composed of dark meat, the drumstick is easy to eat with your fingers because of a protruding bone and is quite popular for snacking, as it has a high skin-to-meat ratio.

Filed under: West Coast , Farming , Fruit , Food Quest Last year I tried to plant a pineapple. Actually, I tried three times. Each time, I bought a nice, fresh, organic pineapple at Whole Foods and, after eating the fruit itself, I prepped the crown for planting. The first time, I left some of the fruit attached to the crown and the plant did not do so well. After finding this nifty guide online, I learned that I should have cleaned away any remaining bits of fruit before planting, as the way the fruit decomposes in the soil would is not conducive to growth. Scratch plant number one. Following the directions from the same guide, I cut away the stem to expose the "root buds" on the crown. The website also recommended drying the crown for several days before planting. Seven days later, my crown was clearly dead and unfit for planting. Two strikes.

Filed under: Nuts/seeds , Fruit , Did you know? When you hear the phrase "coconut milk," the image that might stick in your mind is the juice that is found inside the center of a coconut. At least, that is what most people assume that it is. Actually, the liquid endosperm inside a young coconut is known as coconut water . It is fat free and low in calories, but is a good source of potassium and other nutrients. Coconut milk is made by pureeing a mixture of coconut meat and water, then straining it to remove some of the fat. A second straining will yield a lower fat coconut milk. Coconut cream is made in the same way as coconut milk, but it is made with a higher ratio of coconut to water. Sometimes, coconut cream will form on the top of canned coconut milk. The two are pretty much interchangeable in recipes, though they have slightly different consistencies. For the curious, some other drinks, such as almond milk, are made in the same way.

Filed under: Vegetables , Fruit Tomatillos , despite their name, are not actually tomatoes, though they are members of the tomato family. They are members of the nightshade family and grow all over the western hemisphere, thriving in the southern United States and Mexico. The plant was originally domesticated by the Aztecs, well over 2,000 years ago, and was brought back to Europe by explorers and settlers, where it continues to flourish in Mediterranean climates.

Filed under: British Isles , Vegetables , Fruit , Stores & Shopping , New Products The tiger tomato has just made its formal debut at Marks & Spencer stores in Britain. The tomatoes are small, about the size of cherry tomatoes, but have dark red flesh accented with green stripes. Apparently, there is a growing demand for "novelty produce" to the point where farmers in the Isle of Wight are frantically working to develop new types of tomatoes. One of the next to hit the shelves will be the "strawmato," said to be very sweet and designed to pair with melted chocolate. I can't honestly say that I like the idea of a tomato dipped in melted chocolate, no matter how sweet it is. I do, however, understand the desire for new and more unusual forms of produce. Isn't that why heirloom tomatoes and other less conventional fruits and veggies are popular? In fact, these tiger tomatoes sound like dwarf versions of the red zebra tomatoes , but perhaps more brightly colored.

Filed under: Snacks , Culinary Kids , Fruit , Newspapers , America , Light Food Some sort of aptitude testing is done in just about every school in the country, mandated by the city or state government, to check on the progress of the educational system. This testing time can be stressful for students because, though they are not actually "graded" on their performance, they still have to sit through many long days of math and reading comprehension tests. Having to concentrate for such an extended period can be very challenging for students, particularly young ones. Schools try to perk them up by offering snacks, but a Washington State school found something very interesting this year when they decided to give the kids fruits , instead of muffins or granola bars. They found that the students were quieter, less stressed and more focused.