Fruitful Thoughts

The Dutch are my kind of people. There are about 16 million of them living in a country about the size of Maryland. Their birth rate is below the level needed to maintain the population so they are voluntarily thinning the herd. But even more impressive is the factoid that the Dutch have more than 150 varieties of potatoes with some presence in their produce markets. To my knowledge you have to go back to the original stomping ground of the potato in South America to find that many potato varieties (Peru has ~3,000). Compare that with the United States where 90% of our potatoes come from fewer...

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Moving into the late spring - Summer starts unofficially this weekend with Memorial Day but the 'real' start is on the solstice of June 21st.   Most traditionally available items from this time of year are a little bit late because of March frosts, April rains and May grey... seems as if the farmers can barely get a break this year, no matter where they are located in our nation. With increased daylight and hours of sunshine, strawberries are becoming abundant and really combine well with rhubarb - all being field-harvested.  While the tomatoes and eggplant are coming in a little bit late,...

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The succulent, tangy flesh is white, yellow or orange and sweet to subacid or acid, depending on the cultivar. Each fruit contains three to five large brown seeds. The flavor resembles a sour cherry, yet is pleasing to the taste. The loquat is comparable to the apple in many aspects, with a high sugar, acid and pectin content. It is eaten as a fresh fruit and mixes well with other fruits in fresh fruit salads or fruit cups. Firm, slightly immature fruits are best for making pies or tarts. The fruits are also commonly used to make jam, jelly and chutney, and are delicious poached in light syrup....

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This fruit usually ranges in size from an orange to a large grapefruit. It has a leathery skin that must be peeled to reveal the hundreds of tiny red seeds. The seeds are entirely edible, crunchy, sweet and berry-like in flavor. Makes wonderful syrups, sauces and juice, or may be combined with other fresh fruits for exciting compotes. Rich in potassium. Every pomegranate is composed of exactly 840 seeds, each surrounded by a sac of sweet-tart juice contained by a thin skin. The seeds are compacted in a layer resembling honeycomb around the core. The layers of seeds are separated by paper-thin...

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