Vol.V, No.2
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Did You Know? By Pat Farrell
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID San Antonio, Texas Paid Permit #1590
I find it amazing that there are so many things I have just accepted as being true all these years that, as it turns out, are actually not so. For example, let us look at the word “orange.” Does it refer to a color or a fruit, and which came first? Well, of course – the fruit. The orange is a hybrid of a tangerine and the pale green or yellow pomelo (Chinese grapefruit) that was first cultivated in Southeast Asia where both the orange and the tangerine are green outside and have an orange colored flesh inside. The sweet orange was mentioned in Chinese literature as far back as 314 BC. The oranges that we find in stores today are grown in the subtropics, an area located geographically between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, and there too the outside of the orange is green. It is only when it is transported to cooler climates that the outer layer of the fruit turns to an orange color. There is no word in the English language that rhymes exactly with “orange,” which derives from the Arabic “naranj” that later became “narange” in English, and over time has lost the “n.”
The term “orange” was first used as the name for a color in 1542 and thereafter came into prominent use in many European countries, (ex. House of Orange) and was at one time part of an original name for New York City (New Orange).Also interesting is that the in-flight recorders, the “black boxes,” are actually a bright orange color so they may be more easily located. Being called “black boxes” derives from the fact that while they were being developed they were stored in black boxes. And then there is the apple! I am sure most everyone has heard about “JohnnyAppleseed” who was so named because he travelled westward planting apple trees along the way. In the late 1770s, a plan initiated by the Ohio Company of Associates, allowed that potential settlers moving on to the west would be granted 100 acres for a homestead provided they planted 50 apple trees and 20 peach trees within three years of establishing their property. John Chapman, a very savvy businessman at the time, went from Pennsylvania to Illinois, carrying his tote bag full of apple seeds, planting orchards as he went, just ahead of the arriving settlers, with the intention of then selling those orchards to the arriving settlers. Johnny’s apples from the trees grown from the seeds he planted were called “spitters” as they were much too bitter to eat, but perfect for fermenting and making hard cider, which was as ever present on the dining tables of the day as was bread. Little wonder then that they say, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Hard cider was a staple for many years until the advent of prohibition when apple trees bearing sour or bitter fruit were chopped down by FBI agents, effectively ending the availability of hard cider. It has been claimed that a 175 year old apple tree, still remaining on a farm in Nova, Ohio, is the last evidence of John Chapman’s work. And while many people love blackberries, raspberries and strawberries, most do not realize that none of these fruits are actually berries. A fruit is described as a seed-bearing structure that develops from the ovary of a flowering plant and those responsible for classifying fruits have determined
that to be a berry the fruit must have three layers: the outer skin, a fleshy middle and a jelly-like inside that holds two or more seeds. Additionally, to be a berry the fruit must come from one flower with a single ovary. The berry name problem arose because people started naming berries they encountered before it was deemed necessary to categorize them so scientifically. Some “berries” actually do meet all the above named criteria like the barberry, bareberry, bilberry, blueberry, coffeeberry, cranberry, crowberry, elderberry, gooseberry, honeyberry, lingonberry and wolfberry. The other familiar, so-called berries do not make the cut because they come from flowers with more than one ovary. Although it would seem promising, the cherry is not a berry as it has only one seed; however, the avocado, even though it has only one large seed is considered a berry. But what is even more interesting is the number of other fruits that also fit the category of “berry.” Bananas, pumpkins and watermelons, even though their skins are heavier than those of the smaller fruits are deemed to fit the classification of berry. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and kiwis come from a flower with one ovary, and so are also berries. And, you can add grapes, persimmons, red, black and white types of currant, and cucumbers to the berry list. The orange and other citrus fruits are also berries but are differentiated subtypes of berry because their fleshy parts are in sections. And finally, the small fruits of the strawberry tree (not to be confused with strawberries) are also considered to be berries. What makes a fruit a fruit and a vegetable a vegetable can lead to a considerable amount of disagreement throughout the world. Some probably looked at the list of berries above and thought to themselves (or out loud) “what are cucumbers, peppers and eggplants doing in the berry patch when they are obviously found in the grocer’s vegetables section?” As defined botanically and noted above, a fruit is a seed-bearing structure that develops from the ovary of a flowering plant but a vegetable comes from all the other plant parts, such as roots, leaves and stems. That would mean then that potatoes,
February 2019 turnips and beets are roots, celery and broccoli, considered stems and leaves like spinach and lettuce are all vegetables. Sounds simple enough unless one has observed a Venn diagram of fruits and vegetables. One Venn diagram of fruits and vegetables depicts two circles overlapping with confirmed fruits depicted in the left half of the first circle and those of confirmed vegetables in the right half of the second circle. It is the pictures of foods found in the middle, that seem to be looking for an established place to be. That overlapped portion is the contentious part of the diagram as it contains pictures of fruits/vegetables that not all agree which item belongs solely in either the fruit or vegetable circle. There seems to be no dispute over apples, bananas, cherries, oranges, pears, pineapples and strawberries being fruits. Also, there is no dispute over broccoli, carrots, garlic, kale, lettuce, onions and potatoes being vegetables. Disagreements between gardeners and chefs seem to focus on are the classifications of things like cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, pumpkin, squash, string beans and most especially tomatoes which the botanists call fruits and the chefs call vegetables. Sometimes when an issue such as whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable goes beyond minor squabbles among botanists and chefs, the law may step in. For example, in 1893 the Supreme Court considered the case of Nix vs. Hedden, which concerned the taxation rates for fruits and vegetables. In that case the Court ruled that in the instance of taxation, the tomato is a vegetable and should be taxed at the level for vegetables rather than at the lower tax rate that was allowed for fruits. But, beyond taxation issues, these distinctions have been an ongoing dispute for years and years and are not likely to be resolved anytime soon. Even after the court ruling, gardeners still insist that tomatoes obviously belong in the fruit kingdom. These are just some examples of weird facts that make us wonder how much of what we think is true, actually is so. Stay tuned as there will be more to follow!