Amazing and interesting facts about vegetables. place

Interesting information about vegetables for older preschoolers and younger students

10 fun facts about vegetables

1. Turnips were once sown from the mouth. The fact is that turnips have very small seeds: there are more than a million of them in one kilogram, and you simply cannot scatter them manually. However, spitting is not an easy task, so the best “spitters” were valued and revered by the people.

2. A decoction of beets in Russia was used as a disinfectant and, of course, they ate it boiled and raw. And she came to us from Byzantium, as evidenced by the origin of the Russian name from the Greek word "sfekeli".

3. There are many types of cabbage: red, white, cauliflower... cauliflower Mark Twain called the cabbage that graduated from college. Americans call broccoli “college-educated cabbage.”

4. Potato appeared in Europe in the middle of the 17th century as an ornamental plant. It is said that a certain admiral brought this plant to England and, when it was grown, treated his friends to its stems and leaves, fried in oil. The guests spat for a long time. In the 18th century in Russia, at the court, this dish was served as a dessert. Before use, it was boiled and thickly sprinkled with sugar.

5. Peas were the first vegetable to be sealed in a tin.

6. Cucumber at the beginning of the 18th century in England was a rarity, and doctors competed in search of its negative qualities. Some considered it simply poisonous, others - "cooling" and causing a cold.

7. Tomato was also considered poisonous. For example, in the book Complete Guide on Horticulture, published in Denmark in 1774, wrote: “These fruits are extremely harmful, as they drive those who eat them crazy.” In Rus', tomatoes have long been called "mad berries".

8. Carrots have been considered a fruit in Europe since 1991. Within European countries, no one else dares to call it a vegetable or a root crop. This allows the Portuguese to continue manufacturing and exporting carrot jam, because, by European standards, jam is made only from fruits.

9. Experts have not yet decided whether pineapple is a vegetable or a fruit. During the time of Catherine II, gourmet nobles widely used it in feasts, although in an unusual way for us. So, Count Alexander Stroganov served pineapple in vinegar, and at Count Zavadovsky's, pineapples were chopped like cabbage, stored in tubs, and then borscht and cabbage soup were cooked from them.

10. One of the most interesting vegetables is the arctic horseradish. It can be found in distant Greenland. It blooms even when severe frosts come.

Riddles about vegetables

For a curly tuft

Dragged a fox from a mink.

Feels very smooth to the touch

It tastes like sugar, sweet.

(Carrot.)

Unsightly, lumpy,

And she will come to the table,

The guys will say cheerfully:

"Well, crumbly, delicious!"

(Potato.)

Like in our garden

Mysteries have grown

Juicy and large

Those are round.

green in summer,

By autumn they turn red.

(Tomatoes.)

I am a drop of summer on a thin leg,

Weave boxes and baskets for me.

Whoever loves me is glad to bow.

And the name was given to me by my native land.

(Strawberry.)

Proverbs about agricultural labor

The earth is black, and White bread will give birth.

They plow the arable land, they don’t wave their hands.

What is the arable land, such is the brush.

Lie down with the hens, get up with the rooster.

Give to the earth and she will give you.

On uncultivated land, only weeds grow.

Yelling is not playing the tune.

Cut down a tree, plant two.

Fruits make our life better. They are sweet, refreshing and delicious. But what is a fruit? Tomatoes are fruits. Cucumbers and avocados too. But we don't usually put them in that category. As it turns out, scientifically speaking, a fruit is a part of a tree or shrub that contains seeds. That is, if it has seeds, then it is a fruit. Then what is a vegetable?

And "vegetable" is not a scientific term at all. This culinary term. This means that a real scientist would divide the parts of a plant into fruits, roots, stems, leaves, and so on, while your grandmother would most likely separate plants into fruits and vegetables (in this case, fruits would be everything sweet, and vegetables - all the rest).

So, now you know everything about fruits and vegetables and you can impress your friends with your knowledge. But get ready to learn a lot more! Because in nature there are perhaps hundreds, if not thousands of very delicious fruits that you have never heard of.

Today we dive into the world of deliciousness with 25 sweet fruit facts you didn't know.

Apples, peaches and raspberries belong to the Rose family.

2

Oranges actually contain less vitamin C than many other fruits, such as guava, lychee, kiwi, strawberries, and pineapple.

3

Coffee beans are not actually beans. These are fruit pits.

4

If grapes are heated in the microwave, they will explode.

5

Tomato is the most popular fruit in the world.

6

Grapefruit, interacting with certain drugs, can be fatal.

7

In fact, cucumbers are fruits.

8

The color orange was named after the orange ("orange"), and not vice versa. Prior to this, such a color was called "geoluread" in Old English, which means "yellow-red".

9

Most big fruit grow on the Seychelles Coco De Mer palms: their weight can reach almost 42 kilograms.

10

Pomology is the science of fruit growing.

11

So, you already know that tomatoes and cucumbers are fruits, but did you know that, scientifically, beans, avocados, sunflower seeds, lettuce leaves, and broccoli buds are, too? This is because a fruit is a part of a plant, formed from the ovary of a flower and containing seeds. The remaining parts of the plant are considered vegetables.

12

Then why do we call many fruits vegetables? Because from a culinary point of view, everything sweet (in general) is considered fruit, and everything else is considered vegetables.

13

Of course, this rule doesn't always work, so sometimes unsweetened fruits like tomatoes are labeled as vegetables because this way of dividing the ingredients is more practical (though less accurate).

14

Enough terminology. Did you know that tomatoes have more genes than humans?

15

There are trees called fruit salad” (“fruit salad tree”), which can grow from 3 to 7 different fruits ... on the SAME tree. This has been achieved by grafting two or more plants that grow and function as one.

16

Some Japanese farmers grow square watermelons.

17

In total, more than 7000 are grown in the world. different varieties apples.

18

Human DNA is 50% identical to banana DNA.

19

Pineapples and bananas are actually berries.

20

Let's talk about terminology again. In everyday parlance, the berries tend to be small, round, and juicy. However, from a scientific point of view, berries are fruits grown from the ovary of the pistil, in which the outer layer of the ovary wall develops into an edible, fleshy part.

21

When harvested, fruits do not die. They continue to react to the environment after that.

22

After you eat wonderful berries (or puteria sweetish), sour food will seem sweet to you (at least for several hours). And all because these berries, according to research, contain the protein miraculin, which “turns off” the receptors responsible for the perception of sour taste.

23

Not all oranges are orange. If the weather is not cool enough, then the chlorophyll in the peel of the fruit is not destroyed, and the fruit remains green.

24

You probably don't really care about the scientific definition of a berry, do you? But so that you can surprise your friends, let's say that, in addition to bananas and pineapples, grapes, eggplants and cucumbers are also berries.

25

Bananas are slightly radioactive.

Fruit is an essential part healthy eating. Therefore, we often miss quite interesting facts about what exactly we eat. We take it for granted that orange-colored oranges and one apple a day will help to avoid a visit to the doctor. You may not even know that we have been eating the same bananas for 50 years. Have you ever wondered how much the perfect fruit can sell for? The answer may surprise you. Below are 10 weird facts about nature's candies.

10. Aphrodisiatic properties of durian

Durian is a Southeast Asian fruit well known for its toxic smell. It smells so bad that it has been banned from consumption in many public places in Asia, and just because you carry it with you, you may be asked to leave a certain area. Less well known, however, is the long-standing belief that the foul-smelling fruit is a powerful aphrodisiac.

Durian is known as the "King of Fruits". There is a rather specific belief among the people of Java that eating durian has a powerful and lightning-fast effect on a person's libido. The very eating of the silky and smooth flesh of the fruit is said to be a sensory experience, and the effect is made even more powerful by its rich and complex flavors. As the Javanese proverb says, "When durians fall, sarongs rise."

The legend took root after people watched many times how after eating durian, mating inevitably followed animals, and as it turned out, there is some truth in this myth. Durian contains a large number of tryptophan, which the body converts into the hormone of happiness, serotonin. The presence of serotonin in the body, in turn, makes pleasant experiences even more enjoyable. When researchers in India set out to test the effects of durian in mice, they found that male mice that were fed durian regularly for two weeks experienced an increase in libido and fertility.

9. Bananas are too perfect


Genetic diversity is the key to the longevity of a species. Unfortunately, this is something that bananas no longer have. While there are over 300 various types bananas, there is one species that accounts for the vast majority of demand in Europe, Canada and the United States: the Cavendish. These bananas are delicious, convenient, and they grow all over the world, from the Hawaiian Islands to Thailand to Central America.

The problem is that every Cavendish banana, no matter where it is grown or imported, is genetically identical. This means he is vulnerable. In the absence of genetic differences, a single fungus or disease can wipe out all of the world's most popular banana plantations - and it has already happened once. The Gros Michel variety was one of the world's most popular bananas until a fungal disease wiped out almost all Gros Michel banana plants, dealing a devastating blow to the economies of banana-producing countries such as Honduras. Billions of dollars have been poured into the banana industry to find a replacement for the lost Gros Michel variety.

Despite efforts to create a hardier, more genetically diverse variety of bananas, the Cavendish still faces the same head-to-head extinction as its predecessor. Part of the problem is that bananas are not reproducible from seeds, as they have long been bred from fruit for flavor and convenience. Instead, bananas are mostly hand-pollinated, and fruiting bushes grow stems and cuttings for many years, limiting the amount of genetic diversity in the crop. The origin of bananas is also problematic: virtually all modern banana mutations are derived from a handful of only about 10 plants that were originally cultivated on the African continent.

8. perfect fruit can be very expensive


In Japan, fruits are often given as gifts between family members, friends, colleagues, and business associates. They are seen as a luxury, and the more perfect the gift, the more memorable the gift. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that in Japan there is a store called Senbikiya, which specializes in only the most perfect fruits. The fruits sold in the store are not only free of stains and wormholes, they are also perfectly shaped, and most of them are so big and delicious that they look artificial, especially in the eyes of someone who is not used to seeing the pinnacle of fruit perfection.

A box of 12 strawberries sells for about $83, while three melons will set you back about $419. You pay not only for excellence, you pay for huge amount labor that is invested in the cultivation of these fruits. Fruit grown in Japan is more highly valued than imported fruits, and greenhouse workers work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to ensure that their plants are grown from only the best and strongest seedlings. They work tirelessly to make sure each plant has the exact amount nutrients and that the temperature in their greenhouses is constantly maintained at the right level. In some cases, all of this effort is focused on one vine or plant that produces one fruit. Some of these plants even have small hats attached to them to protect them from sun exposure and provide a perfect, uniform outer color.

7. Most berries are not.


Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, raspberries - there are not many foods that can be easily identified. However, according to the botanical definition, many fruits that we think of as berries are not actually berries. A berry is a fruit that has a fleshy flesh and outer skin, and consists entirely of the ovary of the plant. This means that grapes, avocados, eggplants, Bell pepper, tomatoes, and even chili peppers are botanically classified as berries.

Cranberries, blueberries, and gooseberries are what are known as "false berries", meaning that they form from the ovary of the plant, but not from the upper ovary, which would make them classify as true berries. These berries are also partially formed from a tube attached to the ovary, which further contributes to their exclusion from the classification of true berries. Raspberries and blackberries are essentially drupes, which means they have fleshy, thin-skinned fruits that contain a few hard-shelled seeds. They are also compound fruits, meaning that more than one fruit can develop from a single flower. Strawberries are false fruits, scientifically called pseudocarps, which means that they are formed from a combination of ovary and non-ovary plant tissues and have structures known as achenes located on their skin.

6. Oranges are not usually orange.


The color orange may have been named after the English word "orange" for oranges, but the irony is that oranges are not usually orange. The color orange was not defined until 1542, when it was formed along with a word previously used for fruit. Its first form was the Arabic word "Naranj" and the Persian word "Narang", both of which are derived from the Sanskrit word "naranga".

However, oddly enough, most of the oranges imported from tropical countries not orange at all. In their natural, ripe state, in the warmer countries where they are grown, the outer skin of oranges is rich in chlorophyll, making them green. In colder areas, chlorophyll is destroyed by cold weather and, as with leaves on deciduous trees, Orange color the flesh inside comes through green color. In fact green oranges are ripe, and those that have already turned orange are on their way from their peak maturity to rotting. Our associations are not helping the cause either: many people in the United States and Europe believe that green fruits are immature, so some orange crops are artificially dyed orange by freezing or ethylene gas to get rid of the chlorophyll in their skins.

5. Dogwood who tricked the devil


Edible dogwood grows on an ornamental tree that is closely related to the dogwood genus, and is one of the most ancient fruits with a long history. When dogwood is mentioned in ancient Greek, Roman and Persian texts, it is described as a kind of cherry. Due to the fact that dogwood fruits are incredibly sweet, they are commonly used to make syrups, jams, jellies, and confectionery, rather than consuming them directly, like the better-known types of cherries. In Eastern Europe, they are often used to make wine and vodka, and are also pickled along with olives and used in the same way. Dogwood was popular throughout Russia, Asia and the Byzantine Empire.

Dogwood is also part of the Turkish legend of the devil. According to this story, when Satan first came to Turkey, the first things he saw were dogwood trees that were in full bloom during the springtime. He thought that because these trees were the first to bloom, they would also be the first to bear fruit. He sat down under a tree and waited while the other trees around him blossomed and bore fruit. By the time he realized that the fruits of the dogwood tree were the last to ripen at the very end of summer, he was incredibly angry. Since then, dogwood has been called "Seytan alditan ağacı", or "the tree that deceived Satan".

4. Watermelons have long been considered a source of water.


While today we think of watermelons mostly as delicious treat on a hot summer day, they were originally cultivated for very practical reasons. One of the earliest references to the cultivation of watermelons can be found in Egyptian hieroglyphs that date back over 5,000 years ago. References to the cultivation of watermelons are also found in different cultures throughout Africa, India and the Mediterranean. However, it was David Livingstone who confirmed the watermelon's origin when he discovered fields of wild watermelons growing in Africa.

Watermelons thrive in dry areas and they for a long time served a very important purpose that went beyond a simple product healthy lifestyle nutrition. Watermelons are approximately 92 percent water, and in many dry areas of Africa, the fruit has long been used as a source of water by both humans and animals. The evidence found even made it possible to establish that they were taken with them on the road by researchers as a kind of bottles of water found in nature. Another advantage of watermelons is that after their use there is no waste left, and the whole fruit can be eaten. Apart from juicy pulp watermelon, its seeds can be roasted, and even the peel can be salted in barrels. In some areas, it is pickled in jars or salted to preserve it for the winter. sweet juice watermelon is used to make beer in Russia, and it can also be used as a base for syrups.

3. Mom was right about apples


We've all heard the saying, "One apple for dinner and you don't need a doctor." In fact, we've heard it so many times that it's easy to brush it off and write it off as old wives' tales repeated over the centuries. However, there is a lot of scientific evidence that supports the fact that this saying is absolutely true, and eating apples on a regular basis can provide a range of health benefits that even mom probably didn't know about.

Research conducted in State University Florida (Florida State University), showed that eating only a small amount dried apples within six months led to a sharp decline bad cholesterol, and the same study showed a correlation between apples and weight loss. We all know that apples are full of good things like vitamin C, but what does that mean in the long run? Long-term studies have shown that people who eat apples have a reduced risk of stroke, experience improved respiratory function, and are more likely to maintain a healthy weight. Apples can also cut the risk of certain types of cancer by as much as two times, improve brain function and cellular health, prevent the development of dementia and related diseases, and reduce a person's risk of developing diabetes.

Plain, boring apples sometimes take a back seat in the presence of more trendy super fruits, but the history of apples shows that their health benefits have been known for centuries. Remains of apples have been found in prehistoric settlements dating back to 6500 BC, and we can still taste some of the same varieties of apples that our ancient ancestors ate.

2. Chimpanzees Appreciate the Forbidden Fruit


We are all familiar with the biblical story of Adam, Eve, and the forbidden fruit, but as it turned out, the idea forbidden fruit is a bait for chimpanzees. Researchers at the University of Stirling in Scotland studied chimpanzee courtship rituals in the wild and found that female chimpanzees responded very positively when a male brought fruit to them.

However, females do not like all kinds of fruit, and in most cases, favor was shown to those males who brought them fruit stolen from nearby human farmland. The study looked at the behavior of chimpanzees living outside a village in the Republic of Guinea. The males, nervously heading to the city, stole papayas, and returned with them back to their girlfriends. As a reward, they were expected to have a high probability of grooming and intercourse, which females offered them instead of fruits.

Researchers believe that females appreciate not only the food itself, but also the rebellious behavior of males, although in fact, they are not in any danger from their chimpanzee-revering human neighbors. When males find food in the forest, they are less likely to return with it as an offering to a ready and willing female, and stolen fruit is a highly valued loot. While males are most likely to bring papayas, they have been shown to have a preference for pineapples and oranges.

1. The legendary history of guarana


If you look at the content of any energy drink, chances are that guarana will be listed as one of the main ingredients. This is seen everywhere these days, and most of us drink drinks without thinking about it. However, this fruit has a long and rather legendary history and mythology.

According to legend, an exceptionally creepy looking fruit grew from the eye of a murdered boy. Such a legend about the origin of the fruit is quite understandable, given that it looks like a large, bulging and bloodshot eyeball. You may have heard that guarana is used as an aphrodisiac, usually in the form of a drink along with other ingredients such as nuts and bird eggs, but this is actually a fairly recent use of this fruit, almost like its appearance in energy drinks. European missionaries from Brazil in the 17th century recorded how the natives used this fruit, noting that it not only gave them energy, but also allowed them to live for several days without feeling hungry. The fruit became a raw material for the colonial trade, and was credited with such properties as protecting the body from diseases, but its use in too in large numbers has been known to cause insomnia.

The caffeine found in guarana fruit is thought to be different from the caffeine found in coffee. Guarana contains chemical components, known as tannins, which are believed to have a longer lasting effect than caffeine from other sources. For centuries, guarana seeds have been powdered or smoked in a long process that is done by hand. Drinking properly prepared guarana can take center stage at formal occasions and gatherings where groups of people pass a bowl around, quite different from swallowing energy drinks who are currently involved in most of peace.

• The most cold-resistant of all citrus crops is. Not known in the wild. Mandarin is native to southern China and Cochin.

• The word greenhouse came to us from the French language. It comes from the French word "orange", which means. The first greenhouses were built in France for the cultivation of oranges.

• Thick-skinned fruits contain more vitamins than thin-skinned ones.

• Is it a berry or a fruit? From the point of view of botany, a berry is a small multi-seeded fruit of shrubs, semi-shrubs and herbaceous plants. Fruit is juicy fruits shrubs and trees, formed from the ovary of flowers and containing one or more seeds inside. The peach fruit is more of a fruit.

• Some peoples have a tradition to give the bride so that she can manage well in the kitchen.

• According to the EU directive of December 20, 2001, carrots are both a fruit and a vegetable. Why is carrot also a fruit in European countries? The fact is that the Portuguese make carrots delicious jam and export it to Europe, and according to European legislation, jam can only be made from fruits.

• Contains more natural sugar than and. Onion slices contain 6% sugar. When fried, when caustic substances evaporate, the onion becomes sweet.

• Peru is considered the homeland, or rather, the coastal strip of land between Ecuador and the northern part of Chile, where this crop was grown long before the appearance of Europeans. The ancient Aztec name "tomatl" (big berry) eventually evolved into the well-known "tomato". Tomato for a long time. like other plants brought from the newly discovered continent, it was considered poisonous.

• IN English language there is no difference between the terms fruit and fruit.

• The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in 1893 that tomatoes should be considered vegetables for customs duties (although the court noted that botanically speaking, tomatoes are fruits).

• In 2001, the European Union decided that tomatoes are not vegetables, but fruits.

• Thus, in Europe, tomatoes are a fruit, and in the USA, they are vegetables.

• If a tomato is considered a fruit, then it confidently holds the palm among fruits: more than 60 million tons of tomatoes are produced annually in the world, which is 16 million more than the production of bananas. Apples are third with 36 million tons, followed by oranges (34 million tons) and (22 million tons).

• The same song with: according to the botanical classification, the cucumber is a fruit and is considered as a false berry, according to the culinary - a vegetable.

• In Iran, cucumber is considered a fruit and is served on the table along with sweets.

• Our ancestors used instead of blush.

• It is believed that the word "" comes from the ancient Greek and ancient Roman "caputum" (head), which emphasizes the peculiar shape of this vegetable.

• is an excellent manufacturer of fertilizer. During growth, nodules are formed on the roots, which fix atmospheric nitrogen, which is so necessary for our plants. After peas and other representatives of the legume family, approximately 100 g of mineral nitrogen per 1 sq. km remains in the soil. m.

• - these are not trees at all, these are giant perennial grasses with huge spiral leaves that come out directly from the rhizome, forming a false trunk, often reaching a height of 5 - 9 m. The plant is considered one of the highest grasses in the world.

• In the southwestern regions of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, it is denoted by the word "kavun". Pumpkin is called pumpkin in Ukraine and Belarus.

• From the point of view of merchandising, melon is a dessert vegetable.

• Melon has excellent anti-aging properties. In the East they say: "Melon makes hair shiny, eyes young, lips fresh, desires strong, opportunities feasible, men desirable, and women beautiful."

Tomatoes are both vegetables and fruits, kiwis have more vitamins than oranges, apples and roses have a lot in common! These are just some interesting facts about fruits and vegetables! Read on for others. Turns out we don't know much about them!

bell pepper is a fruit

Surprised? Scientists define fruits as plants that develop from a flower and contain seeds. So, peppers - zucchini, cucumbers and pumpkins - are fruits. Perhaps this information will make you reconsider the recipe for your favorite fruit salad.

Bananas are berries

A real berry is a fruit that develops from one flower and one ovary. The ovary is the female part of the flower. This means that grapes, kiwis and bananas are berries.

Steamed broccoli is the best choice

If you're trying to lower your cholesterol levels, steamed broccoli will be your go-to. Raw broccoli contains elements aimed at combating cancer cells. Compared to the stems, the cabbage florets themselves are much healthier. And cabbage leaves, which are often just thrown away, contain some nutrients that are not found either in the stem or in the inflorescences.

Avocado is a fruit

An avocado contains seeds, which automatically makes it a fruit. It contains a lot healthy fats that lower cholesterol levels. Avocados also help the body absorb nutrients from other foods, such as tomatoes.

Potatoes are a storehouse of potassium

Potassium is needed by our body for muscle strengthening and control blood pressure. Bananas are considered the main source of this element. Not many people know that a potato contains much more potassium than a banana. It has no fat and is good source vitamins and iron.

Tomatoes are fruits and ... vegetables

Tomatoes are fruits. But, in accordance with the law, and vegetables too. Juicy backstory: In 1800, in the Port of New York, all vegetables were taxed, but fruits were not. The importer, wanting to cut costs, went to court to claim that his tomatoes were fruits. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled that tomatoes are often served with meat or fish and are a vegetable. Thus, the tax on tomatoes still had to be paid.

Figs vs milk

Trying to replenish your calcium stores? Instead of another glass of milk, turn your attention to fruit. Figs contain high amounts of calcium. A glass of dried figs equals the same amount of milk. Unlike a cold drink, figs also great source fiber. But don't overdo it. Figs are “stuffed” with sugars and calories.

Blackberries are not exactly a berry.

In the plant world, blackberries, raspberries, and even strawberries are not berries, but inflorescences of tiny individual fruits that have grown together. But even under other names, they are still just as tasty and sweet.

Kiwi or orange?

Kiwi can deliver a nutritional punch to any of the fruits. It contains twice as much vitamin C as oranges, and in terms of potassium levels and low salt content, it can create an alternative to bananas. Kiwis are packed with vitamins, minerals and nutrients beneficial to the cardiovascular system.

Apples and roses - what do they have in common?

Apples are a good source of fiber and vitamin C. And they are so fragrant! Have you ever thought about it? Apples, pears, cherries and plums are just some of the fruits that share a common ancestry with roses.

Carrot sticks or baby carote

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Those cute little carrots grocery store not at all the “babies” of a large carrot. They are carved from large varieties, which are sweeter and thinner than traditional carrot. In addition to being a convenient size, they are rich in vitamins, just like their full-sized versions.