Fruit

October 24, 2005

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Ladyfest Guelph

I’ve been busy over the last few months with a number of workshops and projects but thought I would take a moment to document some of that here before the experiences escape me.

I did a workshop called “Grocery Store Gardening” at Ladyfest Guelph back in Sept. Here’s the promo:

“Turn the waste from tonight’s meal into totally free, yet extraordinary houseplants. In this workshop you will learn how to grow unusual fruit trees, groovy houseplants, and edible herbs from the stuff that is normally thrown into the compost bin. Participants will take plants home with them at the end of the workshop. Please bring along any of the following items, if youÃ¯Â¿Â½ve got them: empty margarine containers or old plant pots, left-over fruit seeds: mango pits, pineapple tops, avocado pits.”

The prep work for the workshop was a bit more intense than usual as I had to make a few shopping trips for supplies and prepare some of the plant matter ahead of time but the overall experience was a lot of fun. It was just fun watching reactions to some of the unusual fruits I brought along.

I had to carry my materials on the Greyhound to Guelph which was an experience in itself. I took large cuttings of several pungent herbs including African blue basil minutes before I left and the smell emminating from my person was quite intense.

There was a Bonsai show taking place in the University Centre at the same time as Ladyfest and I must confess that I couldn’t resist and bought a Boweia aka False Sea Onion. It was too crazy to pass up and I’m too much of a succulent addict. Can’t stop the plant mania! Thankfully (or sadly) the Cactus and Succulent Society show & sale was not on. I’ve heard they tag-team it with the Orchid Society show & sale. Temptation like that would have meant sudden death to my bank account.

Unfortunately, I did not take any photos (kind of hard to do in the middle of giving a workshop). However, if you’d like to try your hand at growing your own grocery store plants, I have posted a few articles on this site over the years that delve into the subject. See:

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July 2, 2005

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Rooftop Garden: July 1

Things are coming along swell on the rooftop garden. In fact, this is turning out to be my best year ever! The weather has been incredibly hot and dry, and as a result I have been out there religiously watering containers, sometimes as much as twice per day. But the combination of heat and consistent watering has resulted in a stellar turnout, especially for plants such as basil and tomato that suffered in last summer’s cool, grey weather.
Read more…

Wild Apple Taste-off

Guest post by Beate Schwirtlich

Method

Hitting the road with a cup of coffee in a travel mug, my search for wild roadside apple trees begins. I find what I am looking for, a row of gnarled, unpruned wild apple trees growing side by side on a gravel road. I can see right away that some are red, others yellow, some big, some small. I pick some, open my notebook and make my predictions (or should I say guesses?). Which apple will taste best? Which will be sweetest? Which one will taste awful?

Hypothesis

I doubt I will be able to predict which apple tastes best just by looking at them.

The Predictions

Smaller apples will be the most sour.
Larger, redder apples will be sweeter.

With seven apples collected, I made my on-sight predictions of how tasty I thought they would be.

1. Best tasting, crispiest. Like store bought?
2. Hard and sour, but tasty?
3. Sourest, hardest and worst tasting
4. Watery tasting, soft and mid-sweet. Pie apple?
5. Hard, tangy and flavourful. Like Granny Smith?
6. Hardest, but sweet and strong.
7. Sweet, tasty and crispy. Like Macintosh?

… drum roll …

The Results

Reordered from best to worst tasting:

6. (1) Best tasting apple. Sweet like red delicious. Not bitter.
3. (2) Very much like #2, but sweeter.
1. (3) Sour sweet taste. Slightly mealy. Is like store bought.
2. (4) Sweeter than #1 but a bitter tinge. Crispy.
7. (5) Juiciest but watery, bland and sour.
4. (6) Watery but sweet taste. Bitter aftertaste.
5. (7) Soft. Bitter smell. Bad tasting.

Observations

The apple I thought would be one of the worst tasting (it was so small) turned out to be much the best. The apple I thought would be one of the best, number 5, was awful.

Some apples were sweet, but still not that great because they were also bitter.

Usually the smaller apple of the two samples from each tree was the sweetest.

Conclusions

The larger apple is not the better apple. The smaller apples were as sweet or sweeter than the larger ones, and had more flavour overall.

One of the worst qualities of wild apples is a bitter tinge that otherwise sweet apples sometimes have.

All the apples were more tart and sour than many store-bought apples. However, they all generally had a stronger more intense flavour than store-bought apples ever do. Six out of seven of these apples were delicious. Next time I pick wild apples, I’m going to look for more of the hardy, small apples.

…

“Wild Apples” by Thoreau

“Apples for grafting appear to have been selected commonly, not so much for their spirited flavor, as for their mildness, their size, and bearing qualities, not so much for their beauty, as for their fairness and soundness. Indeed, I have no faith in the selected lists of pomological gentlemen. Their “Favorites” and “None-suches” and “Seek-no-farthers,” when I have fruited them, commonly turn out very tame and forgetable. They are eaten with comparatively little zest, and have no real tang nor smack to them.” —from “Wild Apples” by Thoreau

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July 30, 2002

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Fruits and Herbs – Our Favourite Fragrant Foods

Guest post by Eleanor Athens

The science of taste is complex and amazing, as anyone who has ever bitten into a sun-warmed tomato in a summer garden can tell you. Much of the enjoyment we get from eating is actually caused by volatile aroma chemicals; we smell our food as we taste it. We can detect over 10,000 odors, versus only five taste classifications. That’s why eating’s just not as much fun with a stuffy nose.

But why?

Why do fruits and herbs smell this way? Is it for our enjoyment? Well, maybe, but for them it’s also a matter of survival of the species. Have you ever wondered why you’re in the garden admiring untouched fruit that needs just one more day to be perfectly ripe, and the next day you go out and someone (beast or bug) has gotten there first? Fruits want to be eaten. They broadcast themselves across your garden. We may have to hold a strawberry up to our human noses in order to smell it, but to animals, it’s crying out with a chemical signal: “Come and get it!” In the desire to propagate the species, plants offer up their fruit as delicious little sacrifices, so the seed can spread far and wide.

Unlike fruit, herbs aren’t begging to be eaten; far from it. The fragrance of herbs is in their essential oils, the aromatic essence of the plant. The essential oils often contain chemicals that are distasteful to insects and other animals (though not to us). This is one of the theories behind companion planting. The tasty fragrance of herbs is partly a result of the complex chemical warfare plants wage to survive. For example, borage and basil planted with your tomatoes deter hornworms, and the menthol content in mints and the citronella in lemon balm and lemongrass repels many insects.

Getting the most from your fragrant foods

Fruit, like cheese, releases its fragrance best at room temperature. Think of the sun-warmed tomato, all its yummy aroma chemicals floating free — as opposed to one straight from the icebox, scent deadened by the cold. If you’re serving a cheese plate for dessert, it’s a good idea to take the fruit and cheese out of the refrigerator just before dinner.

Prolonged heat can denature fragile aroma chemicals, which is why it’s preferable to add tender herbs such as parsley and cilantro at the end of cooking. Woody herbs such as rosemary and thyme stand up much better to extended cooking times.

Don’t be afraid to play with your food. Handling releases the volatile chemicals. Crush herbs in your fingers or rub your thumb over a peach, and inhale. Remember, without fragrance there’s no flavor.

- – -

Eleanor Athens is the founder of Athens Atelier, an organic perfumery. Athens Atelier fragrances are made from pure essential oils and absolutes following the tradition of aromatherapy and the modern science of aromachology; that scents have the power to make us feel good.

Teja Ream is an art grad student living in California in a studio apartment covered in mandevilla. When 9 years old she was convinced she had a special talent for growing things and decided to let the world know by painting her thumb green. Later when she washed off the paint, there was a perceptible green stain that had managed to seep into her skin, which she took as a sign from a higher being that she was destined for botanical greatness…still working on that, need help with orchids.

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May 30, 2001

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Save Your Plant – Pineapple Top

If you happen to have a pineapple on hand to eat, (and they are abundant and cheap during the late spring and summer months), then why not take a few minutes and grow your own pineapple plant from the discarded top?

It seems nearly mythological that anyone can grow a tropical fruit such as pineapple in his or her own home. But as long as you have a sunny window and a moderate indoor climate you can grow your own. Don’t expect a large harvest. Each plant produces one fruit and yours will never grow to the size of a full grown Hawaiian-farmed plant, unless you do live in a tropical climate.

Pineapple
Ananas comosus

High in vitamin C
First commercially grown in Hawaii
Anana means “excellent fruit”

A fruit that is green and fresh picked is best. But, since it is unlikely that you would want to eat such a fruit, try to find one that is ripe but not overripe. Test for ripeness by gently pulling on a leaf. If it pops out with ease, the fruit is overripe.

At home, slice the crown (that’s the leafy top part) off the fruit. Be sure to remove all the flesh. If you don’t remove this material it may rot in the soil. Carefully slice small, horizontal sections from the crown until you see root buds that appear as small dots or circles on the cut surface. [See pic] The root buds are where the roots will eventually emerge and exposing them will facilitate quicker root formation. My pineapple top already had small roots formed as well. Strip off about an inch of lower leaves from the base to provide a stem for planting in the soil. Then set the plant top aside for a minimum of seven days in a dry place, out of full sun. The cut end must be allowed to heal and dry before planting, otherwise the plant will rot in the soil.
Although the pineapple plant is a Bromeliad, it is not an air plant and requires a soil bed. Regular potting soil is sufficient, but I like to add a small amount of sand to the mixture. Pineapple plants require soil that is barely moist, not wet. I suggest using a clay or terracotta pot that breathes, to help avoid over-watering. Water your plant once a week, spraying the leaves in addition to wetting the soil. Fertilize four to six times a year.

The pineapple plant requires a lot of light. Keep yours in a sunny window throughout the winter, in a location that is protected from drafts and cold temperatures. In summer place your plant outside in a sunny location, being careful to allow the plant to adjust to more direct light by placing it in an area with partial sun for a few days first. If you don’t take this precaution your plant will be burned. Do not leave your plant out during freezing weather. Pineapple plants should never be subjected to temperatures lower then 60 degrees F ( 16 C ).

Getting a pineapple to bear fruit is harder than growing one. Once your plant is approximately 25-30 inches tall it will flower and produce fruit on its own. But how many people have the space for a 30 inch plus spiky plant? It will take at least two years to grow a plant of that size in a temperate climate.
Luckily, there is a way to force your plant to flower and bear fruit when it is half that size.

Wait until the winter season when the days are shorter and the nights cooler. Pineapple plants normally begin to produce fruit during this time. Place the entire plant, including the pot, into a plastic bag with some ripe apples. As apples rot, they emit Ethylene gas which tricks the plant into forming a flower instead of producing new leaves. Keep the plant in the bag with the apples for approximately 2 weeks or so. Place the plant back in a sunny window and wait for a flower spike to form in the center of the plant.

After several months the flower will dry out and the pineapple will form at the top end of the stem. Wait until the fruit turns a golden yellow colour before picking. After harvesting the fruit you may notice new shoots left on the plant. These can be removed and planted in the same method as the original mother plant. You can also grow another plant from the crown of the harvested fruit, leaving you with several, new, free plants.

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