7 Most Fascinating Facts About Fruits and Vegetables

7 Most Fascinating Facts About Fruits and Vegetables 

7Toxic Potatoes

The common potato is a member of the Solanum genus and a kissing cousin of deadly nightshade. Like nightshade, the potato produces large amounts of substances called glycoalkaloids, particularly one nasty strain called solanine. This poison is the potato’s defense mechanism that keep it from getting eaten, and is most concentrated in the leaves, stems, and shoots. Spotting any green on the skin of the potato is a sure indication of the presence of solanine. Most commercially available potatoes are carefully cultivated for low levels of the poison, but it is possible to get one with a high amount present, and people have died from ingesting potato solanine. While cooking can reduce the level, every potato you eat gives you at least some small amount of exposure.

6Grape Plasma

A simple grape can be turned from a solid to a gas to a plasma with a little ride in the microwave. There are sometimes inherent dangers involved in catastrophically changing states of matter, and the microwave might not survive this stunt. There is also a chance, however remote, that you might set your house on fire, so don’t try this one at home.

The set up is simple. Take a grape, and slice it about 90 percent of the way through, leaving both halves attached by a small strip of skin. Remove the rotating tray from the microwave, insert grape, and set it for no more than ten seconds. After a couple seconds, the moisture inside the grape emerges as a gas, and the charge between the two halves turns the steam into a brief electric lightshow. Placing a clear glass over the top of the grape will contain the plasma a few moments longer.

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5Cannibal Tomato

Fiji’s “cannibal tomato” is actually an eggplant. The plant closely resembles a tomato and was used by the natives of Fiji, who have practiced cannibalism for thousands of years, to create a sauce said to be the perfect compliment to eating human flesh. As I mentioned in a previous list, some modern-day folks who have tasted human meat have likened its flavor and consistency to that of veal, so it would seem appropriate to pair it with a nice marinara.

4Designer Melons

The watermelon originated in southern Africa, and its spread throughout the world highlights the existence of sophisticated trade routes in ancient times. It was consumed by Egyptians during the time of the pharaohs. It reached China by the 10th century and Europe in the 13th century.

Highly adaptable, the watermelon was a natural target for the Japanese appetite for novelty. Farmers discovered a way of raising the melons inside glass boxes so that they grow in a cube shape for easy storage in refrigerators. Other shapes—including pyramids—have also been formed. Even more outlandish are the prices paid for gourmet “Densuke” watermelons. Grown only on Hokkaido Island, the first few specimens harvested each year sell for thousands of dollars. The average Densuke melon retails for about $250.

3Purple Carrots

Like the watermelon, the carrot’s migration around the world can be traced, though there are some doubts regarding its origin. It is believed to have been first cultivated in modern-day Afghanistan, then swept into Europe along Middle Eastern trade routes. Of course, we would hardly recognize these ancient carrots—they were rather straggly and either white or purple. Beneath the green thumb of the Dutch, the carrot was bred into its current orange state. While most of us have never seen anything but orange carrots, other colors are available in high-end grocery and health food stores, often in “rainbow packs,” including white, yellow, red, purple, and even black varieties.

2Spinach, The Iron Vegetable

Spinach has a bad rap. Many people, particularly children, turn up their nose at the vegetable. Enter Elzie Segar, whose Popeye character derived superhuman strength from a can of spinach. There is no telling just how profound an impact Popeye has had on the worldwide consumption of spinach, but there have been statues erected of him in growing communities. Canner Allens Vegetables even markets a Popeye brand.

The story goes that spinach was chosen by Segar based on a faulty study from the 1800s that misplaced a decimal point in estimating the iron content of the vegetable. The story has since been proven a myth, with newer claims pointing to the vitamin A content as the reason Segar chose spinach. Spinach is rather healthy, but many people choose to boil it—which tends to remove many of the nutrients.

1The World’s Most Hated Vegetable

Unfortunately for our expanding waistlines, vegetables are often the most reviled of foods. President George H.W. Bush so hated broccoli that he made headlines when he banned it from the White House. Surveys in the UK have shown celery to be their least favorite green. But the world over, one vegetable continually tops the lists of “most hated”: brussels sprouts.

These tiny cabbages might be extremely healthy, with over a dozen vitamins and minerals, but their bitter flavor turns off most palates. In fairness to the sprouts, certain cooking methods can improve their taste. For best results, aficionados claim that smaller sprouts taste sweeter. Halving them, quickly boiling them, and then immersing them in cold water takes away some of the bitterness, and it helps to temper them with an acid like lemon or red vinegar.