Willett Garden of Learning Fall Fruits

Transcription

1 Willett Garden of Learning Fall Fruits Activity: Taste fresh pomegranates, persimmons, kiwis, and asian pears Goals: To learn what fruits ripen in Davis in the fall and appreciate that food doesn t just come from grocery stores. Supplies: Fruits (2 of each fruit per class), knives, cutting boards, colander Optional: clipboard, pencils, colored pencils or crayons (from classroom), clipboard, paper, graph matrix How to proceed: There are several activities that can be done. You can select which ones to do based on the interests and abilities of your students, as well as what activities your students have already done in previous years. Minimal: Wash, cut, and eat each of the fruits. Warning: pomegrante juice stains Discuss how each of these fruits are grown locally, most from Willett families yards. Pomegrantes are from the Breitbard and Hart families. Hachiya Persimmons are from Mr. Bristow. (Other fruits were purchased from a fruit stand.) Pictures are of Breitbard pomegranate tree and a persimmon tree in the Willett neighborhood.

2 Activity 1: discuss background information Many fruit trees grow well in Davis, and you can select those with fruit ripening at different times of the year. For example, in the spring you could have cherries and apricots, in the summer peaches and plums, and in the fall, you could have some of the fruits we are trying today. Ask students what fruit trees they have at home and when they ripen. Activity 2: describe & compare Have students describe the fruits (taste, texture, appearance, etc). Compare how these fruits are similar or different. Activity 3: poll & graph Poll the students to find out which they liked best. Have them graph their preference on the graph matrix. Activity 4: money/math Pomegranates cost $2 each. Persimmons cost $1 each. Pears cost $1 each. Kiwis cost 25 each. How much would it cost for a group to have one of each fruit? There are 10 students in a group, how much is the cost per student? There are two groups per class, how much There are 8 classes, how much

3 Background Information Persimmon ( wikipedia. org/wiki/persimmon ) Persimmon most commonly refers to the edible fruit borne by some species of the genus Diospyros. They are also known as kaki, 'Sharon Fruit' (exclusively reserved for persimmons grown in Israel), black sapote, mabolo or velvet-apple, or date-plum. The word persimmon comes from an Algonquian language of the eastern United States, meaning "a dry fruit." Persimmons tend to be light yellow-orange to dark redorange in color, varying from 2-8 cm in diameter, and may be spherical, acorn or pumpkin shaped depending on the species. The calyx often remains attached to the fruit after picking. They are eaten fresh, dried, cooked and canned. They are high in glucose, have a balanced protein profile, and are good sources of vitamins A and C. There are generally two types of these fruits, those that are astringent until extremely ripe and those that are non-astringent. Astringent types (e.g. Hachiya) contain high levels of soluble tannins and cannot be eaten until custard-soft. Non-astringent types (e.g. Fuyu) are less astringent when unripe and lose their astringency earlier. They can be eaten at various stages of firmness, from very hard to very soft. Persimmons are among the most ancient fruits known to man. They were domesticated in China and Japan over 4,000 years ago. Pomegranates ( wikipedia. org/wiki/pomegranate ) The pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 5 8 m tall. It is believed to have originated in eastern Iran and southern Afghanistan region, but its true native range is not accurately known because of millennia of extensive cultivation. Spanish missionaries brought the fruit to California in the eighteenth century. The fruit is between an orange and a grapefruit in size, 7 12 cm in diameter

4 with a rounded hexagonal shape, and has thick reddish skin and many seeds. The edible parts are the seeds and the red seed pulp surrounding them. Open the pomegranate by scoring it with a knife and breaking it open. Pomegranates are a good source of vitamin C. The myth of Persephone, the dark goddess of the Underworld, prominently features the pomegranate. In one version of Greek mythology, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and taken off to live in the underworld as his wife. Her mother, Demeter (goddess of the Harvest), went into mourning for her lost daughter and thus all green things ceased to grow. Zeus, the highest ranking of the Greek gods, could not leave the Earth to die, so he commanded Hades to return Persephone. It was the rule of the Fates that anyone who consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Persephone had no food, but Hades tricked her into eating six pomegranate seeds while she was still his prisoner and so, because of this, she was condemned to spend six months in the Underworld every year. During these six months, when Persephone is sitting on the throne of the Underworld next to her husband Hades, her mother Demeter mourns and no longer gives fertility to the earth. This became an ancient Greek explanation for the seasons. Kiwifruit ( This fruits history began in the Chang Kiang Valley of China. Called Yang Tao by the Chinese, it was considered a delicacy by the great Khans who relished the fruit s brilliant flavor and emerald green color. Knowledge of the fruit (known outside China as the Chinese Gooseberry ) expanded to other countries in the mid 1800 s to 1900 s. The first experimental gooseberry plants were first exported to New Zealand and the U.S. in In 1960, an experimental commercial vineyard (consisting of 12 gooseberry vines) was planted in California. At this time, New Zealand was already exporting gooseberries to specialized markets and in 1962 a customer asked a produce manager at her local Safeway supermarket for Chinese Gooseberries. Never having heard of the fruit, the manager contacted produce dealer, Frieda Caplan. Although unfamiliar with the exotic fruit at that time, Caplan was introduced to the gooseberry and she began importing New Zealand gooseberries until California started producing its own fruit. During this time period, the fruit was renamed "kiwifruit" due to its similar appearance to the national bird of New Zealand, the kiwi bird which is a brown, fuzzy, funny-looking,

5 round bird. The pioneers of commercial production of kiwifruit in California were Judd Ingram in the Delano area (planted 1967) and George Tanimoto in the Gridley area (planted 1968). It didn t take long for California farmers to recognize the potential popularity of kiwifruit. Between 1981 and 1986 kiwifruit production in California rose 667 percent. National produce associations and trade magazines began to recognize the growing popularity of kiwifruit proclaiming it the fresh fruit item most often tried for the first time and the hot produce item of the year. By this time, the exceptional nutritional value of kiwifruit was also becoming widely recognized. Nutritional studies revealed that kiwifruit is the most nutrient dense of all major fruits. Kiwifruit was found to contain more vitamin C than an orange and more potassium than a banana. It was also discovered to have ample amounts of folate, copper, fiber, vitamin E and lutein. In fact, the health benefits of kiwifruit were so overwhelming that in 1992, the Center for Science in the Public Interest ranked kiwifruit among the top 10 most nutritious fruits. In 1992, worldwide kiwifruit production reached record levels. But, despite production increases, California was still a small player. While California produced its 13 million trays, New Zealand produced 75 million, Chile grew 30 million and Italy, the biggest producer, generated a whopping 98 million trays of kiwifruit. California produces around 98% of the kiwifruit grown in the US. Kiwifruit has remained a relatively small agricultural industry in California made up of less than 300 growers who farm around 13 acres each. Due to California kiwifruit s fall harvest, fresh kiwifruit is available to consumer during the winter months, an uncommon time for the homegrown fresh fruits. California s kiwifruit season runs from October through April. The southern hemisphere kiwifruit, New Zealand and Chile, has an opposite season so the combination of the two harvesting seasons allows consumers to enjoy fresh kiwifruit all year. Asian Pears ( Asian pears comprise a large group of pears that are crisp in texture and, when mature, are good to eat as soon as harvested or for several months after picking if held in cold storage. This readyto-eat feature may make them more acceptable to some people than European pears that are usually served

6 when soft and juicy, which takes about a week to occur after removal from cold storage. Asian pears do not change texture after picking or storage as do European pears such as Bartlett or Comice. Often Asian pears are called apple pears because they are crisp and juicy like apples but with a different and distinctive texture. They also are called salad pears, Nashi (Japanese for "pear"), Oriental, Chinese or Japanese pears (Nihonnashi). All Asian pears today are selected seedlings or crosses made within the species Pyrus serotina. Asian pears have been grown commercially in Asia for centuries. In Japan about 500,000 tons are grown and some fruit is exported to the United States in October and November. China and Korea also grow these pears for domestic consumption and export to the United States and Canada. Most new Asian pear plantings in California are in Fresno, Tulare and Kern Counties. Older plantings are found in Placer and Sacramento Counties and limited new plantings are being made in the Sacramento Valley. A few plantings exist in Yakima and Wenatchee, Washington, and others are found in Hood River and Willamette Valley in Oregon. In the last few years plantings of Asian pears were made in New Zealand, Australia, Chile, France, and the eastern and southeastern United States. It is roughly estimated that 4,000-5,000 acres of Asian pears are planted in California, Oregon and Washington. Most trees are just beginning production since most recent plantings started in Since 1984 about 100,000 trees (500 acres) of Asian pears have been planted every year in California. Harvest season in California is late summer through early fall. Other fall fruits grown in California Apples ( California is the 2nd largest exporter of apples in the United States, and the 5th largest producer of apples in the United States. California apples are available in markets between July and December. California specializes in four varieties, which include: Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, and Pink Ladies.

7 Avocados ( Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable, belonging to the genus Persea in the Lauraceae family. California produces about 90% of the nation's avocado crop. The US is the 3 rd largest producer of avocados in the world (following Mexico and Indonesia) Avocado is a corruption of the Spanish word aguacate, which is in turn a corruption of the Aztec word ahuacatl. Figs ( Although considered a fruit, the fig is actually a flower that is inverted into itself. The seeds are drupes, or the real fruit. Figs are the only fruit to fully ripen and semi-dry on the tree. The fig is believed to be indigenous to western Asia and to have been distributed by man throughout the Mediterranean area. Remnants of figs have been found in excavations of sites traced to at least 5,000 B.C. The fig grows best and produces the best quality fruit in Mediterranean and dryer warm-temperate climates.