Cranberries

Vaccinium macrocarpon are cranberries native to North America. They are in the heaths and heathers family along with lowbush blueberries, rhododendron, and mountain laurel. Tens of thousands of years ago, receding glaciers carved out cavities in the land where newly...
Pomological Conundrum

Pomological Conundrum

Pomological Conundrum   The Apple “The goldenrod is yellow. The corn is turning brown. The trees in apple orchards with fruit are bending down.”— Helen Hunt Jackson   Known as the king of all fruits, the apple is found in every farmstand at  this time of the year...
Our Harvest: Neeps and Swedes

Our Harvest: Neeps and Swedes

Our Harvest: Neeps and Swedes Turnips (Brassica rapa) are believed to have originated in middle and eastern Asia. It is a biennial root vegetables in the mustard family. Cultivated before the 15th century BC in India, it was grown for its oil-bearing seeds, otherwise...
Tasty Transformation

Tasty Transformation

Tasty Transformation: Quince “They dined on mince, and slices of quince, which they ate with a runcible spoon; And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, They danced by the light of the moon.” —Edward Lear The favorite fruit of the goddess of love, Aphrodite,...

Grapes

“The juice of the grape is the liquid quintessence of concentrated sunbeams.”  Thomas Love Peacock   Grapes are a berry of a deciduous woody vine of the flowering plant Vitis. The name is old English and comes from the tool used to harvest them—“grap hook.”...

Brussels sprouts

  Brussels sprouts (and yes, that is the proper name whether you are referring to one or many) have been cultivated since Ancient Roman times.  In fact, they are of Mediterranean origin. Brussels sprouts, or Choux de Bruxelles, that we know today, were possibly...