Most of us have absolutely no idea how certain foods come to life and the plants that make up the foods we eat every day.
Where do capers come from? And is cinnamon already beautiful than made? Do Brussels sprouts grow on trees? And who has ever seen the cashew tree? Come on, unless you are an expert botanist, of many things you eat you do not know the "plant" of origin or even where they "come from".
In short, most of us have absolutely no idea how certain foods come to life. Starting with some types of vegetables to finish with peanuts, passing through various types of fruit.
So here's a roundup of stuff that you put at the table and, at least once in your life, you've wondered: does it come from trees or bushes?
Index
Ananas
Nothing could be simpler: pineapples come from crazy bushes that seem to pop out of the ground without an order. The fruit comes from the center of the plant without a great demand for water. What everyone knows is that it is a tropical plant, which, however, can also be grown in subtropical areas and withstand drops in temperature down to 0 ° C. To find out more, read our article on how to grow pineapple.
Sesame seeds
The delicious sesame seeds with their exclusive calcium supply come from sprouts that grow straight and tall outside the ground inside small pods that are called "buds". It is an annual plant that reaches 50 centimeters in height and whose flowers are white and tubular. The seeds are small, white or black, depending on the variety and, once harvested, they are stored dried or toasted.
Carciofi
Artichokes come from a large purple flower with feathery tops. What we eat is in fact the flower itself, the inflorescence "ready to peek out". The artichoke plants can reach up to one and a half meters in height, its leaves are very large.
Brussels sprouts
Brussels sprouts are edible sprouts of the herbaceous plant Brassica oleracea L., of the gemmifera family, belonging to the cruciferous family and to the category of cabbages. They grow from a green leafy plant measuring 2,5 to 4 centimeters in diameter. They grow in a cluster and look like small cabbages.
capers
Capers grow on a real vine of beautiful white flowers and are nothing more than the unopened buds of the flowers. The Capparis spinosa plant needs a lot of sun and fears frost, it is part of the capparidaceae family and the part that is used in the kitchen is its bud, from which the flower is born.
Pistachios
Pistachios grow in clusters on trees. These trees usually take seven to ten years to achieve significant production with peak production reaching around 20 years. The pistachios are then dried and dried or processed in machines.
Peanuts
Peanuts are the edible seeds of a plant of the Legume family typical of Brazil. Peanuts look like small yellow flowers when they grow out of the ground. The peanut plant is herbaceous and produces legumes: it usually self-seeds and develops pods containing the seeds that we are used to eating. Read our article on how to grow peanuts to learn more
Kiwi
Kiwis are also initially flowers that hang down on a vine and grow along trellises. The flower turns into kiwis which drop until ready to be harvested. The plant from which the fruit derives is the Actinidia deliciosa, native to southern China.
Saffron
Saffron comes from beautiful bright purple flowers. The saffron stems come out from the center of the flowers: it is grown starting from the bulbs, as is the case with tulip or iris flowers.
Vanilla pod
Not everyone knows that vanilla is a beautiful orchid, which is grown not for the flowers, but for the capsules - the "pods" in fact - which are particularly aromatic. The plant produces long pods which are treated and dried. To find out more, also read our article on how to obtain the extract for flavoring from the vanilla bean
Cashews
Cashews are really weird: they grow on trees! Shrubs produce cashew "apples", then the ones we are used to eating grow from apples. You might be interested in learning more about how cashews are made
almonds
Almonds grow from flowering trees. The little flowers turn into pods and inside those pods are almonds. Very good!
Cinnamon
The famous spice is obtained from the bark of the evergreen Cinnamomum verum tree that Indonesian growers cut, peel and scrape to dry. The larger pieces of cinnamon are ground into a powder, while the narrower ones are made into sticks.
Redberry
Blueberries grow from evergreen dwarf shrubs that bear flowers which in turn become the little pieces of fruit we know.
