Fruit Facts

What are Fruits?

        In cuisine, when discussing fruits as food, the term usually refers to those that are sweet and fleshy (ex. bananas, mangos, pineapples). However, a great many common vegetables, as well as nuts and grains, are the fruit of that plant species. These include cucurbits, tomatoes, peas, beans, corn, eggplant, sweet pepper and spices, such as allspice and chillies. Rarely, a culinary “fruit” will not be a true one in the botanical sense, for example the carrot or rhubarb.

Fruit Types and Classification:

  • Tropical and Exotic (Bananas, Mango, Pineapple, Carambola…)
  • Fruit-Vegetables (Cucumber, Tomato, Green and Hot Pepper, Avocado…)
  • Citrus (Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit, Orange, Tangerine, Pumello…)
  • Berries and Small Fruit (Strawberry, Raspberry, Huckleberry, Currants, Grapes…)
  • Tree fruit (Apple, Apricot, Cherry, Peach, Nectarine, Fig, Pear…)
  • Melons (Watermelon , Sweet Melon, Papaya, Galia, Casaba and more)
  • Nuts (Peanuts, Almonds, Hazelnuts, Chestnuts, Macadamianuts, Groundnuts)
  • Olives

Why eat Fruit?

  • They are 100% bad-cholesterol free
  • They are delicious!
  • They are not expensive
  • Vitamins and Minerals
  • Fibers
  • An overall healthy diet reduces the risk for stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes.