Strawberries

Did You Know? Strawberries are the only fruit that wear their seeds on the outside? In fact the average strawberries has 200 seeds adoring them! Strawberries are members of the rose family! The Strawberry Museum aka Le Musée de le Fraise finds its home in Belgium where you can taste everything from strawberry jam to drink strawberry flavoured beer. Strawberries are a medicinal plant! Many feel they reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer; the berry is low in calories, high in vitamins C, B6, K, fiber, folic acid, potassium and amino acids. 

Summertime means harvest time and here are some fun facts about local foods you are either harvesting from your garden or purchasing from your local farmers market!

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Corn 

Did You Know? If you were to count the number of kernels on a cob of corn you would find on average an ear of corn has 800 kernels in 16 rows on each cob. A cob of corn is really just a part of a flower where each individual kernel is a seed. Corn comes in many colours including blackish, blue-gray, purple, green, red, white, and of course traditional yellow! With the exception of Antarctica, corn is grown on every continent in the world! One bushel of corn could sweeten more than 400 cans of soda pop!

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Tomatoes 

Did You Know? The name Tomato is derived from the Aztec “xitomati” meaning “plump thing with a navel” — seriously! Tomatoes are not just red — other colours are possible including yellow, orange, pink, black, brown, white and purple. According to the US Department of Agriculture there are approximately 25,000 tomato varieties. You need space to grow tomatoes! The largest tomato plant recorded in 2000 reached 19.8 meters (65 feet) in length! The largest worldwide producer of tomatoes is China followed by USA, Turkey, India and Egypt. 

Tomato translator: English: Tomato; French: Tomate; Dutch: Tomaat; German: Tomate; Danish: Tomat; Spanish: Tomate; Italian: Pomodoro.

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Zucchini

Did You Know? Zucchini has more potassium than a banana. The word zucchini comes from the Italian word “zucca” meaning squash. Bernard Lavery of Plymouth Devon, UK, holds the record for the world’s largest zucchini weighing in at 65 lbs and measuring 69.5 inches in length! However biggest is not the best — the most flavourful zucchini are small to medium sized. The bigger the zucchini the older and woodier it is! From August 21–24 Obetz, Ohio hosts it’s annual zucchini festival including a parade and a zucchini judging contest. Zucchini is one of the most versatile of vegetables — it can be shredded into noodles, for replacement in pasta dishes and lasagna; it can be the main ingredient in breads, pancakes, fritters and cakes; and even baked into chips! 

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