9781422269893

Chapter

Fruits for Health

Just about everyone knows that bananas, apples, oranges, strawberries, grapes, and cherries are fruits. But how about cucumbers, avocados, eggplant, and tomatoes? Most people classify these foods as vegetables, but they are in fact fruits. So are almonds and acorns, even though almost everyone thinks of these as nuts. Botanists consider a fruit to be any part of a plant that covers one or more seeds. However, most people go by the culinary definition of fruits (how they are actually used), which means that they only include sweet fruits in the “fruit” category while classifying savory fruits as vegetables. The information in this chapter covers culinary fruits to make it easier for readers to understand which foods are being discussed. How Are Fruits Classified? Fruits are typically divided into six main groups: berries, citrus fruits, cores, melons, pits, and tropical fruits. Berries are simple fruits with a seed and pulp. They include cranberries, blueberries, elderberries, goji berries, and white currants. Bananas, tomatoes, grapes, eggplants, watermelons,

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