A-Z of Fruit and Veg - Great Grub Club

5/20/2015 AZoffruitandvegGreatGrubClub

http://www.greatgrubclub.com/azfruitveg#.VVxYXbmqqko 1/31

Share +Just for grown ups!

A-Z of fruit and veg

Search A-Z of Fruit & Veg:

Find...

Apple

Granny Smith, Royal Gala, Golden Delicious and Pink Lady are just a fewof the thousands of different kinds of apple that are grown around theworld! You can make dried apple rings at home - ask an adult to help youtake out the core, thinly slice the apple and bake the rings in the oven ata low heat.

Did you know you can cook apples? Try our delicious and healthy bakedapples recipe.Back to top



Apricot

Apricots can be eaten fresh or dried - both are packed with vitamins!Fresh apricots have a soft and slightly furry skin. They make a goodlunchbox snack. Apricots are also high in beta-carotene - this helps uskeep our eyes and skin healthy.

Do you know where apricots grow? Play our online game 'Where does itgrow?' to learn where apricots and other vegetables and fruit grow.Backto top

AsparagusAsparagus is a shoot vegetable we eat the stalk and the tip. It makesany dish look more interesting with its unusual shape. Asparagus is agood source of a vitamin called folate, which is important for healthyblood.Back to top



AubergineMost aubergines are teardrop-shaped and have a glossy purple skin. Onthe inside, they are spongy and creamy white. Aubergines grow onbushes and are really fruits - although you wouldn't want to eat themraw. Australians and Americans call it eggplant because some types looka bit like large eggs!Back to top

Avocado

It is sometimes called an avocado pear. Avocado is often mistaken for avegetable because we eat it like a salad vegetable, but it is actually afruit. Avocados are at their best when they are ripe and very easy toprepare. They can simply be cut in half with the stone removed andeaten with a little salad dressing or chopped into a salad. Avocados are agood source of essential fats (the good ones) - one of the few fruits orvegetables that contain fat.

Is avocado a fruit? Test your knowledge. Take our 'Olive-tastic' quiz onvegetables and fruit.Back to top



Banana

Bananas make a nutritious snack! They are a great source of energy andcontain lots of vitamins and minerals, especially potassium, which isimportant to help cells, nerves and muscles in your body to work properlyand it helps to lower blood pressure. They have a thick skin to protectthem, which is green before bananas are ripe, and get more yellow incolour and sweeter in taste as they ripen. We peel away the skin and eatthe soft fleshy part of the fruit underneath. Bananas grow in hangingclusters, sometimes called hands, on the banana plant in tropical regionslike Southeast Asia. You can eat them raw, baked, dried or in a smoothie.Why don't you try mashing it up and have it with yoghurt or porridge oreven on brown toast?

Would you like to race a banana? Play our 'Beat the banana' online gameand see if you can beat Bertie to the finish line.Back to top

Beetroot



Beetroot is the root of the beet plant - which explains its name! Peoplehave grown it for food since Roman times. Raw beetroot is best for youand great for grating - peel it first. Try it in a salad or sandwich. Smallbeetroots are usually the sweetest. Ahhhh!

Did you know you can grow beetroot at home? Follow our guide togrowing beetroot. Its fun and easy.Back to top

Black-eye bean

In America, these beans are often called black-eyed peas or cow peas.They each have a little black dot on the side - this is where they wereonce attached to their pod, so it's a bit like a belly button! You can mixthem with all sorts of other beans to make a super salad.

Playing beanbag games is a great way to stay active. Learn how to make abeanbag by following our simple guide.Back to top

Broad bean

Another name for this bean is the Fava bean. Broad beans grow in agreen, leathery pod. The beans can be eaten fresh, when they are green,



or dried, when they have turned brown. The way to identify them is bytheir flat, broad shape. Beans are a good source of protein and fibre.

Why not try growing a bean plant at home? It's easy with our step-by-step instructions.Back to top

BroccoliBroccoli is closely related to cabbage - and it's another one of those'greens' we're always being told to eat up. The part of a broccoli plantwe normally eat is the lovely flowerhead - the flowers are usually greenbut sometimes purple. Steamed broccoli is tasty in a salad or stir-fry.Back to top

Brussels sproutBrussels sprouts are like mini cabbages! They grow out of the ground inknobbly rows on a long tough stalk. They contain loads of vitamin C. Canyou guess which country BRUSSELS sprouts originally came from? Well,Brussels is the capital city of Belgium!Back to top



Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is large and pear-shaped with a golden-brown to yellowskin. We don't eat the skin and seeds, only the flesh. The flesh is reallyhard when it is raw but it turns soft and sweet when it is cooked. It canbe roasted, pureed, mashed or used in soups or casseroles. It is a goodsource of beta-carotene, which is turned into vitamin A in the body.Beta-carotene gives the flesh its bright orange colour.

Keep warm in the winter! Try making Mixers butternut squash soup.Backto top

Carrot

Carrots grow underground and they can be used in all sorts of dishes -from casseroles to cakes. Raw carrots are great to crunch on and theymake a healthy juice, too. They contain lots of beta-carotene - this helpsus keep our eyes and skin healthy.

Use carrots to make Captain Carrot and other 'Funny face pizzas'.Backto top



CherryCherries are stone fruits - just like their friends the apricots. A cherrytree can carry on producing fruit for 100 years! Cherries grow fromstalks in pairs. Ahhh! Sweet ones like the Bing cherry are nicest on theirown or in a fruit salad. Sour ones like Morello cherries are tastiercooked.Back to top

Clementine

This citrus fruit is the smallest of the tangerines. The skin ofClementines can be peeled away easily and the segments dont containpips, which makes them a lot less messy to eat than some othervarieties. They smell so delicious and naturally sweet. They are ofteneaten at Christmas time. Citrus fruits are a good source of vitamin C.

Add segments of clementine to a fruit kebab for a fun way to eatfruit.Back to top

Courgette



A courgette is a type of squash and if it isn't picked early, it grows intoa marrow! Courgettes grow on bushes. They look quite like cucumbersand have very soft seeds. They can be cooked with onions, tomatoes,aubergines and peppers to make ratatouille. The American name for acourgette is 'zucchini'.

Courgettes count towards your 5 A DAY. Download our '5 A DAY bingo'game and have fun playing bingo with your friends.Back to top

Date

Dates are the fruit of the date palm tree and lots of them are grown inEgypt and California (USA). Dried dates make a super sweet snack. Theycan be chopped and sprinkled on cereal instead of sugar or honey.

We use dates in our mince pie recipe. Why not try making mince pies thisChristmas?Back to top

Elderberry

These little, almost black berries grow on bushes all over thecountryside in summer! They aren't good to eat raw but they are berrynice cooked with other fruits in pies or used to make jam!

WARNING: Some berries are poisonous, so don't pick them withoutchecking with an adult first. And never eat the leaves!



Back to top

Endive

Endive is a member of the lettuce family. It is shaped like a bulb and hasleaves that overlap each other - try peeling them off one by one to seehow many there are. The leaves are a bit bitter on their own but theyare delicious in a salad mixed with sweet tomatoes and slices of orange.

Endive leaves have a bright yellow tip. You could use some to add evenmore colour to our 'Rainbow salad' recipe.Back to top

Fennel

This vegetable tastes a bit like liquorice! Fennel is a plant that grows inthe ground. A bulb shape grows at the base of the plant, and this is the



part that you eat. Raw fennel adds a super crunchy taste to salads. Youcan also slice it and cook it like onion or celery to use in casseroles. Thefeathery leaves and seeds add flavouring to cooking, just like herbs.

Discover when fennel grows by reading our quick guide to what's inseason.Back to top

Fig

Figs are soft sweet fruits, full of small seeds and often eaten dried.They grow on trees. Fresh figs are delicious and jams and chutneys areoften made from them. The skin of a fig is very thin and ripe figs do notkeep or travel very well so in warm countries figs are dried.

Have you ever tried figs? What other vegetables and fruit have youtried? Tell us on the 'I tried' page.Back to top

Garlic

Did you know garlic can help keep mosquitoes away?! And yes, garlic can



make your breath smell a bit... garlicky! We eat all different parts ofplants and garlic is the bulb. Open it up and you'll see lots of segments -or cloves - with a papery covering. You only need to use one or two ofthese to add loads of extra flavour to a food.

Do you know what garlic looks like? Match up pairs of pictures in our funonline game and discover interesting facts.Back to top

Grape

Grapes grow in bunches on vines. On the inside, they are sweet, juicy andjelly-like. Green grapes are also called white grapes and are dried tomake sultanas. Purple ones can be called black grapes and are dried tomake raisins. There are red grapes too - red grape juice tastes totallydelicious!

Did you know grapes are a healthy snack? Why not try making a 'Healthysnack holder'?Back to top

Green beanFrench beans, runner beans, common beans, bobby beans, string beans,Thai beans, wax beans and haricots verts are all names for differenttypes of green bean. Wax beans aren't even green - they can be yellowor purple! Green beans are picked when they are very young - theyshould be bright in colour and firm. If the pods are bendy, they won'ttaste sweet and crunchy! To eat the beans, the ends should be choppedoff - this is called topping and tailing. They only need to be cooked inboiling water for a few minutes then they are ready to eat. In France,



they are often eaten in a salad with potatoes and tuna. Ask an adult tohelp you make one! Green beans are a good source of fibre, which helpskeep your tummy healthy. They also contain beta-carotene, which helpsus keep our eyes and skin healthy.Back to top

Guava

The guava fruit is widely grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions ofthe world. It can be round to pear-shaped with a thin skin that is greenand turns yellow as it ripens. The flesh can be white or even pink, andthe seeds can be eaten. The guava fruit contains lots of beta-carotene(which forms vitamin A in the body) and vitamin C. The flesh can make agreat snack or dessert chopped up, or scooped straight from the skin.

Did you know Guava is yellow? Download our yellow plant foods factsheetto learn more about yellow vegetables and fruit.Back to top

Haricot bean

These little beans are white and grow all over the world. Baking themgives you baked beans - the beans are cooked in a tomato sauce. Trythem on toast for breakfast. Beans are good for giving you energy.

Haricot beans are a pulse. Learn about other seeds and pulses withSearcher.Back to top



Honeydew melon

Honeydew melons grow on trailing vines along the ground. There areTHOUSANDS of different kinds of melon - they all have a hard outside,which you can't eat, and a juicy sweet inside that makes your mouthwater!

Our delicious 'Rainbow fruit salad' uses melon. Why not try making it?Back to top

Iceberg lettuce

There are many, many kinds of lettuce to choose from. Iceberg has acool, crisp taste. It adds lots of crunch to a sandwich! Other types oflettuce can be curly, dark green or even red! Iceberg lettuce leaves canmake a good wrapper for other foods - try wrapping one around a pieceof cheese or a boiled egg.

Grow your own lettuce leaves!Back to top



Jerusalem artichokeThe knobbly Jerusalem artichoke is related to the pretty sunflower. Butit isn't a type of artichoke and it doesn't come from Jerusalem! The bitof it we eat is an ugly little tuber (like a small thin potato). The yummywhite flesh inside tastes amazing.Back to top

Kiwi fruit

A kiwi fruit is hairy on the outside and soft in the middle. It is one ofthe only fruits to be green when it is ripe. You can scoop out the juicygreen flesh with a spoon just like a boiled egg! One kiwi fruit contains allthe vitamin C you need for a whole day. Vitamin C helps your body to healcuts and bruises and to fight colds.

We have lots of ideas for activities and games, including our fun 'Kiwiand spoon race'.Back to top



Leek

These are in the same family as onion and garlic they are alliumvegetables. Leeks need to be washed well to remove any dirt and gritbetween the white sections. You can boil or steam leeks to add to arecipe or stir-fry them with other vegetables. They are in season in theUK. over the winter months and are a good source of fibre.

Our leek and potato soup is simple and tasty.Back to top

Lemon

It is said that, long ago, explorer Christopher Columbus carried lemonson his ships - the vitamin C stopped his sailors from getting a diseasecalled scurvy. You can squeeze out the juice and mix it with water and alittle sugar to make a zingy drink.

Did you know you can make invisible ink using a lemon? Have funpretending to be a secret agent.Back to top



Mango

Mangoes come in different shapes and sizes. You have to peel off theskin to eat the soft, juicy flesh inside. Mangoes grow best in hotcountries like India and Malaysia. There are more than 2,500 differentkinds of mango in the world!

Our 'Traffic light lollies' recipe uses mango to make the orange light.What type of fruit do you think we use for red and green?Back to top

Melon

There are many types of melon honeydew, cantaloupe and galia, to namea few. The flesh of these different melons, which is the bit we eat,comes in different colours cantaloupe is usually orange because it ishigh in beta-carotene, honeydew is usually pale-green to yellow and galiais usually a deeper green. Unlike what its name may indicate, thewatermelon is not actually a melon, just a distant relative of the melon.Its flesh is usually pink as it is high in the antioxidant, lycopene. Melonsgrow off a vine, and have a strong outer skin to protect them, which wedon't eat. Melon goes great chopped up in a fruit salad, adding lots of



colour and flavour. It is very refreshing as a snack in the hotsummertime too!

We use melon in our exciting 'Pirate party food' recipe. Why not trymaking some?Back to top

Mushroom

Although mushrooms are not fruits or vegetables (they are actually atype of fungus), they still count as one of your 5 A DAY. They are tastyon toast with scrambled egg and a grilled tomato.

WARNING: Picking wild mushrooms is not safe! Only an expert can tellwhich ones are poisonous.

Make cute cat faces with our 'Purrfect mushrooms' recipe. Itsdelicious, healthy and fun.Back to top

Nectarine

Nectarines are a type of peach with a thin smooth skin and firm flesh.



The skin of a peach is more furry but the fruit tastes almost exactlythe same. You have to be very gentle with them - they can bruise, justlike you do, and the fruit will go bad where the bruise is.

You can use nectarines in a fruit salad or you could try making our fun'Tutti-frutti sundae'.Back to top

Nut

Your brain looks like a giant walnut. To make it grow it needs protein,which is found in nuts! A nut is actually a fruit, or the seed of a fruit.There are lots of different kinds but they all have a hard, dry shellaround a kernel (the part of the nut you eat). A Brazil nut tree can livefor 500 years!

WARNING: Children under 5 should not be given whole or chopped nutsdue to risk of choking. And please don't eat nuts if you are allergic tothem!

'Can you crack it?' Try our fun online game and see if you can match allthe nuts with their shells.Back to top

Olive

Olives are really fruits and they grow on trees. If green olives are lefton the tree, they turn black. Have you had them on a pizza? Olives comein many sizes and flavours so you may need to try lots of different ones



to find out which ones you like best.

Take the 'Olive-tastic' quiz. How much do you know about olives andother vegetables and fruit?Back to top

OrangeOranges are really famous - they are one of the most popular fruits inthe world! Oranges grow best in countries such as Spain and Italy -where it's hot and sunny during the day and cooler at night. A glass ofpure orange juice counts as one of your 5 A DAY. Try cutting an orangeinto quarters and freezing it to make a healthy icy treat!Back to top



Pea

Petit pois, mangetout, sugar snap and marrowfat are all fancy names fordifferent types of pea. Thousands of tonnes of garden peas are grown inthe United Kingdom every year to make frozen peas. A bag of these cancome in handy if you've had a bump, but eating them is best of all!Sprinkle some over a salad a few minutes before serving for a coldcrunchy taste.

You could use peas to make one of our funny 'Potato faces'.Back to top

Peanut

If you buy peanuts in their shells, they are often called monkey nuts -they are given this name because monkeys are thought to love them!Birds and squirrels like them too. Peanuts belong to the same family as

Thiswebsiteusescookiesforbestperformance OK Moreaboutcookies



peas and beans and grow underground.

Nuts make a healthier snack than crisps or chocolate. Learn more aboutnuts and dried fruit.Back to top

PearWhich fruits always travel in groups of two? Answer: pears! Pears arefrom the same family as apples but they are softer. They can be yellow,green, reddish or brown on the outside but they all have white, juicyflesh inside. One of the best-loved English pears is calledConference.Back to top

Pepper

Peppers can be red, yellow, green or orange - some are even white orpurple! If you don't like the way one colour tastes, you might likeanother. The green ones are less sweet - red peppers are actuallyripened green peppers.

Red peppers are a really delicious snack to have in your packed lunch.Plan your packed lunches with our online game.Back to top



Pineapple

It can take TWO YEARS to grow a pineapple. This rough, spiky fruit isactually made up of lots of smaller fruits that have stuck together. Itwas given its name because early explorers thought it looked like a pinecone. You could use the skin of a pineapple as a bowl to eat your fruitsalad!

Try making this delicious pineapple dip recipe, and other 'Tasty dipsfrom around the world'.Back to top

Pumpkin

Pumpkins are orange on the outside, and also on the inside. Although weassociate pumpkins with Halloween decoration, they are actually a tastyvegetable too (but we don't eat the outside, just the flesh inside) andthey are related to the cucumber. They can be boiled, baked, roasted ormashed and make delicious soups and even pumpkin pie! They have plentyof beta-carotene, which is turned into vitamin A in our bodies. It is thebeta-carotene that give pumpkins their orange colour. There is another



part of the pumpkin we use too! Pumpkin seeds can be roasted and eatenas a tasty snack, or sprinkled over yoghurt, and are a good source ofessential fatty acids (the good fats).

Get ready for Halloween. Make a pumpkin lantern. Keep the seeds androast them to make a tasty snack.Back to top

Quince

This fruit comes from the same family as the pear, but it can't be eatenraw. Slices of quince taste lovely in an apple crumble. Quince smells ofperfume when it's been cooked, which means that some people also use itas an air freshener for their home or car! Why don't you ask an adult ifyou can try doing the same?

Do you know what a quince looks like? Play our online quiz to see if youcan guess the vegetables and fruit from the pictures.Back to top

Radish

While some radishes are small and red, others are large and white - andshaped like carrots. Some of the red ones have pretty names like CherryBelle and Scarlet Globe. Radishes give salad a real ZING! They have apeppery taste and are really crunchy.



Radishes make salads colourful and crunchy. Grow your own at home. Thebest time to grow them is between March and September.Back to top

Raisin

Nearly half of all the world's raisins come from California - that's inAmerica. Raisins start off as black grapes. The grapes are turned intoraisins by drying them in the sun. Sultanas are made the same way butwith green grapes. Mini boxes of raisins are perfect for packed lunches.

Impress your friends with the 'Incredible dancing raisin' magic trick.Make raisins magically dance in water.Back to top

Rhubarb

Rhubarb was used in Asia long before it was first eaten in Britain. Peoplesometimes grew it in their gardens just because it looked nice! It can bemixed with sweeter fruit like apple. Don't eat the leaves, they arepoisonous!

Rhubarb is lovely stewed on its own, but you could also use it in adelicious pancake topping. Try our healthy pancake recipe.Back to top



Satsuma

Satsumas, clementines and mandarins are all different names for typesof tangerine. They grow on trees and they grow best in warm weather.The juiciest ones are the heaviest ones. See if you can take the peel offin one piece!

Don't throw away the net your satsumas come in! You can use it to makea fun microphone. Learn to make other musical instruments too.Back totop

Strawberry

Anyone for tennis? Followed by some strawberries of course! Around25,000kg of strawberries are eaten at Wimbledon each year.Strawberries are actually members of the rose family. They are the onlyfruits to have their seeds on the outside - one strawberry can have asmany as 200.

You can turn strawberries into a cool, tasty treat. Try making our icy



'Strawberry granita' recipe.Back to top

Sweet potato

These top tubers grow best in tropical places where the weather iswarm. They are famous for appearing in lots of Caribbean recipes! Theycome in all kinds of knobbly shapes and just like the name suggests, theyare sweeter than ordinary potatoes. Try them baked - or boiled andmashed with carrots.

Sweet potatoes make yummy wedges. Why not try our tasty 'Rootvegetable wedges' recipe?Back to top

Tomato

Ask a friend if they think a tomato is a fruit or vegetable and see ifthey know the answer (it's a fruit!). The little cherry tomatoes aresweet and tasty in salads or in your lunchbox. Tomatoes are easy to growin a pot in the garden. Buy some seeds and have a go!

Tomatoes are delicious in sandwiches. We have lots of ideas for tastysandwich fillings. Try making Monster crunch' or 'Peter Pig'.Back to top



Turnip

According to folklore, turnips were used as jack o' lanterns long beforepumpkins! The turnip is sometimes muddled up with its bigger relative,the swede. Both are lovely cooked in a stew, or boiled then mashed, orroasted. Raw turnip can be grated into a salad.

Use the ends of your turnip to 'Grow root islands'. Try this fun activityto grow little trees in water.Back to top

Ugli fruit

An Ugli fruit is a cross between a grapefruit and a mandarin! It is aboutthe size of a grapefruit but it tastes a bit sweeter and has a wrinkly skinthat peels easily. This funky fruit comes from Jamaica and is also grownin the USA - and it's not that ugly! It can look a bit weird because itsyellowy green skin is thick, rough and puffy - and sometimes a bitblotchy!



Doesnt ugli fruit have a funny name? If you like doing funny things, playour 'Funny food figures' online game.Back to top

Victoria plum

Plums come in all sorts of colours but Victoria plums are dark red and aregrown in England. They are super sweet eaten raw or can be cooked intarts and crumbles. Plums have a stone inside. Can you think of otherfruits that do?

Do you know which country grows the most plums? Play 'Fruits andvegetables around the world' to learn more.Back to top

Vine leaf

This is a leaf from the vines that grapes grow on - and these leaves CANbe eaten! They are picked when they are quite young and then cookedslightly to soften them. They are used like a wrapping paper to makelittle parcels filled with things such as rice or finely chopped vegetables.

There are some leaves you cant eat! But you could use them to make aleaf mask. A great idea for a fancy dress costume.Back to top



WatercressWatercress is grown in water! Give mum or dad a top tip - it will lastlonger in the fridge if it is kept in a bowl or jar of water. It is tastiest inthe three "S"s - salads, sandwiches and soups. Try saying thatquickly!Back to top

WatermelonWatermelons grow along the ground and they can be ENORMOUS. Theycontain lots of water and are really, really refreshing! In China, childrenlove drinking watermelon juice in summer to help them stay cool. TheChinese name for a watermelon is xigua.Back to top

YamThe skin of a yam is thick and rough like the bark of a tree! Yams are abit like potatoes but their flesh can be white, yellow or even purple.They come from hot countries in the Caribbean and Africa, where peopleoften mash them up and eat them in spicy stews and soups. A yam can



grow to be heavier than a human adult!Back to top

Zucchini

Zucchini is the American name for a courgette. You can find moreinformation on courgettes on this page. Take a look!

Back to top

Contact us | Copyright

Other activities you might like...

Learning zone:

Ask the Prof

Making bread

more in this section

Documents

A-Z of Fruit and Veg - Great Grub Club