Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Related Literature

Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural Terminal, Inc. is a 6.7 hectare facility that provides

market channels for the agricultural and non-agricultural products and services of Nueva

Vizcaya and adjoining provinces. The terminal is managed by Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural

Terminal, Inc., a private corporation duly registered with the Securities and Exchange

Commission (SEC) under registry number A200118894 on December 19, 2001.

The Province of Nueva Vizcaya adapted Agricultural Development while building on

tourism as its major provincial strategy. It became the major trading route for vegetables in

Northern Luzon. The province however does not have a formal vegetable trading system.

The Municipality of Bambang, the center of agriculture trading in the province is lacking in

marketing and distribution facilities. Some observable problems encountered are the

following: (1) Limited available stalls for vegetable trading; (2) Congested traffic due to

trading activities along the highway; (3) Lack of security in the trading area; (4) Lack of safe

and secure parking space; (5) High post harvest losses of farmers and traders; (6) No reliable

price information system.

6
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To address these problems, in 1997, the Gold Project of the provincial Government

conducted a Focus Group Discussion on the above issues. In the process, the establishment

of an Agricultural Terminal has been identified as a conducted to key informants of the fruit

and vegetable industry of the province to determine the viability of putting up an agricultural

terminal.

Due to its limited funds, the Provincial Government of Nueva Vizcaya temporarily

shelved the project after the prefeasibility study. In year 2000, the province received prize

money of Twenty Five Million Pesos ( 25,000,000.00) from the Department of Agriculture

through its Gawad Sapat Ani Program. The then Governor Rodolfo Agbayani, with the

concurrence of the Secretary of DA, on October 31, 2001, decided to use 20 Million for

project NVAT.

NVAT started its operation on September 9, 2004. All thirty six (36) stalls fully

occupied by individual traders, various multi-purpose cooperatives and farmers association

in the business of vegetable trading.

Construction of three (3) additional multi-purpose building with 12 units of stall each was

completed in 2005, and another three (3) in 2009, with the unending and continuous support

of the Provincial Government thru the good Governor Luisa Lloren Cuaresma. At present,

one hundred twenty (120) stall and twelve (12) bay area spaces are being leased. The

terminal is equipped with facilities that cater the farmer-producers and traders of the

province and adjoining provinces.

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The Department of Agriculture in partnership with the Provincial Government thru

the leadership of Governor Ruth R. Padilla has implemented the NVAT Marketing System

and Support Facilities Upgrading project amounting to 35 Million funded by the

Department of Agriculture. On May 21, 2015, the new NVAT-Agri Pinoy Trading Center

paved way for the realization of the said project. These facilities will cater the need of

farmers for additional facilities to be used in marketing their agricultural products: (1) Fruits

and Vegetables Center; (2) Livestock/ Hog Center (3) Washing, Sorting, and Packing

Building; (4) Storage Facility; (5) Cut Flowers Wholesale/Retail Store; (6) Organic Fruits

and Vegetables Store; (7) Wet Market; (8) Wind Mill Water source; (9) Partial concreting of

access roads.

The PLGU of Nueva Vizcaya was recently chosen as one of the countrys best

implementers of outstanding local governance programs for 2015. The recognition was

bestowed to the province by the Galing Pook Foundation during the Galing Pook

Governance Fair last August 30 September 1, 2015 with the entry entitled Nueva Vizcaya

Agricultural Terminal, Inc., A Public and Private Corporate Initiative which was chosen as

one of the 16 finalists from among all the entries nationwide.

The corporation has an authorized capital stock of Eighty Million Pesos (

80,000,000.00) divided into eight hundred thousand (800,000) common shares with a par

value of one hundred pesos (100.00) each. (Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural Terminal,

Incorporated. Corporate Profile of NVAT. Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya)

 9

Vegetables that are chosen in this research are the following: Baguio Beans Bell

Pepper, Cabbage, Carrots, Chayote, Ginger, Potato, Radish, Squash and Tomato.

1.) Baguio Beans

Figure 1.a Green Beans Figure 1.b Dry and Horticultural Beans

Figure 1.c Fave

Beans Figure 1.d Pole Beans

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Figure 1.e Snap Bean Figure 1.f Winged Bean

The domestication history of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is vital to

understanding the origins of farming. Beans are one of the "three sisters" of traditional

agricultural cropping methods reported by European colonists in North America: Native

Americans wisely intercropped maize, squash, and beans, providing a healthful and

environmentally sound way of capitalizing on their various characteristics.

Beans are today one of the most important domestic legumes in the world, because of

their high concentrations of protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. The global harvest

today has been estimated at ~18.7 million tons and it is grown in nearly 150 countries on an

estimated 27.7 million hectares.While P. vulgaris is by far the most economically important

domesticated species of the genus Phaseolus, there are four others: P. dumosus (acalete or

botil bean), P. coccineus (runner bean), P. acutifolis (tepary bean) and P. lunatus (lima, butter

or sieva bean).

Beans as shown in figure 1.a are one of the longest-cultivated plants. Broad beans,

also called fava beans, in their wild state the size of a small fingernail, were gathered

in Afghanistan and the Himalayan foothills. In a form improved from naturally occurring

types, they were grown in Thailand since the early seventh millennium BCE, predating

ceramics. They were deposited with the dead in ancient Egypt. Not until the second

millennium BCE did cultivated, large-seeded broad beans appear in the Aegean, Iberia and

transalpine Europe. In the Iliad (8th century BCE) is a passing mention of beans
 11

and chickpeas cast on the threshing floor. Beans were an important source

of protein throughout Old and New World history, and still are today.
The oldest-known domesticated beans in the Americas were found in Guitarrero

Cave, an archaeological site in Peru, and dated to around the second millennium BCE.
In the New World, many tribes would grow beans together with maize (corn),

and squash. The corn would not be planted in rows as is done by European agriculture, but in

a checkerboard/hex fashion across a field, in separate patches of one to six stalks each.

Beans would be planted around the base of the developing stalks, and would vine

their way up as the stalks grew. All American beans at that time were vine plants, "bush

beans" having been bred only more recently. The cornstalks would work as a trellis for the

beans, and the beans would provide much-needed nitrogen for the corn.

Squash would be planted in the spaces between the patches of corn in the field. They

would be provided slight shelter from the sun by the corn, would shade the soil and reduce

evaporation, and would deter many animals from attacking the corn and beans because their

coarse, hairy vines and broad, stiff leaves are difficult or uncomfortable for animals such as

deer and raccoons to walk through, crows to land on, etc. Dry beans come from both Old

World varieties of broad beans (fava beans) and New World varieties (kidney, black,

cranberry, pinto, and navy/haricot). Beans are a heliotropic plant, meaning that the leaves tilt

throughout the day to face the sun. At night, they go into a folded "sleep" position.

The word "bean" and its Germanic cognates (e.g., Bohne) have existed in common

use in West Germanic languages since before the 12th century, referring to broad beans and

other pod-borne seeds. This was long before the New World genus Phaseolus was known in

Europe. After Columbian-era contact between Europe and the Americas, use of the word was
 12

extended to pod-borne seeds of Phaseolus, such as the common bean and the runner bean,

and the related genus Vigna. The term has long been applied generally to many other seeds

of similar form, such as Old World soybeans, peas, chickpeas (garbanzo beans),

other vetches, and lupins, and even to those with slighter resemblances, such as coffee

beans, vanilla beans, castor beans, and cocoa beans. Thus the term "bean" in

general usage can mean a host of different species.

Seeds called "beans" are often included among the crops called "pulses" (legumes),

although a narrower prescribed sense of "pulses" reserves the word for leguminous crops

harvested for their dry grain. The term bean usually excludes legumes with tiny seeds and

which are used exclusively for forage, hay, and silage purposes (such as clover and alfalfa).

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization the term bean should

include only species of Phaseolus; however, enforcing that prescription has proven difficult

for several reasons. One is that in the past, several species, including Vigna angularis (azuki

bean), mungo (black gram), radiata (green gram), and aconitifolia (moth bean), were

classified as Phaseolus and later reclassified. Another is that it is not surprising that the

prescription on limiting the use of the word, because it tries to replace the word's older

senses with a newer one, has never been consistently followed in general usage.

Unlike the closely related pea, beans are a summer crop that need warm temperatures

to grow. Maturity is typically 5560 days from planting to harvest. As the bean pods mature,

they turn yellow and dry up, and the beans inside change from green to their mature colour.

As a vine, bean plants need external support, which may be provided in the form of special
 13

"bean cages" or poles. Native Americans customarily grew them along with corn and squash

(the so-called Three Sisters), with the tall cornstalks acting as support for the beans.

In more recent times, the so-called "bush bean" has been developed which does not

require support and has all its pods develop simultaneously (as opposed to pole beans which

develop gradually). This makes the bush bean more practical for commercial production.

(http://archaeology.about.com. (n.d.). Bean History. Retrieved from

http://archaeology.about.com/od/bcthroughbl/qt/Bean-History.htm).

Here are Types of Beans:

Dry and Horticultural Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) as shown in figure 1.b: eaten green

or dried for winter use; beans developed for green or dry shelled seeds; bred to be shelled

when their large seeds reach full size. These believed to be the ancestors of snap beans.

Young pods can be eaten as snap beans. Many varieties range in color from white to yellow,

red, pink, brown, speckled and black; some may be splashed with crimson or maroon. Best

known dry beans are kidney, pinto, navy, and black turtle beans. Seldom grown in home

gardens since they are inexpensive commercially grown. The French flageolet is a

horticultural bean grown in home gardens.

Fava Bean or Broad Bean (Vicia faba) as shown in figure 1.c: large, flattened, light

green pods grow 6 to 12 inches (15-30 cm) long and have a white-woolly lining. Eat the

entire pods raw when half-grown with oil and salt or cooked like snap beans. Older pods are

shelled; moist green beans inside should be peeled. Add to soups and stews or dress with

butter or oil; serve cold as a salad dressed with vinaigrette. Require 70 days that are cool but
 14

frost free. Harvest in late spring and early summer. Some may be allergic to the mature seed.

Bush bean requires support.

Green beans, also known as French beans, string beans, or snap beans as shown in

figure 1.a, are the unripe fruit and protective pods of various cultivars of the common bean

(Phaseolus vulgaris). Immature pods of the runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus), yardlong

bean (Vigna unguiculatasubsp. sesquipedalis), and hyancinth bean (Lablab purpureus), are

also used as snap beans. They are distinguished from the many differing varieties of beans in

that green beans are harvested and consumed with their enclosing pods, typically before the

seeds inside have fully matured. This practice is analogous to the harvesting of

unripened pea pods as snow peas or sugar snap peas.

Pole Bean as shown in figure 1.d: is a bean that grows on a vine which should be

trained vertically on a pole or trellis. Pole beans grow quickly into large, full-bodied plants.

These plants produce in about 60 days and will bear for several weeks. Young pole bean

pods should be picked frequently so that the plant will remain productive. These plants are

classified as indeterminate, because their size and period of harvest vary.

Snap Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) as shown in figure 1.e: bean harvested while

immature and pod is edible. Snap beans include green or string bean, Italian Romano bean,

yellow wax bean, and the purple-podded bean. Pods range from 5 to 12 inches (12.5-30 cm)

long and are oval, round, or broad and flat and green, yellow (wax beans), or purple. Most

are stringless; heirloom varieties have strings and fiber. Use steamed, braised, sauted, stir-

fried, or pickeled. Use in soups or mixed vegetable combination.

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Winged Bean (Psophocrapus tetragonolobus) as shown in figure 1.f: green, purple or

reddish pods to 9 inches (22.5 cm) long with 4 fluted wings along the length. Edible pods are

high in protein with a flavor similar to the cranberry bean and a starchy green bean texture;

pods can be steamed; roast ripe or dry seeds to make them digestible. Native to the Old

World tropics; does not fruit until early fall and requires frost-free harvest period.

(Harvesttotable.com. (n.d.). Variety of Beans. Retrieved from

http://www.harvesttotable.com/2007/09/beans/).

2.) Bell Pepper

Figure 2.a Bell Pepper Figure 2.b Orange King Bell Pepper

Figure 2.c Thick- walled Figure 2.d Red Bull Hybrid

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Figure 2.e Yolo

Wonder Figure 2.f Sweet Pepper

Figure 2.g RedSkin

The bell pepper as shown in figure 2.a (also known as sweet pepper or pepper in the

United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland, and capsicum in Australia, India, Pakistan,

Bangladesh, Singapore and New Zealand) is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum

annuum. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow,

orange, green, chocolate/brown, vanilla/white, and purple. Bell peppers are sometimes

grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as "sweet peppers". The ribs and seeds inside bell

peppers may be consumed, but some people find the taste to be bitter.

Peppers are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. Pepper

seeds were imported to Spain in 1493 and from there spread to other European, African, and
 17

Asian countries. Today, China is the world's largest pepper producer, followed by Mexico

and Indonesia.

The misleading name "pepper" was given by Europeans when Christopher

Columbus brought the plant back to Europe. At that time, black pepper (peppercorns), from

the unrelated plant Piper nigrum originating from India, was a highly prized condiment; the

name "pepper" was at that time applied in Europe to all known spices with a hot and pungent

taste and was therefore naturally extended to the newly discovered Capsicum genus. The

most commonly used alternative name of the plant family, "chile", is of Mexican origin,

from the Nahuatl word chilli. Botanically speaking, bell peppers are fruit, although they are

considered vegetables in culinary contexts.

The bell pepper is the only member of the Capsicum genus that does not

produce capsaicin, a lipophilic chemical that can cause a strong burning sensation when it

comes in contact with mucous membranes. The lack of capsaicin in bell peppers is due to a

recessive form of a gene that eliminates capsaicin and, consequently, the "hot" taste usually

associated with the rest of the Capsicum genus. This recessive gene is overwritten in the

Mexibelle pepper, a hybrid variety of bell pepper that produces small amounts of capsaicin

(and is thus mildly pungent). Sweet pepper cultivars produce non pungent capsaicinoids,

with many physiological effects similar to the more pungent sister compound capsaican.

The terms "bell pepper" (US), "pepper" (UK), and "capsicum" (India, Australia, and

New Zealand) are often used for any of the large bell shaped fruits, regardless of their color.

In British and Canadian English, the fruit is simply referred to as a "pepper", or additionally

by color (as in the term "green pepper", for example), whereas in the United States and
 18

Malaysia, they are usually referred to as "bell peppers". In parts of the U.S. Midwest, bell

peppers are called "mangoes." Canadian English uses both "bell pepper" and "pepper"

interchangeably.

Capsicum is the name of the genus of the flowering plants and their fruit that we

know and eat as bell peppers or just peppers. Their name comes from the Greek word

kapto which means to bite or to swallow. There are different types of peppers, and we

used them as food vegetables, spices, and in medicine. Depending on the place where they

are grown and on the type they have different names. Variants of capsicum that are spicy

commonly called chili peppers, or simply chilies while those mild or sweet are called red

pepper, green pepper, bell pepper, or even just capsicum (in New Zealand, Australia, and

India).

The most variants of capsicum have capsaicin which is a lipophilic chemical (a

chemical compound which can dissolve in lipids, meaning fats and oils) that produces a

sensation of burning in any tissue with which it comes into contact and is irritant to

mammals (birds don't react to it). Its purpose, within a plant, is to keep the plant from

mammals and insects but to allow beards to eat the plants and spread the seed. Different

variants of capsicum have different amounts of capsaicin. Bell pepper, for instance, has none

of it while chilli peppers have higher amounts.

Place of origin of capsicum is Western hemisphere, and it was known and used there

as food since 7500 BC. They appeared for the first time in South America, but they spread to

Central America between 5200 and 3400 BC. Even today, the wild ancestral chiles are

harvested and held in same regard as the domesticated variants, As for spreading of
 19

capsicum around the world, one story says that Columbus himself is responsible for that and

that he introducing chile to Europe from where it spread further to Africa and Asia. He was

also responsible for the name red pepper because of the similar taste of the fruit to the

black pepper. When the pepper arrived in Europe, it quickly found the place in the cuisines

of different peoples. Other story says that capsicum was brought to Europe by conquistadors

and later spread to Asia and Africa by Portugal sailors and merchants. One of the reasons

why the pepper came to Europe so quickly is because it was a good replacement for black

pepper which was very expensive at that time and even used in some places as a currency.

Hot spices were very valued because they were used to make monotonous diets more

bearable (which probably says a lot about the food of that time).

Today, many countries use peppers (hot or not) in their cuisines. Spanish make

chorizo, a type of pork sausage whichis called picante if it is made with hot chile, or dulce if

it is made with sweet pepper. Hungarian lecs is a thick stew made with hot and sweet

peppers, tomato, onion, garlic and lard. It is popular in Hungary (of course), Germany, Czech

Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Poland, and Russia. In Bulgaria, South Serbia, and Macedonia

people prepare peppers in different ways: as salad; pickled in turshiya; fried and covered

with tomato paste, onions, garlic, and parsley; and even stuffed with minced meat, rice,

beans, cottage cheese and eggs and then cooked. Red, spicy pepper can even be dried and

crushed to be used in many other cuisines. (www.vegetablefacts.net/ (n.d.). Hisotry of Bell

Pepper. Retrieved from http://www.vegetablefacts.net/vegetable-history/history-of-

capsicum/).

Here are some varieties of Bell Pepper:

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ORANGE KING Bell Pepper shown in figure 2.b-Deep tangerine orange when ripe,

Orange Kings 3 to 4 in. lobed peppers have a rich, sweet flavor and thick, crunchy texture

that are equally suited to eat raw, stuffed, sauted, or grilled. Plants grow 24 to 36 in. tall.

The largest elongated bell pepper shown on figure 2.c. Thick-walled, 7-inch long

fruit ripen to red. Plants are disease resistant. Ideal for giant stuffed peppers Big Bertha

plants in our Alabama test garden produce 7 to 12 pounds of peppers each over a harvest

season that runs from May through October. Obviously, your results will depend on care and

the length of the warm season in your locale. This is a big plant, so use a tomato cage or

stakes to support because when the stems get heavy with big fruit, they can break in wind or

rain.

Red Bull Hybrid shown in figure 2.d -A real stand-out in our trials, this extra-large,

blocky bell pepper is very thick-walled and capable of becoming just huge. Peppers begin as

dark green and ripen to a candy apple red, the stage when the fruit is very sweet and most

nutritious. Strong, vigorous plants set heavily, are resistant to 3 races of bacterial spot, and

continue to produce throughout a long season. Mature green in 70 to 75 days.

75 days from transplanting. Yolo Wonders large shown in figure 2.e; uniform shape

makes it ideal for stuffing. Enjoy crisp, sweet pepper slices in salads and veggie trays. A

delicious grilled, perfect for shish kabobs, Peppers left on the plant will turn a beautiful,

bright red, and have more vitamin C than an orange! Pick green and red for a confetti of

color on your plate! Good container variety.

In the U.S. the term sweet pepper covers a wide variety of mild peppers that, like the

chile, belong to the capsicum family. The best known sweet peppers are bell peppers shown
 21

in figure 2.f, named for their bell-like shape. They have a mild, sweet flavor and crisp juicy

flesh. When young most bell peppers are a rich, bright green, but there are also yellow,

orange, purple, red and brown bell peppers.

Redskin as shown in figure 2.g is a perfect choice for the garden; compact productive

plants with good weather tolerance are just a few of the great qualities of the plant. The fruits

are dark green maturing to a bright glossy red. (Grow-it-organically.com.(n.d.). Variety of

bell pepper. Retrieved from http://www.grow-it-organically.com/pepper-varieties.html).

3.) Cabbage

Figure 3.a Cabbage Figure 3.b Cannonball Cabbage

Figure 3.c Bok choy Figure 3.d Choy sum

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Figure 3.e Jersey Wakefield Cabbage Figure 3.f January King Cabbage

Figure 3.g Napa Cabbage

Cabbage or headed cabbage shown in figure 3.a (comprising

several cultivars of Brassica oleracea) is a leafy green or purple biennial plant, grown as

an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild

cabbage, B. oleracea var. oleracea, and is closely related

to broccoli and cauliflower (var. botrytis), brussels sprouts (var. gemmifera) and savoy

cabbage (var. sabauda). Cabbage heads generally range from 0.5 to 4 kilograms (1 to 9 lb),

and can be green, purple and white. Smooth-leafed firm-headed green cabbages are the most

common, with smooth-leafed red and crinkle-leafed savoy cabbages of both colors seen

more rarely. It is a multi-layered vegetable. Under conditions of long sunlit days such as are
 23

found at high northern latitudes in summer, cabbages can grow much larger. Some records

are discussed at the end of the history section.

It is difficult to trace the exact history of cabbage, but it was most likely domesticated

somewhere in Europe before 1000 BC, although savoys were not developed until the 16th

century. By the middle Ages, it had become a prominent part of European cuisine. Cabbage

heads are generally picked during the first year of the plant's life cycle, but plants intended

for seed are allowed to grow a second year, and must be kept separated from other cole crops

to prevent cross-pollination. Cabbage is prone to several nutrient deficiencies, as well as to

multiple pests, and bacterial and fungal diseases.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that

world production of cabbage and other brassicas for 2011 was almost 69 million metric tons

(68 million long tons; 75 million short tons). Almost half of these crops were grown in

China, where Chinese cabbage is the most popular Brassica vegetable. Cabbages are

prepared in many different ways for eating. They can be pickled, fermented for dishes such

as sauerkraut, steamed, stewed, sauted, braised, or eaten raw. Cabbage is a good source

of vitamin K, vitamin C and dietary fiber. Contaminated cabbage has been linked to cases

of food-borne illness in humans.

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea or B. oleracea var. capitata,var. tuba, var. sabauda or

var. acephala) is a member of the genus Brassica and the mustard family, Brassicaceae.

Several other cruciferous vegetables (sometimes known as cole crops) are

considered cultivars of B. oleracea, including broccoli, collard greens, brussels

 24

sprouts, kohlrabi and sprouting broccoli. All of these developed from the wild

cabbage B. oleracea var. oleracea, also called colewort or field cabbage. This original

species evolved over thousands of years into those seen today, as selection resulted in

cultivars having different characteristics, such as large heads for cabbage, large leaves for

kale and thick stems with flower buds for broccoli. The varietal epithet capitata is derived

from the Latin word for "having a head". B. oleracea and its derivatives have hundreds

of common namesthroughout the world.

"Cabbage" was originally used to refer to multiple forms of B. oleracea, including

those with loose or non-existent heads. A related species, Brassica rapa, is commonly named

Chinese, napa or celery cabbage, and has many of the same uses. It is also a part of common

names for several unrelated species. These include cabbage bark or cabbage tree (a member

of the genus Andira) and cabbage palms, which include several genera of palms such

as Mauritia, Roystonea oleracea, Acrocomia and Euterpe oenocarpus.

The original family name of brassicas was Cruciferae, which derived from the flower

petal pattern thought by medieval Europeans to resemble a crucifix. The

word brassicaderives from bresic, a Celtic word for cabbage. Many European and Asiatic

names for cabbage are derived from the Celto-Slavic root cap or kap, meaning

"head".The late Middle English word cabbage derives from the word caboche ("head"), from

the Picard dialect of Old French. This in turn is a variant of the Old French caboce. Through

the centuries, "cabbage" and its derivatives have been used as slang for numerous items,

occupations and activities. Cash and tobacco have both been described by the slang
 25

"cabbage", while "cabbage-head" means a fool or stupid person and "cabbaged" means to be

exhausted or, vulgarly, in a vegetative state.

Cabbage was probably domesticated later in history than Near Eastern crops such

as lentils and summer wheat. Because of the wide range of crops developed from the

wild B. oleracea, multiple broadly contemporaneous domestications of cabbage may have

occurred throughout Europe. Nonheading cabbages and kale were probably the first to be

domesticated, before 1000 BC, by the Celts of central and Western Europe.

It is believed that the ancient Egyptians did not cultivate cabbage, which is not native

to the Nile valley, though a word shaw't in Papyrus Harris of the time of Ramesses III, has

been interpreted as "cabbage". Ptolemaic Egyptians knew the cole crops as gramb, under the

influence of Greek krambe, which had been a familiar plant to the Macedonian antecedents

of the Ptolemies; By early Roman times Egyptian artisans and children were eating cabbage

and turnips among a wide variety of other vegetables and pulses.

The ancient Greeks had some varieties of cabbage, as mentioned by Theophrastus,

although whether they were more closely related to today's cabbage or to one of the

other Brassica crops is unknown. The headed cabbage variety was known to Greeks

as krambe and to Romans as brassica or olus; the open, leafy variety (kale) was known in

Greek as raphanos and in Latin as caulis.

Chrysippus of Cnidos wrote a treatise on cabbage, which Pliny knew, but it has not

survived. The Greeks were convinced that cabbages and grapevines were inimical, and that
 26

cabbage planted too near the vine would impart its unwelcome odor to the grapes; this

Mediterranean sense of antipathy survives today.

Brassica was considered by some Romans a table luxury,

although Lucullus considered it unfit for the senatorial table. The more traditionalist Cato

the Elder, espousing a simple, Republican life, ate his cabbage cooked or raw and dressed

with vinegar; he said it surpassed all other vegetables, and approvingly distinguished three

varieties; he also gave directions for its medicinal use, which extended to the cabbage-eater's

urine, in which infants might be rinsed. Pliny the Elder listed seven varieties,

including Pompeii cabbage, Cumae cabbage and Sabellian cabbage. According to Pliny, the

Pompeii cabbage, which could not stand cold, is "taller, and has a thick stock near the root,

but grows thicker between the leaves, these being scantier and narrower, but their tenderness

is a valuable quality". The Pompeii cabbage was also mentioned by Columella in De Re

Rustica. Apicius gives several recipes for cauliculi, tender cabbage shoots. The Greeks and

Romans claimed medicinal usages for their cabbage varieties that included relief from gout,

headaches and the symptoms of poisonous mushroom ingestion. The antipathy towards the

vine made it seem that eating cabbage would avoid drunkenness. Cabbage continued to

figure in the materia medica of antiquity as well as at table: in the first century

AD Dioscorides mentions two kinds of coleworts with medical uses, the cultivated and the

wild, and his opinions continued to be paraphrased in herbals right through the 17th century.

In Britain the Anglo-Saxon cultivated cawel. When round-headed cabbages appeared

in 14th-century England they were called cabaches and caboches, words drawn from Old

French and applied at first to refer to the ball of unopened leaves, the contemporaneous
 27

recipe that commences "Take cabbages and quarter them, and seethe them in good broth",

also suggests the tightly headed cabbage.

In Istanbul Sultan Selim III penned a tongue-in-cheek ode to cabbage: without

cabbage the halva feast was not complete. Cabbages spread from Europe

into Mesopotamia and Egypt as a winter vegetable, and later followed trade

routes throughout Asia and the Americas. The absence of Sanskrit or other ancient Eastern

language names for cabbage suggests that it was introduced to South Asia relatively recently.

In India, cabbage was one of several vegetable crops introduced by colonizing traders from

Portugal, who established trade routes from the 14th to 17th centuries. Carl Peter

Thunberg reported that cabbage was not yet known in Japan in 1775. Many cabbage varieties

including some still commonly grownwere introduced in Germany, France, and

the Low Countries. During the 16th century, German gardeners developed the savoy

cabbage. During the 17th and 18th centuries, cabbage was a food staple in such countries as

Germany, England, Ireland and Russia, and pickled cabbage was frequently eaten.

Sauerkraut was used by Dutch, Scandinavian and German sailors to prevent scurvy during

long ship voyages.

Jacques Cartier first brought cabbage to the Americas in 154142, and it was

probably planted by the early English colonists, despite the lack of written evidence of its

existence there until the mid-17th century. By the 18th century, it was commonly planted by

both colonists and Native American Indians. Cabbage seeds traveled to Australia in 1788

with the First Fleet, and were planted the same year on Norfolk Island. It became a favorite

vegetable of Australians by the 1830s and was frequently seen at the Sydney Markets.
 28

("Brassica oleracea L.". United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2012-08-12.)

(vegetablefacts.net. (n.d.). History of Cabbage. Retrieved from

http://www.vegetablefacts.net/vegetable-history/history-of-cabbage/).

Late summer cabbage harvests are going on all around the country. Although we

often opt for familiar green cabbage, the deeply colored and textured leaves of other types of

cabbage are delicious and interesting alternatives. Weve rounded up 11 of our most favorite

varieties of cabbage, along with tips on how to recognize and enjoy them.

Cannonball Cabbage shown in figure 3.b this is a small, green cabbage variety that is

sometimes described as a mammoth Brussels sprout, and the most common variety found at

grocery stores and markets. They only grow to be about 12 inches across (which still makes

for a lot of delicious greenery) with very dense leaves, making it perfect for shredding into

coleslaw or sauerkraut.

Bok choy shown in figure 3.c is in fact a type of cabbage, but develops thick, white

and watery-crisp stems and leaves that are green and tender. More akin to Swiss chard or

spinach than a regular head of cabbage, bok choy makes an excellent addition to sauted

vegetable sides, stir-fries and Asian inspired soups.

Choy Sum shown in figure 3.d sometimes labeled as Chinese Cabbage choy sum

can be found at mot grocery stores and all Asian food markets. This cabbage looks similar to

bok choy, but is slightly slimmer and longer, with crispier stems and very tender leaves. Its

great chopped into an Asian salad with oranges and peanuts.

 29

Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage as shown in figure 3.e. This cabbage variety

originates from Yorkshire in the U.K., but has morphed into a classic American heirloom

over the centuries. The green cabbage has a heart or cone shaped head, which forms into a

point that is surrounded by similar shape pale green leaves.

January King Cabbage shown in figure 3.f, this curly-leafed cabbage displays

gorgeous blue-green leaves with brushes of purple and dapples of turquoise. As the name

implies, this cabbage variety enjoy cool weather and can even be planted in the fall for

winter harvests. Rather small at 1 pound a head, this showy cabbage is great roasted and

served as a unique side dish.

Napa cabbage shown in figure 3.g is oblong in shape with crisp stems and frilly,

greenish yellow leaves; this cabbage variety is sweet and softer than the average green

cabbage. It is delicious raw in salads as a dumpling filler or steamed with other leafy greens

and drizzled with lemon juice. (OrgainicAuthority.com. (n.d.). Varieties of cabbage.

Retrieved from http://www.organicauthority.com/eco-chic-table/11-varieties-of-cabbage-

how-to-use-them.html).

4.) Carrot
 30

Figure 4.a Carrots Figure 4.b Danvers

Figure 4.c Nantes Figure 4.d Imperator

Figure 4.e Chantenay Figure 4.f Ball or mini

The carrot shown in figure 4.a (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) is a root vegetable,

usually orange in colour, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. Carrots

are a domesticated form of the wild carrot, Daucus carota, native to Europe and southwestern
 31

Asia. The plant probably originated in Persia and originally cultivated for its leaves and

seeds. The most commonly eaten part of the plant is the taproot, although the greens are

sometimes eaten as well. The domestic carrot has been selectively bred for its greatly

enlarged, more palatable, less woody-textured taproot.

The carrot is a biennial plant in the umbellifer family Apiaceae. At first, it grows

a rosette of leaves while building up the enlarged taproot. Fast-growing varieties mature

within three months (90 days) of sowing the seed, while slower-maturing varieties are

harvested four months later (120 days). The roots contain high quantities of alpha- and beta-

carotene, and are a good source of vitamin K and vitamin B6, but the belief that eating

carrots improves night vision is a myth put forward by the British in World War II to mislead

the enemy about their military capabilities.

The word is first recorded in English circa 1530 and was borrowed from Middle

French carotte, itself from Late Latin carta, from Greek or karton, originally from

the Indo-European root *ker- (horn), due to its horn-like shape. In Old English, carrots

(typically white at the time) were not clearly distinguished from parsnips: the two were

collectively called moru or more (from Proto-Indo-European *mork- "edible root",

cf. German Mhre).

Molecular and genetic studies, along with written history, support the idea that the

cultivated/domesticated carrot has a single origin in Central Asia. The wild ancestors of the

carrot are likely to have originated in Persia (regions of which are

 32

now Iran and Afghanistan), which remains the centre of diversity for Daucus carota, the wild

carrot. A naturally occurring subspecies of the wild carrot was presumably bred

selectively over the centuries to reduce bitterness, increase sweetness and minimise the

woody core; this process produced the familiar garden vegetable

When they were first cultivated, carrots were grown for their aromatic leaves and

seeds rather than their roots. Carrot seeds have been found in Switzerland and Southern

Germany dating back to 20003000 BC. Some close relatives of the carrot are still grown for

their leaves and seeds, for example: parsley, cilantro/coriander, fennel, dill and cumin. The

first mention of the root in classical sources is during the 1st century, and the carrot may

have been eaten as a root vegetable by the Romans, although there is some ambiguity about

this, as they used the word pastinaca for both carrots and parsnips, part of the same family.

The plant is depicted and described in the Eastern Roman Juliana Anicia Codex, a

copy, made in 515 AD in Constantinople, of the Greek physician Dioscorides' 1st century

AD pharmacopoeia of herbs and medicines, De Materia Medica. Three different types of

carrots are depicted, and the text states of them that "the root can be cooked and eaten."

The plant appears to have been introduced into Spain by the Moors in the 8th

century. In the 10th century, in wordwide locations like West Asia, India and Europe, the

roots were purple. The modern carrot originated in Afghanistan at about this time. The

Jewish scholar Simeon Seth describes both red and yellow carrots in the 11th century. The

12th-century Arab-Andalusianagriculturist, Ibn al-'Awwam, also mentions roots of these

colours; cultivated carrots appeared in China in the 14th century, and in Japan in the 18th

century. Orange-coloured carrots appeared in the Netherlands in the 17th century, which has
 33

been related to the fact that the Dutch flag at the time, the Prince's Flag, included orange.

These, the modern carrots, were intended by the English antiquary John Aubrey (1626

1697) when he noted in his memoranda, "Carrots were first sown at Beckington in

Somersetshire. Some very old Man there [in 1668] did remember their first bringing hither."

European settlers introduced the carrot to colonial Americain the 17th century.

Daucus carota is a biennial plant that grows a rosette of leaves while building up the

taproot that stores large amounts of sugars to provide energy for the plant to flower in the

second year.

Soon after germination, carrot seedlings show a distinct demarcation between taproot

and stem: the stem is thicker and lacks lateral roots. At the upper end of the stem is the seed

leaf. The first true leaf appears about 1015 days after germination. Subsequent leaves,

produced from the stem nodes, are alternating (with a single leaf attached to a node)

and compound, and arranged in a spiral. The alternating compound leaves show pinnation.

As the plant grows, the bases of the seed leaves, near the taproot, are pushed apart. The stem,

located just above the ground, is compressed and the internodes are not distinct. When the

seed stalk elongates for flowering, the tip of the stem narrows and becomes pointed, extends

upward, and becomes a highly branched inflorescence. The tall stems grow to 60200 cm

(2080 in) tall.

Most of the taproot consists of a pulpy outer cortex (phloem) and an inner core

(xylem). High-quality carrots have a large proportion of cortex compared to core. Although a

completely xylem-free carrot is not possible, some cultivars have small and deeply
 34

pigmented cores; the taproot can appear to lack a core when the colour of the cortex and core

are similar in intensity. Taproots typically have a long conical shape, although cylindrical

and round cultivars are available. The root diameter can range from 1 cm (0.4 in) to as much

as 10 cm (4 in) at the widest part. The root length ranges from 5 to 50 cm (2.0 to 19.7 in),

although most are between 10 and 25 cm (4 and 10 in).

Flower development begins when the flat meristem changes from producing leaves to

an uplifted, conical meristem capable of producing stem elongation and a cluster of flowers.

The cluster is a compound umbel, and each umbel contains several smaller umbels

(umbellets). The first (primary) umbel occurs at the end of the main floral stem; smaller

secondary umbels grow from the main branch, and this further branch into third, fourth, and

even later-flowering umbels. A large, primary umbel can contain up to 50 umbellets, each of

which may have as many as 50 flowers; subsequent umbels have fewer flowers. Individual

flowers are small and white, sometimes with a light green or yellow tint. They consist of

five petals, five stamens, and an entire calyx. The stamens usually split and fall off before

the stigma becomes receptive to receive pollen. The stamens of the brown, male, sterile

flowers degenerate and shrivel before the flower fully opens. In the other type of male sterile

flower, the stamens are replaced by petals, and these petals do not fall off. A nectar-

containing disc is present on the upper surface of the carpels.

Flowers change sex in their development, so the stamens release their pollen before

the stigma of the same flower is receptive. The arrangement is centripetal, meaning the

oldest flowers are near the edge and the youngest flowers are in the center. Flowers usually

first open at the outer edge of the primary umbel, followed about a week later on the
 35

secondary umbels, and then in subsequent weeks in higher-order umbels. The usual

flowering period of individual umbels is 7 to 10 days, so a plant can be in the process of

flowering for 3050 days. The distinctive umbels and

floral nectaries attract pollinating insects. After fertilization and as seeds develop, the outer

umbellets of an umbel bend inward causing the umbel shape to change from slightly convex

or fairly flat to concave, and when cupped it resembles a bird's nest. (carrotmuseum.co.uk

(n.d.). History of Carrot. Retrieved from http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/history1.html)

Varieties of carrots are divided into categories based on their shape. There are four

different carrot types that will be discussed in this article; they include Danvers, Nantes,

Imperator, Chantenay and Ball (or Mini):

Danvers shown in figure 4.b people think of a carrot this is the type that they visual.

They are long, skinny, and taper to a point and typically are orange in color, although they

are available in more shades. The foliage and taproot are longer than Chantenay. They are

more tolerant to poor soil. The name comes from where they were developed in Danvers,

Massachusetts. Preferred varieties include: Yellowstone

Nantes shown in figure 4.c they were first described as almost perfectly cylindrical

being both round at the tip and top, having sparse foliage and with near red flesh that was

sweet flavor and nice crunch. Their name is taken from the Atlantic coast of France where

the area is ideal for growing this type of carrot. This category can also be referred to as

Scarlet Nantes, Early Coreless or Nante Superior. There is estimated to be over 40 different

varieties of carrots that fall into this category.

 36

Imperator as shown in figure 4.d this category is what most commercial growers

produce and commonly found in grocery stores throughout the country. They are very

similar looking to Danvers, but thicker in width and often a higher sugar content than the

other categories. The foliage is very fast growing compared.

Chantenay as shown in figure 4.e Before Nantes were developed this category was

the best to plant in heavy or rocky soil due to its size. Chantenay typically only reach 6 to 7

inches long making them very short and broad. These are a great choice for those gardening

in containers or soil described above. However, it is important to harvest at the length

mentioned because they do become woody and not tasty if harvested too late in the season.

Preferred varieties include: Red-Cored Chantenay, Hercules or Carson Hybrid.

Ball or Mini as shown in figure 4.f this grouping includes carrot varieties that are

shaped like radishes or miniature compared to Chantenay. Again they work extremely well

for those gardening in containers due to their short taproot and required growing area. The

miniature forms that only reach about 3 to 4 inches long are typically served whole with the

tops attached. Radish-shaped varieties are typically cross-sectioned to see the beautiful

circular pattern inside. Preferred varieties include: Babette, Romeo or Paris Market.

(diynetwork.com. (n.d.). Types of carrots. Retrieved from http://www.diynetwork.com/how-

to/outdoors/gardening/what-are-the-different-types-of-carrots).

5.) Chayote
 37

Figure 5.a Chayote Figure 5.b Prickly Chayote

Figure 5.c White Chayote Figure 5.d Chayote Squash

Figure 5.e Chayote Leaves

Chayote as shown in figure 5.a is originally native to Mesoamerica. It has been

introduced as a crop worldwide. The main growing regions are Brazil, Costa

Rica, Veracruz, Mexico and Abkhazia. Costa Rican chayotes are predominantly exported to

the European Union, whereas Veracruz mainly exports its chayotes to the United States.
 38

The word chayote is a Spanish derivative of the Nahuatl word chayohtli. Chayote

was one of the many foods introduced to Europe by early explorers, who brought back a

wide assortment of botanical samples. The Age of Conquest also spread the plant south from

Mexico, ultimately causing it to be integrated into the cuisine of many other Latin

American nations.

The chayote fruit is used in mostly cooked forms. When cooked, chayote is usually

handled like summer squash; it is generally lightly cooked to retain the crispy consistency.

Though rare and often regarded as especially unpalatable and tough in texture, raw chayote

may be added to salads or salsas, most often marinated with lemon or lime juice. Whether

raw or cooked, chayote is a good source of vitamin C.

Although most people are familiar only with the fruit as being edible, the root, stem,

seeds and leaves are edible as well. The tubers of the plant are eaten like potatoes and other

root vegetables, while the shoots and leaves are often consumed in salads and stir fries,

especially in Asia. Like other members of the gourd family, such as cucumbers, melons, and

squash, chayote has a sprawling habit, and it should only be planted if there is plenty of

room in the garden. The roots are also highly susceptible to rot, especially in containers, and

the plant in general is finicky to grow. However, in Australia and New Zealand, it is an easily

grown yard or garden plant, set on a chicken wire support or strung against a fence.

The chayote is popular member of the gourd family that is eaten throughout the

world, though it is not as well known in the United States. Though there are many different

varieties of chayotes, the most commonly found is pear-shaped and pale green.
 39

The chayote originated in Central America, where it was cultivated by the Aztecs and

Mayans. Its common name, which is Spanish, derives from the Nahuatl

name chayotl. European explorers spread the plant to the Caribbean, South America, and

Europe. Eventually, it was also introduced to Africa, Asia, and Australia. The plant now

plays a part in cuisines and cultures throughout the world.

Because it originated in Mesoamerica, chayote plants grow best in semi-tropical

climates though it has been adapted to a number of growing conditions in warmer climates.

The largest source of chayote continues to be Central America, including Costa Rica,

Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala.

Like other members of the Curcurbitaceae family, the chayote grows on a perennial

vine, whose growth can sometimes be so aggressive in tropical areas as to be considered

invasive as has been the case in Hawaii (Mahr). They are grown on the ground or on

trellises, can grow up to 30 ft long, and are slender and green with many clinging tendrils.

The tendrils produce flowers that are greenish-white to white (Saade). It has tuberous roots

and larger, roughly textured leaves. The plants typically yield 25 to 100 fruits and are

harvested September through May.

The chayote fruit comes in a variety of guises; there are many varieties with different

colored skin, sizes, and shapes. Some have prickles on the skin though the majorities sold

commercially are pear-shaped, wrinkled, and have a smooth, pale green skin. The flesh of

the chayote is white and contains a soft seed in its center, which can be eaten with the rest of

the fruit even though it is usually discarded.

 40

For both the Aztecs and the Mayans, the chayote was a staple food. The Mayans

especially savored the flowering tendrils and roots of the plant.

The chayote fruit nowadays is usually treated as a vegetable and predominantly

served in savory dishes. It has a firm, crisp texture and a somewhat bland taste that has been

described as similar to a potato, cucumber or apple. It is often prepared like a root vegetable

or a summer squash. When eaten raw, chayotes are commonly served in salads or salsas.

When cooked, the versatile fruit can be served an innumerable amount of ways, including

deep fried, baked, stewed, in casseroles, or stuffed as the French prepare it. Its relatively

weak taste makes the chayote a natural accompaniment to strong spicing and flavors.

More rarely, the chayote fruit can be used in sweet dishes. This is most common in

Latin America, where it is prepared similarly to a pumpkin and made into pies. The fruit is

also used for preserves.

Other parts of the plant can be consumed as well. The roots (called chinchayote in

Mexico) are usually prepared like a potato. The leaves are cooked like spinach, the shoots

can be treated like green asparagus tips and can be cooked accordingly in dishes such as stir-

fries and salads (Mahr).

The chayote fruit is a good source of vitamin C and amino acids, though its

carbohydrate and calorie content are particularly high. (aihd.ku.edi. (1999). History of

Chayote. Retrieved from http://www.aihd.ku.edu/foods/Chayote.html). (Wikipedia.com.

(2001). Chayote. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chayote).

Here are some types of Chayote:

 41

The Prickly chayote shown in figure 5.b can first be recognized by its green-gold

spear-like projections covering its surface, which act as a natural defense mechanism. The

amount of spears will increase as the squash matures on the vine. Chayote squashes are also

defined by their pear-like shape. The Prickly chayote's flesh is creamy white in color with a

slightly crisp texture that becomes more succulent as it matures. Its central core contains a

petite seed, which can be eaten, though most often is discarded. Prickly chayote squash's

flavor is delicate, yet sweet, allowing it to absorb companion flavors easily when cooked.

When peeling chayote squash it produces a juice that some people may have a topical

sensitivity to, peeling the squash in water or cooking prior to peeling will render the skin

irritant harmless.

The White chayote shown in figure 5.c is a stark white compared to the lime green

conventional chayote. It is shaped a bit like a pear but slightly larger with deep indentations

that meet at is flower end. Its skin is smooth with subtle creasing. Some varieties of White

chayote have spines on their skin, similar to that of the prickly chayote. Beneath the skin of

the pale summer squash lie a mild white flesh and a solitary soft seed.

Chayote squash shown in figure 5.d is defined by its unique pear-like shape, its pale

lime green coloring and the deep linear indentations that run vertically along the fruit's thin

skin that meet at its flower end. Its creamy white hued flesh has a semi-crisp texture that

becomes succulent to cottony as it matures. Its central core contains small seeds, which are

also edible but typically discarded. Chayote squash's flavor is lacking in depth and offers a

mere insipid taste, thus allowing it to be a carrier sponge of other accompanying ingredient's

flavors. The Chayote fruit is just one of the edible elements of the plant; its tendrils, flowers;
 42

even its roots are also edible, thus expanding its culinary utilities. To store - keep Chayote

squash refrigerated in a plastic bag and use within two weeks of purchase.

Chayote leaves shown in figure 5.e are produced from a perennial climbing plant that

has stems that can reach up to 10 meters in length. The leaves have a range of 3 to 5 angular

lobes that have small thin tendrils attached near or at the base of the stem. Chayote leaves are

a member of the Cucurbitaceae family along with squash, cucumber and melon. The Chayote

leaf has a sandpaper-like texture and vivid green color. When fresh the Chayote leaf offers a

grassy flavor with mellow undertones of cucumber. The leaf is often added to green salads or

Asian stir-fries. (homeguides.sfgate.com. (n.d.).Retrieved from

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/varieties-chayote-74086.html)

6.) Ginger
 43

Figure 6.a Ginger Figure 6.b Turmeric

Figure 6.c Jamaican Ginger Figure 6.d Myoga Ginger

Figure 5.e Galangal Figure 6.f Lesser Ginger

 44

Ginger as shown in figure 6.a is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual stems

about a meter tall bearing narrow green leaves and yellow flowers. Ginger is in

the family Zingiberaceae, to which also belong turmeric (Curcuma

longa), cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), and galangal. Ginger originated in the tropical

rainforest in Southern Asia. Although ginger no longer grows wild, it is thought to have

originated on the Indian subcontinent. The ginger plants grown in India show the largest

amount of genetic variation. The larger the number of genetic variations, the longer the plant

is thought to have grown in that region. Ginger was exported to Europe via India in the first

century AD as a result of the lucrative spice trade and was used extensively by the Romans.

The origin of "ginger" is from the mid-14th century, from Old English gingifer, from

Medieval Latin gingiber, from Latin zingiberi, from Greek zingiberis, from Prakrit (Middle

Indic) singabera, from Sanskrit srngaveram, from srngam "horn" vera- "body", from the

shape of its root. But this may be Sanskrit folk etymology, and the word may be from an

ancient Dravidian name that also produced the Tamil and Malayalam name for the

spice, inchi-ver, from inchi "root." The word probably was readopted in Middle English

from Old French gingibre (modern French gingembre).

From its origin to the present, ginger is the worlds most widely cultivated

herb. Testimonials of both the medicinal and economic importance of ginger have been

recorded as far back as five thousand-year-old Greek literature to 200 B.C. Ancient

literature from the Middle East, Asia and Europe write of its impact. Chinese records

chronicle the immense wealth associated with growing acres of ginger. Trade in spices like
 45

ginger could easily be associated with ones wealth and power. In the middle Ages, as little

as just one pound was worth 1 shilling and 7 pence, approximately equivalent to the price of

a sheep. Having such a rich history, its easy to see how explorers like Marco Polo and Vasco

da Gama were careful to document the cultivation of ginger.

The historical reverence for and usage of ginger is simply staggering. Ginger had

great historic, medicinal value as a spiritual beverage, aphrodisiac, digestive aid,

etc. Traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic Indian systems viewed ginger as a healing gift from

God. Chinese pharmacopeias claim long term use of fresh ginger as putting a person in

contact with the spiritual advantages. Writings of the Koran describe ginger as a beverage of

the holiest heavenly spirits. Its healing heritage is unmatched in the history of medicine.

Throughout history, ginger is reported for its value as an aphrodisiac. The list of

references of gingers sexual tonic properties is impressive, including endorsements by the

Greek Dioscorides; a citation in Arabias A Thousand and One Nights, John Gerards

prescriptive herbal; and Italys famed University of Salerno medical school prescribed that a

rule for happy life in old age was to eat ginger, and you will love and be loved as in your

youth.

Gingers value as an aphrodisiac is undoubtedly connected to its widespread use as a

systemic tonic, hormone balancer, energy enhancer, and agent for improving the appetite and

circulation. It is no wonder that ginger is so widely used as a prerequisite for a healthy

sexual appetite.

As a digestive aid, Confucius wrote as far back as 500 B.C. of never being without

ginger when he ate. In the famous De Materia Medica 77 A.D. Dioscorides recorded that
 46

ginger warms and softens the stomach.1 Virtually every culture has recorded the virtues of

ginger as a digestive aid. Bruce Cost wrote of gingers use as the Alka-Seltzer of the

Roman Empire. Ginger was part of the Revolutionary War soldiers diet. In U.S. early

twentieth century, ginger was named the herb of choice for digestive support.

Japanese soothed spinal and joint pain with it. The Chinese found it helpful with

tooth aches, symptoms of a cold, flu and hangover. Progressive early-twentieth century U.S.

physicians prescribed ginger for painful menstruation.

The cultural outlook on aphrodisiacs in the seventeenth century was another factor in

the reduction of its usage as a therapeutic agent. Over time, the widespread use of ginger to

retard spoilage and disguise taste was superseded by modern refrigeration. As time passed,

ginger came to be thought of as a relic of the past; a reminder of a more primitive time.

Ginger is propagated by planting rootstalk cuttings and has been under this type of

cultivation for so long that it no longer goes to seed. Harvesting is done simply by lifting the

rhizomes from the soil, cleansing them, and drying them in the sun. The dried ginger

rhizomes are irregular in shape, branched or palmate. Their colour varies from dark yellow

through light brown to pale buff. Ginger may be unscraped; partly scraped; or scraped or

peeled.

The dried rhizome of Zingiber officinale Rosc., a perennial plant, of the family

Zingiberaceae. Probably native to southeastern Asia, its aromatic, pungent rhizome

(underground stem) is used as a spice, flavouring, food, and medicine. Its generic name

Zingiber is derived from the Greek zingiberis, which comes from the Sanskrit name of the

spice, singabera. Its use in India and China has been known from ancient times, and by the
 47

1st century AD traders had taken ginger into the Mediterranean region. By the 11th century it

was well known in England. The Spaniards brought it to the West Indies and Mexico soon

after the conquest and by 1547 ginger was being exported from Santiago to Spain. The spice

has a slightly biting taste and is used, usually dried and ground, to flavour breads, sauces,

curry dishes, confections, pickles, and ginger ale. The fresh rhizome, green ginger, is used in

cooking. The peeled rhizomes may be preserved by boiling in syrup. In elsewhere, slices of

ginger are eaten between dishes or courses to clear the palate. Ginger is used medically to

treat flatulence and colic.

The leafy stems of ginger grow about a metre high. The leaves are 15 to 30

centimetres long, elongate, alternate in two vertical rows, and arise from sheaths enwrapping

the stem. The flowers are in dense, conelike spikes about 2 cm thick and 4 to 6 cm long,

composed of overlapping green bracts, which may be edged with yellow. Each bract

encloses a single, small, yellow-green and purple flower.

Ginger is a tropical plant. It originated in Asia, but could be found throughout Africa

and Arabia long before people gave up on the idea that the world was flat. The Greeks and

Romans used a lot of ginger, which is said to have come from India via Arabia by way of the

Red Sea. The plant appears in European records dating to the 11th century, as it was among

the heavily taxed spices on which the nobility made a few bucks. Marco Polo mentioned

seeing it on his trip to Asia in 1280. It arrived in England early - herbalists from the 11th

century onward wrote of it.

It is in the area of intestinal upset that ginger comes to the fore, whether that upset is

due to pregnancy, the intestinal flu, or the motion of a car, boat, or airplane. Ginger has the

ability to quell the queasiness that usually proceeds vomiting. (Herballegacy.com. (n.d.).
 48

Ginger History. Retrieved from http://www.herballegacy.com/Whitney_History.html).

(mdidea.com. (n.d.). Ginger .Retrieved from

https://www.mdidea.com/products/new/new02103.html).

Here are some Types of Ginger:

Turmeric as shown in figure 6.b is one of the most common food flavorings (a

common ingredient in curry powder) and coloring in Asian cuisine. In many languages

turmeric means yellow root, and its yellow color is almost impossible to remove once it

stained your clothes. A delicious way to get more turmeric in your diet is to eat more curry.

Yellow ginger is a common name for turmeric (Curuma longa). It is also sometimes

used to refer to Hedychium flavescens, a perennial flowering plant, but this use is far less

common. Both of these plants are members of the ginger plant family, known as

the Zingiberaceaefamily, which includes over 1,300 species of aromatic plants.

Jamaica Ginger as shown in figure 6.c extract, known in the United States by the

slang name "Jake," was a late 19th-century patent medicine that provided a convenient way

to bypass Prohibition laws, since it contained between 70% and 80% ethanol by weight.

Myoga, myoga ginger or Japanese ginger shown in figure 6.d is the species Zingiber

mioga in the Zingiberaceae family. It is a deciduous herbaceous perennial native

to Japan, China, and the southern part of Korea. Only its edible flower buds and flavorful

shoots are used in cooking.

Galangal as shown in figure 6.e is a rhizome of plants in the ginger

family Zingiberaceae, with culinary and medicinal uses originating in Indonesia. The

rhizomes are used in various Asian cuisines (for example in Thai and Lao tom yum and tom
 49

kha gai soups, Vietnamese Hu cuisine (tr) and throughout Indonesian cuisine, for example,

in Soto). Polish odkowa Gorzka vodka is flavoured with galangal. Galangal is related to

and resembles ginger. While ginger tastes a little like galangal, most cooks who use both

rhizomes would never substitute one for the other and expect the same flavor.

Lesser Ginger or "Rhizome" as shown in figure 6.f Although it has come to be called

in English by a broad name, gkrachai(also krachai or kachai) is not just any rhizome, but a

very specific kind with its own distinctive piquant flavor and tangy fragrance that cannot be

mistaken with other members of the ginger family to which it belongs. Known also as "lesser

ginger", "lesser galanga" and "Chinese key," this root is comprised of a cluster of long,

slender, orangish brown fingers joined to an insignificant, knobby ginger-like rhizome.

Because its exuberant, aromatic quality freshens the taste of seafood, it is used primarily in

seafood dishes. The fingers are cut into fine slivers and tossed along with other fragrant

herbs into hot-and-spicy seafood stir-fries, curries and incendiary soups. (recipesubs.com.

(2010). Variety of ginger . Retrieved from https://recipesubs.wordpress.com/tag/uses-for-

ginger/).

7.) Potato
 50

Figure 7.a Potato

Figure 7.b Russet

Figure 7.c Jewel Yam Figure 7.d Russian Banana

 51

Figure 7.e Kerrs Pink Figure 7.f Laura

The potato as shown in figure 7.a is starchy, tuberrrous crop from

the perennial nightshade Solanum tuberosum. The word "potato" may refer either to the

plant itself or to the edible tuber. In the Andes, where the species is indigenous, there are

some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes were introduced outside the

Andes region approximately four centuries ago, and have since become an integral part of

much of the world's food supply. It is the world's fourth-largest food crop,

following maize, wheat, and rice. The green leaves and green skins of tubers exposed to the

light are toxic.

Wild potato species can be found throughout the Americas from the United States to

southern Chile. The potato was originally believed to have been domesticated independently

in multiple locations, but later genetic testing of the wide variety of cultivars and wild

species proved a single origin for potatoes in the area of present-day southern Peru and

extreme northwestern Bolivia (from a species in the Solanum brevicaule complex), where

they were domesticated approximately 7,00010,000 years ago. Following centuries

of selective breeding, there are now over a thousand different types of potatoes. Over 99% of

the presently cultivated potatoes worldwide descended from varieties that originated in the
 52

lowlands of south-central Chile, which have displaced formerly popular varieties from

the Andes.

However, the local importance of the potato is variable and changing rapidly. It

remains an essential crop in Europe (especially eastern and central Europe), where per capita

production is still the highest in the world, but the most rapid expansion over the past few

decades has occurred in southern and eastern Asia. As of 2007 China led the world in potato

production, and nearly a third of the world's potatoes were harvested in China and India.

In general, the tubers of varieties with white flowers have white skins, while those of

varieties with colored flowers tend to have pinkish skins. Potatoes are mostly cross-

pollinated by insects such as bumblebees, which carry pollen from other potato plants,

though a substantial amount of self-fertilizing occurs as well. Tubers form in response to

decreasing day length, although this tendency has been minimized in commercial varieties

The potato was first domesticated in the region of modern-day southern Peru and

extreme northwestern Bolivia between 8000 and 5000 BC. It has since spread around the

world and become a staple crop in many countries.

The earliest archaeologically verified potato tuber remains have been found at the coastal

site of Ancon (central Peru), dating to 2500 BC. (potatogoodness.com. (n.d.). Potato history.

Retrieved from https://www.potatogoodness.com/potato-fun-facts-history/).

Here are some kinds of potato:

 53

Russet (starchy) shown in figure 7.b this is the potato most people have fixed in their

minds as the classic potato. They are ideal baking potatoes and are also good fried and

mashed. Russets are ideal for light and fluffy mashed potatoes. They also fry up crisp and

golden brown, and they are the potato of choice for baking. The delicate flavor and fluffy

texture of baked russets go well with all kinds of toppings, from traditional sour cream and

chives to spicy and bold Mediterranean or Latin flavors. Try cutting into planks or wedges to

make hearty oven-roasted fries. (soecualtyprocedure.com. (n.d.). Russet .Retrieved from

http://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Russian_Banana_Fingerling_Potatoes_133.php).

Jewel Yam (starchy) shown in figure 7.c actually a sweet potato, not a true jam, this

is the most commonly found market sweet potato. Great baked or roasted. Jewel yams have

an ovate, cylindrical shape which tapers slightly at each end. They have a rough exterior skin

that showcases a rose hue and is often speckled lightly with darker spots and faint lines. The

flesh, when cooked, is a brilliant orange-yellow offering a moist, starchy and fluffy texture.

Its flavor is sweet with a subtle earthiness and nuances of chestnuts.

The Jewel yam is not a true yam but rather an orange-fleshed variety of sweet potato.

To further complicate things the Jewel yam, which as we already established is a sweet

potato type, is not actually botanically speaking a potato either. The Jewel yam "sweet

potato" is a root vegetable botanically known as a part of Ipomoea batatas and a member of

the Convolvulaceae family. Renamed years ago from sweet potato to yam as a means to

distinguish the orange-fleshed sweet potato from the white-fleshed sweet potato, yams such

as the Jewel are required by the USDA to be labeled both as yams and sweet potatoes though

the latter is commonly dropped in todays marketplace. A yam is the edible tuber of the
 54

Jewel yam vine and provides sustenance to the above ground shoots and leaves which are

also edible. (.whfoods.com. (n.d.) Sweet potato. Retrieved from http://www.whfoods.com/).

White potatoes hold their shape well after cooking. Their delicate, thin skins add just

the right amount of texture to a velvety mashed potato dish without the need for peeling.

Grilling whites brings out a more full-bodied flavor. Create signature potato saladsjust toss

cooked white potatoes with dressings and ingredients borrowed from other salads, e.g.,

Caesar dressing and grated Parmesan; or ranch dressing, chopped egg and bacon crumbles.

(potatogoodness.com. (n.d.). Types of potato. Retrieved from

https://www.potatogoodness.com/potato-types/).

Russian Banana (waxy) shown in figure 7.d this potato has a pale yellow skin with

rich yellow flesh and a firm texture. It is good grilled, sauted, fried, roasted whole or

steamed for potato salads. A fingerling potato is a small, stubby, finger-shaped type

of potato which may be any heritage potato cultivars. Fingerlings are varieties that naturally

grow small and narrow. They are fully mature when harvested and are not to be confused

with new potatoes. Popular fingerling potatoes include the yellow-skinned Russian Banana,

the pink-skinned, yellow fleshed French Fingerling, the Purple Peruvian, and the Swedish

Peanut Fingerling.

Kerr's Pink as shown in figure 7.e is a potato cultivar in wide production

in Ireland and the United Kingdom and many other countries. Although often quoted as an

"Irish potato" (where it was introduced in 1917), the cultivar was actually created by J.

Henry of Corrnhill, Scotland, in 1907. Kerr's Pink potatoes have a distinctive pink colour

with deep eyes. They are quite floury and starchy. They are very good for mashing and
 55

boiling but can also be chipped. Kerr's Pinks have a slightly low resistance to common scab

and tend to have a low resistance to potato cyst nematode (pallida) and potato cyst nematode

(rostochiensis). The variety has an average resistance to powdery scab and blackleg. It has a

very high resistance to slugs and a relatively high resistance to splitting.

Laura shown in figure 7.f is a midseason-ripening, firm-fleshed, edible potato. The

Laura potato is red-skinned with a rich potato-yellow flesh color and an oval shape. It was

first recognized in 1998 in Austria. The eyes' depth is between flat and very flat. The potato

is robustly resistant to damage and is highly resistant to scab, leaf roll virus and potato

viruses A and Y. However, it is susceptible to potato wart and cyst nematodes.

(potatogoodness.com. (n.d.). Types of potato. Retrieved from

https://www.potatogoodness.com/potato-types/).
 56

8.) Radish

Figure 8.a Radish Figure 8.b Daikon

Figure 8.c Sparkler Figure 8.d Cherry belle

 57

Figure 8.e Radish White Beauty

The radish as shown in figure 8.a (Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus) is

an edible root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family that was domesticated in Europe in pre-

Roman times. Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten

raw as a crunchy salad vegetable. They have numerous varieties, varying in size, flavor,

color, and length of time they take to mature. Radishes owe their sharp flavor to the various

chemical compounds produced by the plants, including glucosinolate, myrosinase,

and isothiocyanate. They are sometimes grown as companion plants and suffer from few

pests and diseases. They germinate quickly and grow rapidly, smaller varieties being ready

for consumption within a month, while larger daikon varieties take several months. Another

use of radish is as cover or catch crop in winter or as a forage crop. Some radishes are

grown for their seeds; daikon, for instance, may be grown for oil production. Others are used

for sprouting and both roots and leaves are sometimes served cooked or cold.

Varieties of radish are now broadly distributed around the world, but almost

no archeological records are available to help determine their early history and

domestication. However, scientists tentatively locate the origin of Raphanus

sativus in Southeast Asia, as this is the only region where truly wild forms have been

discovered. India, central China, and central Asia appear to have been secondary centers
 58

where differing forms were developed. Radishes enter the historical record in third century

BC. Greek and Roman agriculturalists of the first century AD gave details of small, large,

round, long, mild, and sharp varieties. The radish seems to have been one of the

first European crops introduced to the Americas. A German botanist reported radishes of

100 lb (45 kg) and roughly 3 ft in length in 1544, although the only variety of that size today

is the Japanese Sakurajima radish. The large, mild, and white East Asian form was

developed in China, but is mostly associated in the West with the Japanese daikon, owing to

Japanese agricultural development and larger exports.

Radishes are annual or biennial brassicaceous crops grown for their swollen tap roots

which can be globular, tapering, or cylindrical. The root skin colour ranges from white

through pink, red, purple, yellow, and green to black, but the flesh is usually white. Smaller

types have a few leaves about 13 cm (5 in) long with round roots up to 2.5 cm (1 in) in

diameter or more slender, long roots up to 7 cm (3 in) long. Both of these are normally eaten

raw in salads. A longer root form, including oriental radishes, daikon or mooli, and winter

radishes, grows up to 60 cm (24 in) long with foliage about 60 cm (24 in) high with a spread

of 45 cm (18 in). The flesh of radishes harvested timely is crisp and sweet, but becomes

bitter and tough if the vegetable is left in the ground too long. Leaves are arranged in

a rosette. They have a lyrate shape, meaning they are divided pinnately with an enlarged

terminal lobe and smaller lateral lobes. The white flowers are borne on

a racemose inflorescence. The fruits are small pods which can be eaten when young.

Radishes grow best in full sun in light, sandy loams, with a soil pH 6.5 to 7.0, but for

late-season crops, a clayey-loam is ideal. Soils that bake dry and form a crust in dry weather

are unsuitable and can impair germination. Harvesting periods can be extended by making
 59

repeat plantings, spaced a week or two apart. In warmer climates, radishes are normally

planted in the autumn. The depth at which seeds are planted affects the size of the root, from

1 cm (0.4 in) deep recommended for small radishes to 4 cm (1.6 in) for large radishes.

During the growing period, the crop needs to be thinned and weeds controlled, and

irrigation may be required. (vegetablefacts.net (n.d.).History of Radish. Retrieved from

http://www.vegetablefacts.net/vegetable-history/radish-history/).

Here are some Varieties of radish:

Daikon shown in figure 8.b also known by many other names depending on context,

is a mild-flavored winter radish (Raphanus sativus) usually characterized by fast-growing

leaves and a long, white, napiform root. Originally native to Southeast or continental East

Asia, daikon is harvested and consumed throughout the region.

Sparkler shown in figure 8.c is part of the Raphanus genus and is a Radish variety. Its

scientific name is Raphanus sativus 'Sparkler'. Sparkler is a heirloom (open

pollinated) variety. This variety typically blooms in the following colours: Arylide

yellow and Unmellow Yellow. When mature, blooms are roughly 1.0 cm (that's 0.39 inches

in imperial) in diameter. The mature flowers take a Single form, with an approximate petal

count of 4. This variety typically produces fruit in the following colours: Candy apple

red and Pale pink. The leaves of this particular variety normally show as Sea green and La

Salle Green colour.

The word belle means beautiful in French. And Cherry Belle as shown in figure 8.d

is a beautiful example of a radish that looks just like a poster image from a green grocers

shop: small, uniformly round, bright red-pink, and with crisp, tasty snow-white flesh inside

that attractive skin. Cherry Belle radishes really are cherry red, and generally are harvested
 60

when they reach inch or at most one inch in diameter. Because this radish selection is such

an early starter in the garden calendar, it may take less than a month from seed to table! Most

growers state that Cherry Belle radishes mature in anywhere from 21 to 27 days, so be

sure to get back into the garden soon after sowing, to harvest these mouthwatering

vegetables while they are the most tender.

Radish 'White Beauty' as shown in figure 8.e is the sister variety to 'Pink Beauty', a

very sweet, white radish with a mild flavor. Quick to grow and beautiful to look at Radish

'White Beauty' is a top-quality radish that is very easy to grow, the roots are never pithy and

take around 26 days to mature. The round to slightly oval roots have a pleasant tender

texture, the flavour is not too spicy and stays mild even as they grow larger. With pure white

skin and firm white flesh, this is an excellent variety for salads and gourmet

dishes. (Gardeningknowhow.com. (n.d.). types of Radish. Retrieved from

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/radish/types-of-radishes.html).
 61

9.) Squash

Figure 9.a Squash Figure 9.b Acorn-Shaped Figure 9.cButternut

 62

Figure 9.d Calabaza Squash Figure 9.e Delicata Figure 9.f Hubbard-One

Figure 9.g Kabocha Figure 9.h Pumpkin

Cucurbita (Latin for gourd)as shown in figure 9 a is a genus of herbaceous vines in

the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, also known as cucurbits, native to

the Andes and Mesoamerica. Five species are grown worldwide for their edible fruit,

variously known as squash(cucurbita maxima, pumpkin, or gourd depending on

species, variety, and local parlance, and for their seeds. First cultivated in the Americas
 63

before being brought to Europe by returning explorers after their discovery of the New

World, plants in the genus Cucurbita are important sources of human food and oil. Other

kinds of gourd, also called bottle-gourds, are native to Africa and belong to the

genus Lagenaria, which is in the same family and subfamily as Cucurbita but in a

different tribe. These other gourds are used as utensils or vessels, and their young fruits are

eaten much like those of Cucurbita species.

Most Cucurbita species are herbaceous vines that grow several meters in length and

have tendrils, but non-vining "bush" cultivars of C. pepo and C. maxima have also been

developed. The yellow or orange flowers on a Cucurbita plant are of two types: female and

male. The female flowers produce the fruit and the male flowers produce pollen. Many

North and Central American species are visited by specialist bee pollinators, but other insects

with more general feeding habits, such as honey bees, also visit.

The fruits of the genus Cucurbita are good sources of nutrients, such as vitamin

A and vitamin C, among other nutrients according to species. The plants also contain

other phytochemicals, such as cucurbitin, cucurmosin, and cucurbitacin.

There is debate about the taxonomy of the genus, as the number of accepted species

varies from 13 to 30. The five domesticated species are Cucurbita

argyrosperma, C. ficifolia, C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. pepo. All of these can be treated

as winter squash because the full-grown fruits can be stored for months;

however, C. pepo includes some cultivars that are better used only as summer squash.
 64

Cucurbita fruits have played a role in human culture for at least 2,000 years. They are

often represented in Moche ceramics from Peru. After Christopher Columbus's arrival in the

New World, paintings of squashes started to appear in Europe early in the sixteenth century.

The fruits have many culinary uses including pumpkin pie, biscuits, bread, desserts,

puddings, beverages, and soups. Pumpkins and other Cucurbita fruits are celebrated in

festivals and in flower and vegetable shows in many countries.

The ancestral species of the genus Cucurbita were present in the Americas before

the arrival of humans, and are native to the New World. The likely center of origin is

southern Mexico, spreading south through what is now known as Mesoamerica, on into

South America, and north to what is now the southwestern United States. Evolutionarily

speaking, the genus is relatively recent in origin, dating back only to the Holocene, whereas

the family Cucurbitaceae, in the shape of seeds similar to Bryonia, dates to the Paleocene. No

species within the genus is entirely genetically isolated. C. moschata can intercross with all

the others, though the hybrid offspring may not themselves be fertile unless they

become polyploid. The genus was part of the culture of almost every native peoples group

from southern South America to southern Canada. Modern-day cultivated Cucurbita are not

found in the wild.[5] Genetic studies of the mitochondrial gene nad1 show there were at least

six independent domestication events of Cucurbita separating domestic species from their

wild ancestors. Species native to North America include C. digitata (calabazilla),

and C. foetidissima (buffalo gourd), C. palmata (coyote melon), and C. pepo. Some species,

such as C. digitataand C. ficifolia, are referred to as gourds. Gourds, also called bottle-

gourds, which are used as utensils or vessels, belong to the genus Lagenaria and are native to

Africa. Lagenaria are in the same family and subfamily as Cucurbita but in a different tribe.
 65

The earliest known evidence of the domestication of Cucurbita dates back at least

8,000 years ago, is predating the domestication of other crops such as maize and beans in the

region by about 4,000 years. This evidence was found in the Guil Naquitz cave in Oaxaca,

Mexico, during a series of excavations in the 1960s and 1970s, possibly beginning in 1959.

Solid evidence of domesticated C. pepo was found in the Guil Naquitz cave in the form of

increasing rind thickness and larger peduncles in the newer stratification layers of the cave.

By c. 8,000 years BP the C. pepo peduncles found are consistently more than 10 millimeters

(0.39 in) thick. Wild Cucurbita peduncles are always below this 10 mm barrier. Changes in

fruit shape and color indicate that intentional breeding of C. pepo had occurred by no later

than 8,000 years BP. During the same time frame, average rind thickness increased from 0.84

millimeters (0.033 in) to 1.15 millimeters (0.045 in).

Squash was domesticated first, followed by maize and then beans, becoming part of

the Three Sisters agricultural system of companion planting. The English word "squash"

derives from askutasquash (a green thing eaten raw), a word from the Narragansett language,

which was documented by Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, in his 1643

publication A Key Into the Language of America. Similar words for squash exist in related

languages of the Algonquian family. (worldsquash.org. (.n.d.). Squash History.

http://www.worldsquash.org/ws/wsf-information/squash-history/140-years-of-squash).

Here are some common Types of Squash:

Acorn-Shaped as shown in figure 9.b like its namesake, this small, dark green,

orange, or buff-colored squash has a ribbed rind and a moist yellow or orange interior that is

loaded with fiber. When halved for roasting, acorn squash can be used as a natural bowl for
 66

fillings, such as apples.Great for: Roasting. Peeling is difficult, so cut it in half or slice (the

skin is edible).

Butternut-One as shown in figure 9.c of the most common winter squash, this foot-

long, bell-shaped variety has thin, butterscotch-colored skin and sweet, nutty flesh. Its

smooth, thin skin makes it easier to peel than many other squash varieties. For the most

abundant flesh, look for butternut squash with a long, thick neck. Dense and creamy, it pairs

well with a variety of flavors, including smoky bacon, cinnamon, and balsamic vinegar. It

also has the highest doses of vitamins A and C. Great for: Roasting and soups.

Long popular in the Caribbean, calabaza squash shown in figure 9.d (also called West

Indian pumpkin) has a sweet, juicy golden orange flesh similar in taste and texture to

butternut squash. Getting to it can be difficult, however, thanks to its super-tough tan, green,

or red orange rind. Use a cleaver, or look for cut-up pieces at Latin markets. Look for pieces

with tightly grained flesh and no wet spots. Whole squash will keep up to 6 weeks in a cool,

dry place; cut pieces should be refrigerated and will last for a week. Great for: Baking.

Delicata-Also called sweet potato squash shown in figure 9.e because of its creamy

flavor and texture, delicata squash resembles a giant, fat cucumber (it typically weighs 1 to 2

pounds) and has pale yellow skin and dark green pinstripes. Popular in the early 1900s, this

heirloom variety is enjoying renewed favor thanks to its fine, creamy flesh, which tastes

similar to sweet potatoes and butternut squash. And, yes, you can eat the skin (no peeling

necessary). Great for: Roasting and stuffing.

Hubbard-One as shown in figure 9.f of the largest winter varieties, Hubbard squash

typically weighs 8 to 20 pounds and range in color from orange to grayish blue. Hidden
 67

beneath the hard, nobly skin is a delicious yellow flesh thats both savory and sweet. The

flesh is high in sugar but sometimes mealy, which means its best pureed (as a pie filling) or

mashed. A whole squash will keep for up to 6 months in a cool, dry place. Its also sold cut

up. Great for: Pie filling, purees, and mashes.

Kabocha as shown in figure 9.g is a pumpkin-shaped Japanese squash (typically 2 to

3 pounds) is fairly new to the U.S. market but has caught on quickly due to its subtle,

honeyed sweetness and smooth, almost fiberless texture. The jade green exterior has light

green stripes, and the meat is a pale orange. Drier and denser than most squashes, the

kabocha can be baked or steamed, like acorn squash, or pureed to give soups a buttery

richness. Great for: Soups.

Pumpkin as shown in figure 9.h With their bright orange skin and light orange flesh,

round 2- to 8- pound specimens are best for cooking. Pureed, pumpkin is a tasty, healthful

addition to soups, sweet breads, pancakes, and risottos and makes a good feeling for ravioli.

Pumpkins have a mellow sweetness and dense flesh thats perfect for autumn baking. (The

bigger, Halloween guys tend to be watery and less flavorful.) Varieties to look for include

Small Sugar, New England Pie, Baby Pam, and Pik-A-Pie. Great for: Pies, quick breads,

pancakes, risottos. Roast or steam, puree, and then add to recipe. (realsimple.com (n.d.).

Types of Squash. Retrieved from http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-

storing/food/common-types-winter-squash/more).

10) Tomato
 68

Figure 10.a Tomato Figure 10.b Better Boy

Figure 10.c Beefsteak Tomato Figure 10.d big boy

Figure 10.e Diamante Figure 10.f Early Girl

Figure 10.g Grape

Tomato Figure 10.h Yellow Cherry
 69

The tomato (see pronunciation)as shown in figure 10.a is the edible,

red fruit of Solanum lycopersicum, commonly known as a tomato plant, which belongs to

the nightshade family, Solanaceae.

The species originated in Central and South America. The Nahuatl (Aztec language)

word tomatl gave rise to the Spanish word "tomate", from which the English word tomato

originates.

Its use as a food originated in Mexico, and spread throughout the world following

the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Tomato is consumed in diverse ways, including

raw, as an ingredient in many dishes, sauces, salads, and drinks. While tomatoes

are botanically berry-type fruits, they are considered culinary vegetables, being ingredients

of savory meals.

The word "tomato" comes from the Spanish tomate, which in turn comes from

the Nahuatl word tomatl. It first appeared in print in 1595.The native

Mexican tomatillo is tomate (in Nahuatl: tomtl, meaning "fat water" or "fat thing"). When

Aztecs started to cultivate the Andean fruit, bigger and red, they called the new

species xitomatl (or jitomates ("plump thing with navel" or "fat water with navel"). After

their conquest of Tenochtitlan, Spaniards exported tomatoes (jitomates) to the rest of the

world with the name tomate, so numerous languages use forms of the word "tomato"

(tomate) to refer to the red tomato instead of the green tomatillo. It first appeared in print in

1595. The scientific species epithet lycopersicum means "wolf peach", and comes from

German werewolf myths. These legends said that deadly nightshade was used by witches
 70

and sorcerers in potions to transform themselves into werewolves, so the tomato's similar,

but much larger, fruit was called the "wolf peach" when it arrived in Europe.

The tomato is native to western South America and Central America. Native versions

were small, like cherry tomatoes, and most likely yellow rather than red. A member of the

deadly nightshade family, tomatoes were erroneously thought to be poisonous by Europeans

who were suspicious of their bright, shiny fruit. The leaves are in fact poisonous, although

the fruit is not.

Mesoamerica-Aztecs and other peoples in Mesoamerica used the fruit in their

cooking. The exact date of domestication is unknown: by 500 BC, it was already being

cultivated in southern Mexico and probably other areas. The Pueblo people are thought to

have believed that those who witnessed the ingestion of tomato seeds were blessed with

powers of divination. The large, lumpy variety of tomato, a mutation from a smoother,

smaller fruit, originated in Mesoamerica, and may be the direct ancestor of some modern

cultivated tomatoes.

Spanish distribution-Spanish conquistador Hernn Corts may have been the first to

transfer the small yellow tomato to Europe after he captured the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan,

now Mexico City, in 1521, although Christopher Columbus may have taken them back as

early as 1493. The earliest discussion of the tomato in European literature appeared in

a herbal written in 1544 by Pietro Andrea Mattioli, an Italian physician and botanist, who

suggested that a new type of eggplant had been brought to Italy that was blood red or golden

color when mature and could be divided into segments and eaten like an eggplantthat is,
 71

cooked and seasoned with salt, black pepper, and oil. It was not until ten years later that

tomatoes were named in print by Mattioli as pomi doro, or "golden apples".

After the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Spanish distributed the tomato

throughout their colonies in the Caribbean. They also took it to the Philippines, from where

it spread to Southeast Asia and then the entire Asian continent. The Spanish also brought the

tomato to Europe. It grew easily in Mediterranean climates, and cultivation began in the

1540s. It was probably eaten shortly after it was introduced, and was certainly being used as

food by the early 17th century in Spain.

Italy-The recorded history of tomatoes in Italy dates back to 31 October 1548 when

the house steward of Cosimo de' Medici, the grand duke of Tuscany, wrote to the Medici

private secretary informing him that the basket of tomatoes sent from the grand duke's

Florentine estate at Torre del Gallo "had arrived safely." Tomatoes were grown mainly as

ornamentals early on after their arrival in Italy. For example, the Florentine aristocrat

Giovanvettorio Soderini wrote how they "were to be sought only for their beauty" and were

grown only in gardens or flower beds. The tomato's ability to mutate and create new and

different varieties helped contribute to its success and spread throughout Italy. However,

even in areas where the climate supported growing tomatoes, their proximity of growing to

the ground suggested low status. They were not adopted as a staple of the peasant population

because they were not as filling as other fruits already available. Additionally, both toxic and

inedible varieties discouraged many people from attempting to consume or prepare them. In

certain areas of Italy, such as Florence, the fruit was used solely as a tabletop decoration

before it was incorporated into the local cuisine in the late 17th or early 18th century. The
 72

earliest discovered cookbook with tomato recipes was published in Naples in 1692, though

the author had apparently obtained these recipes from Spanish sources.

Britain-Tomatoes were not grown in England until the 1590s. One of the earliest

cultivators was John Gerard, a barber-surgeon. Gerard's Herbal, published in 1597, and

largely plagiarized from continental sources, is also one of the earliest discussions of the

tomato in England. Gerard knew the tomato was eaten in Spain and Italy. Nonetheless, he

believed it was poisonous (in fact, the plant and raw fruit do have low levels of tomatine, but

are not generally dangerous; Gerard's views were influential, and the tomato was considered

unfit for eating (though not necessarily poisonous) for many years in Britain and its North

American colonies.

By the mid-18th century, tomatoes were widely eaten in Britain, and before the end

of that century, the Encyclopedia Britannica stated the tomato was "in daily use"

in soups, broths, and as a garnish. They were not part of the average person's diet, however,

and though by 1820 they were described as "to be seen in great abundance in all our

vegetable markets" and to be "used by all our best cooks", reference was made to their

cultivation in gardens still "for the singularity of their appearance", while their use in

cooking was associated with Italian or Jewish cuisine.

Middle east and North Africa-The tomato was introduced to cultivation in the Middle

East by John Barker, British consul in Aleppo circa 1799 to 1825. Nineteenth century

descriptions of its consumption are uniformly as an ingredient in a cooked dish. In 1881, it is

described as only eaten in the region "within the last forty years". Today, the tomato is a

critical and ubiquitous part of Middle Eastern cuisine, served fresh in salads (e.g., Arab
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salad, Israeli salad, Shirazi salad and Turkish salad), grilled with kebabs and other dishes,

and made into sauces, and so on.

North America-The earliest reference to tomatoes being grown in British North

America is from 1710, when herbalist William Salmon reported seeing them in what is

today South Carolina. They may have been introduced from the Caribbean. By the mid-18th

century, they were cultivated on some Carolina plantations, and probably in other parts of the

Southeast as well. Possibly, some people continued to think tomatoes were poisonous at this

time; and in general, they were grown more as ornamental plants than as food. Thomas

Jefferson, who ate tomatoes in Paris, sent some seeds back to America.

Alexander W. Livingston was the first person who succeeded in upgrading the wild

tomato, developing different breeds and stabilizing the plants. In the 1937 yearbook of the

Federal Department of Agriculture, it was declared that "half of the major varieties were a

result of the abilities of the Livingstons to evaluate and perpetuate superior material in the

tomato". Livingston's first breed of tomato, the Paragon, was introduced in 1870. In 1875, he

introduced the Acme, which was said to be involved in the parentage of most of the tomatoes

introduced by him and his competitors for the next twenty-five years.

When Alexander W. Livingston had begun his attempts to develop the tomato as a

commercial crop, his aim had been to grow tomatoes smooth in contour, uniform in size and

having better flavor. One year, after many attempts, he passed through his fields, picking out

particular tomato plants having distinct characteristics and heavy foliage. He saved the seeds

carefully. The following spring he set two rows across his family garden located just below

the hill and milk house. To his happy surprise, each plant bore perfect tomatoes like the
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parent vine. After five years, the fruit became fleshier and larger. In 1870, Alexander

introduced the Paragon and tomato culture soon became a great enterprise in the county.

Today, the crop is grown in every state in the Union. He eventually developed over

seventeen different varieties of the tomato plant.

Because of the long growing season needed for this heat-loving crop, several states in

the US Sun Belt became major tomato-producers, particularly Florida and California. In

California, tomatoes are grown under irrigation for both the fresh fruit market and

for canning and processing. The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) became a major

center for research on the tomato. The C.M. Rick Tomato Genetics Resource Center at UC

Davis is a gene bank of wild relatives, monogenic mutants and miscellaneous genetic stocks

of tomato. The Center is named for the late Dr. Charles M. Rick, a pioneer in tomato

genetics research. Research on processing tomatoes is also conducted by the California

Tomato Research Institute in Escalon, California. (tomato-cages.com. (n.d.). Tomato History.

Retrieved from http://www.tomato-cages.com/tomato-history.html).

Here are some Varieties of tomato:

The Better Boy shown in figure 10.b variety of tomato has been in existence for more

than 50 years and is a Guinness record holder for amount of fruit produced from a single

plant. Noted for its superior flavor, the fruit grows from an indeterminate plant and is about

12 ounces, typically ripening in 72 days. Due to the high yield of tomatoes, it is

recommended that Better Boy varieties be sturdily staked in the garden.

For years gardeners wanted a large, beefsteak-type tomato shown in figure 10.c that

was delicious, early to bear, and highly disease resistant. Finally in 1994 those wishes came
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true with Big Beef. The large fruit has old-time tomato flavor and the vines are resistant to

many of the problems that can discourage gardeners. The fruit is borne on vigorous,

indeterminate vines from summer until frost. It grows well throughout the country, earning it

an All America Selections designation in 1994; it has since grown to be a national favorite.

Vines grow long, so give the plant the support of a tall cage or stake.

The name, Big Boy, is easy to remember and so is the flavor. This is a big, sandwich-

type slicer with smooth, bright red fruit and a flavor that everybody likes. It bears heavily in

mid-season, yet the indeterminate vines continue fruiting (though not as heavily) until frost.

Plants in our Alabama test garden, where conditions are excellent, have yielded 100

tomatoes each through a 10-week harvest season. Long vines need staking, or grow the plant

in a tall cage; Resistant to cracking. Shown in figure 10.d

The most used variety of tomato in the Philippines is Diamante shown in figure 10.e,

a hybrid variety for year round tomato. It has a heat tolerant allowing for better fruit set

under hot condition, early start to bear fruit, and with excellent prolificacy that results to

very high yield levels. The fruits are high round in shape, over 40 grams in weight, and have

a very thick flesh. It has a high level of resistance to bacterial wilt.

When gardeners talk about the first tomatoes, Early Girl is always there. This may

be the most all-round popular hybrid to satisfy that itch for the first fresh tomato of the

season. Use them for slicing on a place, into a salad, or on a sandwich. This is a proven all-

round early hybrid. Use it to jump start your harvest. Early Girl bears lots of fruit for early

harvest, but because the vines are indeterminate, they continue producing through summer.

Shown in figure 10.f.

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A grape tomato as shown in figure 10.g is a class of tomatoes believed to be of

Southeast Asian origin, shaped similarly to the oval plum tomatoes but having the small size

and sweetness of cherry tomatoes. Grape tomatoes produce small and typically oblong fruits.

Introduced to the worldwide market in the 1990s, they have gained substantial popularity,

due at least in part to their higher sugar content compared to regular tomatoes, and due to

their smaller, bite-sized shape.

Although called yellow cherry as shown in figure 10.h, these little tomatoes are

orange at their peak, making almost more bite-sized bursts of sweetness than you can

imagine on each plant. A single healthy plant is capable of producing hundreds. Several

years ago, Sun Sugar was named by Sunset magazine as the best tasting tomato in their trials

for its sweetness and rich tomato flavor that includes just the right amount of tartness. These

disease-resistant plants are one of our very best cherry tomatoes and are easy to grow.

(tomatodirt.com. (n.d.). Variety of tomato. Retrieved from

http://www.tomatodirt.com/popular-tomato-varieties.html).

Related Studies

W.F. Edwards and Max R. Langham, Demand and Supply Response to Price

Changes for Selected Florida Vegetables. This paper presents estimates of demand response

to changes in consumer income and to price changes for tomatoes, winter potatoes, snap

beans, sweet corn, and squash. Supply (average) response to price changes also determined

for each crop. Annual State data for the 13 seasons, 1955-56 through 1967-68, and a

distributed lag model of the Nerlove type were used to obtain structural estimates from

which short and long run elasticities of demand and supply with respect to price were
 77

derived. Short and long-run elasticities of demand with respect to consumer income were

also estimated. All elasticities were estimated at the moans of the data.

Sanaullah Noonari, Irfana NM, Raiz AB, Muhammad IK and Shahbaz Ali, Price

Flexibility and Seasonal Variations of Major Vegetables in Sindh Pakistan. Vegetable

cultivation is the most important strategy to reduce poverty as well as to overcome food

security problems due to small landholdings and sufficient labour force availability in the

rural areas of Pakistan. The results showed that the demand was almost elastic for potato,

tomato and onions while there was flexible price trend appeared in the production. Prices on

agricultural products are mostly determined by supply and demand. The results of the study

showed that erratic price fluctuations both cyclical and seasonal are observed every year. The

effect of over-all economic fluctuations are overlaid on a pattern of good and bad harvests,

so that an analysis of the effect of a fall in demand on price and output must take account of

variations in crop size due to solely the weather. Price fluctuation of these four vegetables is

its seasonal character. In the post-harvest period the prices are considerably at lower side

whereas in the lean season these are quite high. Thus, from the farmers point of view they

are denied of reasonable prices for their produce during post-harvest period on the

consumers side they are to pay high prices during lean season. Hence, while making a

policy towards prices of the vegetables Government should increase the supply in the market

by import that commodity from other markets or neighboring countries in non-harvesting

seasons as well as the area and production may also increase by using new technology, high

yielding seed varieties.