Thanks! All Kinds Of Berries

Thanks!

pleclare 14 years ago

Thanks all for the response to the group. I am especially honored to have you with us Points!!

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pointsevenout 14 years ago said:

I am berry honored you would have me in this group.

Here is a quick bracer on foods qualified to be a berry, to help others find recipes:

Yes, the banana fruit is a berry. Berries are identified as being many seeded with a fleshy inner layer. So, technically a banana is a berry. And, believe it or not, bananas don't grow on trees! Originally from Asia, the "banana tree" is really not a tree in the true sense. In fact, banana plants have no wood fiber. The banana plant is the world's largest herb and a member of the lily family. Bananas grow in tropical areas all around the world where the weather is sunny and hot, and there's plenty of rain.

Bananas are considered berries because they grow in groups called clutches.

The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary, such as a grape. The seeds are usually embedded in the flesh of the ovary. A plant that bears berries is said to be bacciferous, and a berry-like fruit is said to be baccate.
In everyday English, "berry" is a term for any small edible fruit. These "berries" are usually juicy, round or semi-oblong, brightly coloured, sweet or sour, and don't have a stone or pit, although many seeds may be present.
The tomato is a berry. Some berries such as Capsicum have space rather than pulp around their seeds.

True berries
Several types of common "berries", only one of which (the blueberry) is a berry by botanical definition. Blackberries are aggregate fruit composed of many drupelets, and strawberries are aggregate accessory fruit.
In botanical language, a berry is a simple fruit having seeds and pulp produced from a single ovary; the ovary can be inferior or superior.
Examples of true berries include
Bearberry (Arctostaphylos spp.)
Barberry (Berberis; Berberidaceae)
Crowberry (Empetrum spp.)
Cranberry
Currant (Ribes spp.; Grossulariaceae), red, black, and white types
Elderberry (Sambucus niger; Caprifoliaceae)
Gooseberry (Ribes spp.; Grossulariaceae)
Grape, Vitis vinifera
Honeysuckle: the berries of some species are edible and are called honeyberries, but others are poisonous (Lonicera spp.; Caprifoliaceae)
Lingonberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Mayapple (Podophyllum spp.; Berberidaceae)
Nannyberry or sheepberry (Viburnum spp.; Caprifoliaceae)
Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium; Berberidaceae)
Sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides; Elaeagnaceae)
Sea Grape (Coccoloba uvifera; Polygonaceae)
Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo), not to be confused with the actual strawberry (Fragaria)
Tomato and other species of the family Solanaceae
Banana
Watermelon
Modified berries
The fruit of citrus, such as the orange, kumquat and lemon, is a berry with a thick rind and a very juicy interior that is given the special name hesperidium. The fruit of cucumbers, melons and their relatives in the family Cucurbitaceae are berries that are given the special name of pepo.

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pleclare 14 years ago said:

Wow! I never knew that bananas were berries. Learn something new everyday!!

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pointsevenout 14 years ago said:

Notice that the strawberry is not a berry and a watermelon is a berry.

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kimmer 14 years ago said:

Great group idea Pat. I think I have a couple berry recipes posted. I'll go see and add them.

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pleclare 14 years ago said:

It's to see you Kimmer!

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pleclare 14 years ago said:

Learning so much today Points! About berries,I mean!

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notyourmomma 14 years ago said:

Oops, didn't know strawberries aren't berries.
I like them anyway. Actually, blueberries are my favorite. Don't like raspberries quite as much unless made into a sauce, funny little things are too tart to eat out of hand.

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