New Vegetables & Fruit

[shyvas]

I'm always on the lookout for new varieties of vegetables and fruit. Some of my favourite ones are purple potatoes, black tomatoes and white aubergines/egg plant. They always look so elegant when served on a glass plate either as a starter on in a salad.

Colour always adds something special to the end result of a dish.

Shiraz Mange Tout



Black Elephant Tomatoes

Yellow Sweet Gem Watermelon

White Aubergine

Blue Corn.

Purple Cauliflower


Ornamental Corn

Purple Basil.



Yellow Courgettes

Purple Potatoes

Striped Aubergines

White Tomatoes.

Red Cucumber.

Purple Red Mountain Spinach.

Purple Tomatillo.

White Strawberries

Red Bananas

Yellow or Golden Kiwis.

White Raspberries.

Black Velvet Apricots.

http://pinterest.com/nationalgarden/2013-new-vegetables/

 

[Everleigh]

I've seen some of the red bananas in my local grocery and wanted to try them.Do they taste the same as regular bananas?It's really cool to see all the different colors so even if you think you know all the fruits you really don't cause there's so much variety.

 

[thefadedone]

The white strawberries make me sad. I like the bright radiant color of the red strawberries. The white ones look bleached and flavorless.

 

[ledboots]

The purple potatoes are delish! I love them.

 

[RabbitLuvr]

I got some "white" apricots at the store yesterday. Actually a very pale yellow. They were very juicy but a bit bland.

 

[kazyeeqen]

Huh, I'm familiar with all those except the white strawberries. The stuff that grows here is sold at the farmers market in all their colorful glory, the other stuff we sell at the co-op whenever it's available.

I recently tried a dragon fruit for the first time, but it was a pretty big disappointment. It was like moist cardboard with kiwi seeds... But if you don't try you never know!

Red bananas are more starchy than Cavendish bananas (regular bananas), but they have more flavor, I think.

 

[Everleigh]

Huh, I'm familiar with all those except the white strawberries. The stuff that grows here is sold at the farmers market in all their colorful glory, the other stuff we sell at the co-op whenever it's available.

I recently tried a dragon fruit for the first time, but it was a pretty big disappointment. It was like moist cardboard with kiwi seeds... But if you don't try you never know!

Red bananas are more starchy than Cavendish bananas (regular bananas), but they have more flavor, I think.

Oh,ok I'll see if they still have them.I will probably get them cause that sounds good.Thanks Kazyeeqen!

 

[mary1]

The white strawberries make me sad. I like the bright radiant color of the red strawberries. The white ones look bleached and flavorless.

White strawberries look poisonous! Like white mushrooms with little red dots...

 

[thefadedone]

The purple potatoes are delish! I love them.

They are like candy! So much sweeter than regular sweet potatoes. I wish they were more common and easy to find. I've only been able to get them at random Asian stores in other cities.

The yellow raspberries look good too.

 

[kazyeeqen]

Oh,ok I'll see if they still have them.I will probably get them cause that sounds good.Thanks Kazyeeqen!

They should be quite soft when you eat them, much softer than a yellow banana, or the starch will be very unpleasant.

 

[shyvas]

Tong Winter Melon.

Yellow Radishes.

Purple Core Carrots.

Rainbow Radishes.

Mini or Cocktail Kiwi.

 

[Alice-Bee]

Is it just me who is freaked out that they arent the 'right' colour?

Id probaby try some of the fruit but the corn and tomatoes look weird!

 

[Forster]

I wonder how many of these "new" fruits and vegetables are really old heirloom varieties that lost favor with commercial farming?

 

[kazyeeqen]

I wonder how many of these "new" fruits and vegetables are really old heirloom varieties that lost favor with commercial farming?

All of them. It's industrial farming that enforced homogeneity. I'm sure there are new varieties developed all the time, but there's no reason a carrot has to be orange, that was a deliberate imposition by an authority, and vegetables can generally be purple as easily as they can be green.

The original kiwi was more like a kiwi berry than the fuzzy kiwi we know, and grew in much colder climes. I'm hoping to plant kiwi berries in my yard next year cause they grow in Idaho!

 

[Calliegirl]

I've had the purple cauliflower, but I looked it up before I bought it to make sure it hadn't been dyed. The purple color is due to antioxidants, and the colored ones are more nutritional than the white. I think I would have a hard time eating black tomatoes, but I would give them a try. I've had blue potatoes, blue potato chips and blue corn chips.

I tried yellow cherries at the farmer's market and they were nice and sweet, but I bet the red ones are healthier.

All of them. It's industrial farming that enforced homogeneity. I'm sure there are new varieties developed all the time, but there's no reason a carrot has to be orange, that was a deliberate imposition by an authority, and vegetables can generally be purple as easily as they can be green.

The original kiwi was more like a kiwi berry than the fuzzy kiwi we know, and grew in much colder climes. I'm hoping to plant kiwi berries in my yard next year cause they grow in Idaho!

...While traditionalists may baulk at the unusual colours, it is not the first time that plant breeders have changed the appearance of vegetables.
Until the 17th century most carrots eaten in Europe were white, yellow or purple. The orange pigment was added by Dutch plant breeders looking for a way to celebrate Holland's royal family.
The last few years has seen the introduction of purple carrots to supermarkets in Britain, along with yellow tomatoes and purple potatoes.
In America, where colour cauliflowers have been available for several years, they have been a big hit with foodies. The orange cauliflower has higher than normal levels of beta carotene, a form of vitamin A that encourages healthy skin.
The purple colour comes from anthocyanin, which may help prevent heart disease by slowing blood clotting.
Tests of the orange cauliflowers in America found that they contained 25 times the concentrations of beta carotene in normal cauliflowers.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...liflowers-scientists-claim-healthier-you.html

 

[Pirate]

Wooooooooow I want to eat everything in this thread. I've eaten the purple potatoes before. We had a random potato-tasting day at work (we have a very over-enthusiastic catering company running the canteen) and they were sooo good.

The only place I've ever seen weird fruit & veg was Whole Foods in Kensington and I'm not paying their prices. Haha. If I lived near a cheap market that did snazzy fruit and veg I'd make it a goal to buy one new type a week.

I have nothing interesting to add to this thread right now

 

[Forster]

If we had any of that stuff locally, I'd pay the price as it's the only way I could insure the stuff would be stocked.

 

[Calliegirl]

These are the yellow cherries I mentioned earlier.

 

[ledboots]

Those are pretty. I really like this one kind of cherry that is only around for a few weeks a year. They are yellow and red kind of mottled, and are way better than regular cherries. I tried to Google but couldn't find any images because I can't remember the name of the cherries. .

 

[kazyeeqen]

Those are pretty. I really like this one kind of cherry that is only around for a few weeks a year. They are yellow and red kind of mottled, and are way better than regular cherries. I tried to Google but couldn't find any images because I can't remember the name of the cherries. .

Rainier? They are the best, IMO.