Tidbit #34 - May 25, 2011

Fruits have some strange names... Especially the grapefruit. Why the weird name? It has nothing to do with the little elliptical fruit... Right?

Question: Why is a grapefruit called a grapefruit?


Answer: Huh.. I learned something new today. (As I strive to do thrice every day) We've got a special source: loc.gov. Here's your quoted answer:

Most botanists agree that the grapefruit is a cross between a Pummelo (see http://pas.byu.edu/pas100/pummelo.htm) and a sweet orange (see http://www.floridata.com/ref/C/citr_sin.cfm.) 

Grapefruit, like all citrus fruit, is a Hesperidum, or a large modified berry with a thick rind.

If you see grapefruit growing on a tree, you will notice that they grow in clusters. It is suggested that these clusters resemble the shape of large yellow grapes and so the fruit was called a grapefruit. Another explanation is that the premature grapefruit looks similar in shape to unripe green grapes.

I wish all of the sites gave condensed answers so I wouldn't have to come up with one. Quoted from loc.gov, here is your condensed answer:

It is believed that the name refers to the manner in which grapefruit grows in clusters on a tree.

Peculiar, isn't it? They're like Goliath's grapes.

Tidbit #16 - April 11, 2011

I don't know about you, but when I come home after a long day, the first thing I have to eat is a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, better known as PB&J action. It really hits the spot, the mixture of sweet and salty and peanut-buttery, with the taste of the bread... Anyways, I'm getting off topic. When I was having my sandwich today, I was thinking: "What's so different about jams, jellies and preserves?" So, naturally, I posted it on here.

Question: What's the difference between jam, jelly and preserves?


Answer: Luckily, we have TLC's cooking website to help us out. Someone asked on the forum and we've got a nice answer:

Jelly, jam and preserves all contain fruit in some form, mixed with sugar and pectin; the difference between them is caused by the form of the fruit in the substance:

• In jelly, the fruit comes in the form of fruit juice.
• In jam, the fruit comes in the form of fruit pulp or crushed fruit (and is less stiff than jelly as a result)
• In preserves, the fruit comes in the form of chunks in a syrup or a jam.

Pectin is a type of carb that your stomach can't digest and that is found in a fruit's cell walls. "When heated in water with sugar, it gels, giving jelly, jam and preserves their thickness.

So, what do we have here?

Jelly, jam and preserves differ in the form that the fruit takes in the container.