9.1: Identifying Fruits

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A fruit, botanically, is an organ that develops from the ovary of a flowering plant and contains one or more seeds. From a culinary perspective, a fruit is the perfect snack food, the basis of a dessert, colorful sauce or soup or an accompaniment to meat, fish, shellfish or poultry. No food group offers a greater variety of colors, flavors and textures than fruit.

Fruits, whether fresh, frozen, canned or dried, are one of the most versatile and popular of foods. Fruits can be used uncooked or incorporated into a soup, salad, bread, meat dish or dessert. When selecting fresh fruits, it is important to consider seasonal availability, storage conditions and ripeness. When using them, it is important that they be at their peak of ripeness for the best flavor, texture, aroma and appearance.

This fruit presentation is according to the ways most people view them and use them, rather than by rigid botanical classifications. Fruits divide into eight categories:

Berries
Citrus
Exotics
Grapes
Melons
Pomes
Stone fruits
Tropical varieties

The category separations are according to either their shape, seed structure or natural habitat. Botanically, tomatoes, beans, eggplant, capsicum peppers and other produce are fruits. However, in ordinary thinking, they are not; they are vegetables. A fruit may have several names, varying from region to region or on a purveyor's choice. Botanists are also constantly reclassifying items to fit new findings. The names give n here follow generally accepted custom and usage.