The Frankenstein of Foods: Hybrid Fruits and Vegetable
I’m in the mood for Halloween and Halloween themed writing. I don’t know if it’s because the last few days have been chilly enough to make my thoughts turn in the direction of autumn, or because I happened to be at the market where I overheard someone mention that the local pumpkin patch was opening soon for picking. I then went around the market and picked up a bunch of broccolini and although I’ve eaten it and love it, I didn’t know what it was. I thought it was baby broccoli because it’s tender, the heads are small and not so densely packed as that of regular broccoli, and has a milder flavor. Little did I know that it was a hybrid between broccoli and Chinese kale. This got me thinking about fruits and vegetables that have been crossed with other fruits and vegetables, and found a list online. Some you may be familiar with and some may be new to you.
The pluot has been around in local supermarkets for a few years now, and is one of my favorites during the summer. Pluots taste more like its plum parent rather than the apricot, unlike the aprium, which tastes more like the apricot and not the plum.
Tangelos are a mix between tangerines and pomelos. Sometimes they are a mix of tangerines and grapefruits. They are juicy and sweet, with a little bit of tanginess.
The next one, the grapple, I’ve yet to see and try. It is a hybrid between the apple and grape! It’s supposed to taste like a grape in a firmer, easy to carry, apple version. Keep an eye out for it during the fall months, between October and November. Also, keep it in a cool place because when left out it turns mushy and soft.
The lemato, a hybrid between the lemon and tomato, baffles me. What can I use it for? I’m not in the habit of devouring either a tomato or lemon in a sitting, although it may be good in a pasta salad. Well, you say lemato, and I’ll say lemato.
This next one is vegetable and fruit at once! Called the pomato, this plant produces tomatoes on top of the soil and potatoes underground!
Actually, after looking at it some more, the title should be Werewolf Foods, because the fruits above have been crossed with other fruits to make a whole new fruit rather than taking bits and pieces of other fruits and combining it all together to make something kind of unappealing (similar to Frankenstein’s monster). Besides, not only is it a full moon tonight, but tonight’s moon is known as the Full Corn Moon, and most corn that you eat are hybrids. I like when everything comes together so well.
