fruits with seeds in the middle that are organic and fresh? I want to eat fruits with seeds in the middle because the seeds are important for the plant creating new plants. Seeds are just the beginning, they create their own home. For example strawberry seeds make their home on leaves and grapes need water to survive.
FRUIT BASICS WITH SEEDS IN THE MIDDLE
The array of fresh fruit available year-round is truly amazing–from familiar apple varieties to exotic ugli fruit. But you’ll find most fruits at the best price and flavor when they’re in season.
– Look for fruit that doesn’t have bumps or bruises. Unfortunately, there isn’t one rule for determining if fruit is ripe–it varies from fruit to fruit. A pear is ripe if it gives slightly when pressed near the stem. Some fruit, such as blackberries, cherries, grapes, pine-apples and watermelon, don’t ripen any more after they’ve been picked. Other fruit, including peaches, cantaloupe and blueberries, ripen in color, texture and juiciness after picking, and kiwifruit, pears and papayas ripen in flavor, too.
– Whole or cut up, fruit by itself makes a simple dessert, especially when paired with a selection of cheeses. Of course, fruit also can be used in toppings and baked into a delicious variety of desserts.
– If a fresh fruit isn’t available or in season, canned or frozen fruits can be substituted in many recipes.
Tropical and Specialty Fruits Glossary
Apples:
– Crab Apple: This small red apple, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter, has a sweet-sour taste. Peak season is November to December. Select fruit that has a pleasant aroma and no bruises. Crab apples are served cooked, not raw.
– Lady Apple: An apple the size of a table-tennis ball that is red to yellow in color. Fruit has a smooth, firm surface and a sweet-tart taste. Peak season is November to December. Select fruit without bruises serve raw or cooked.
Asian Pear: Over 100 varieties exist of this crunchy, sweet and very juicy fruit that has the texture of a pear and the crispness of an apple. Ranges from large and golden brown to tiny and yellow-green. Peak season is late summer through early fall. Fruit is sold ripe store in the refrigerator up to 3 months.
Babáco: Resembling a star when cut crosswise, this extremely juicy five-sided fruit is related to the papaya, often being called “mountain papaya.” Peak season is usually October through November. When mature, the fruit is soft with golden yellow skin and has the aroma of strawberries, pineapples and papayas. Use within 1 or 2 days.
Baby Kiwi: Bite-size berries are the size of grapes with smooth green skin and no fuzz. Flesh is sweet, soft and creamy and contains edible tiny black seeds. Limited season from early to mid autumn. Fruit is delicate refrigerate up to 3 days.
Bananas/Plantains:
– Burro Banana: Squat and square in shape, this banana has a tangy lemon-banana flavor. Available year-round. When ripe, the peel is yellow with black spots and the flesh is creamy.
– Ice Cream Banana (Blue Java): This banana resembles a burro banana but has a very creamy taste and texture that is said to melt in your mouth like ice cream. Peak season is during the summer months. When unripe, the skins have a bluish cast to them. When ripe, the skin turns yellow and the fruit yields to gentle pressure.
– Manzano: Short and chubby in shape, this banana has a mild flavor combination of apples and strawberries. Available year-round. When peel is fully black, manzanos are at their peak flavor.
– Niño: Another short, chubby banana, this one has a rich, sweet flavor and a soft, creamy texture. Available year-round. Ripe niños are yellow with some black spots.
– Plantain: Large and long with thick skin and pointed ends, this fruit is most often served as a vegetable because of its lower sugar content. Available year-round. Cooked when the skin is green, the fruit is starchy with no banana taste cooked when the skin is yellow or brown and the fruit is ripe, it has a sweet banana taste and a slightly chewy texture.
– Red Banana: Heavier and chunkier than yellow bananas, the flavor is sweeter with a hint of raspberry. Available year-round. When ripe, the skin is purplish and the flesh is creamy with a touch of pink or orange.
Cape Gooseberry: Also known as golden berry, these sweet-tart berries are 1 1/2 to 2 inches long and light green to orange-red with a papery orange-yellow skin. They have small, soft edible seeds. Peak season is February to July. When ripe, they smell a bit like pineapple. Keep at room temperature a few days or in the refrigerator up to 1 month.
Champagne Grapes: A black corinth varietal, these tiny, reddish-purple, seedless grapes are crunchy, sweet and juicy. Peak season is July through October. Select fragrant, unblemished fruit with fresh stems. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
Cherimoya (Custard Apple): Heart-shaped fruit with thin green skin that resembles a closed pine cone. Pulp is creamy white with large black almond-shaped seeds and a sweet custard taste. Fruit is available year-round. Select firm fruit ripen at room temperature until fruit yields to gentle pressure, then refrigerate.
Citrus:
– Blood Orange: Deep-red flesh that is sweet and juicy is characteristic of this orange. The peel is smooth or pitted with a red blush. Peak season is December through May. Select fruit that has a sweet fragrance, no blemishes and is firm and heavy for its size. Store at cool room temperature up to 1 week or in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
– Clementine Orange: Similar to a tangerine, this fruit is flatter in shape. The orange skin is loose and easy to peel. Flesh is orange, sweet and usually seedless. Peak season is January through March. Select fruit that is heavy for its size. Store in refrigerator.
– Honey Tangerine: Very sweet and juicy, this fruit is a cross between a tangerine and an orange. The flesh is orange with a touch of green, and the peel is easy to remove. Peak season is January through mid-March. Select fruit that is firm with some give and heavy for its size. Store in refrigerator.
– Key Lime: The Florida Keys are the primary growing area for this yellowish lime that is smaller and rounder than a green Persian lime. The flesh is yellow, less acidic and full of seeds. Available year-round. Select fruit that is heavy for its size. Store in a closed bag in the refrigerator up to 1 week.
– Kumquat: Resembling a miniature orange football, this one- to two-inch fruit is entirely edible. The skin is sweet, and the orange pulp is tart. Peak season is December through May. Select firm fruit with a fresh scent that has no soft spots. Store in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
– Lavender Gem (Wekiwa): Crossing a grapefruit with a Sampson tangelo produced this hybrid fruit. It resembles a miniature grapefruit with bright yellow peel. The flesh is pinkish with small seeds and has a delicate, sweet grapefruit taste. Peak season is December through February. Select fruit that is heavy for its size. Store in the refrigerator.
– Meyer Lemon: Favored for its mild, juicy flesh, this lemon has smooth, bright yellow peel. Peak season is November through May. Select fruit that is heavy for its size. Refrigerate in a plastic bag up to 10 days.
– Oro Blanco: Crossing a pummelo with a grapefruit created this fruit with a thick, yellow peel. The name means “white gold” in Spanish. The flesh is sweet and juicy with a grapefruit flavor and no bitterness or acidity. The peak season is November through February. Select fruit that is heavy for its size. Store in the refrigerator.
– Pummelo: The largest of all citrus, this fruit ranges in size from a small cantaloupe to a basketball. The thick peel is green to yellow, and the sweet-tart flesh ranges from white to pink or rose red. Fruit is sweeter, firmer and less juicy than a grapefruit. Peak season is November to March. Select fruit that yields to gentle pressure. Refrigerate 1 to 2 weeks.
– Tangelo: Tangelos are a cross between a pum-melo (an ancestor of the grapefruit) and a tangerine. Tangelos can range in size from that of a tiny orange to a small grapefruit. The skin can be rough to smooth and range in color from yellow-orange to deep orange. They are juicy, sweet-tart and contain few seeds. The most common variety is the Minneola. Peak season is November through March.
– Ugli Fruit: An exotic tangelo from Jamaica that combines the characteristics of tangerines, grapefruits and Seville oranges. The fruit is large like a grapefruit and easy to peel like a tangerine. The flesh is sweet and very juicy. Peak season occurs winter to spring with limited availability. Select fruit that yields to gentle pressure and has a fragrant aroma.
Coconut: The fruit of the coconut palm has a thick, fibrous, brown, oval husk surrounding a thin, hard shell that encloses white flesh. The center is hollow and filled with coconut milk. Available year-round. Select coconuts that are heavy for their size and sound full of liquid. Store at room temperature up to 6 months. When opened, store meat in refrigerator up to 4 days or freeze up to 6 months.
Coquito Nut: Nuts are the size and shape of marbles and resemble miniature smooth, brown coconuts. They have a hollow center with white flesh that is hard, crunchy and sweet like coconut. The nuts come from a Chilean palm that takes up to 50 years to produce and remains productive for hundreds of years. Available year-round. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
Donut Peach: A peach that has rounded sides that pull into the center, creating the look of a doughnut. The sweet, juicy fruit has light yellow skin with a red blush and a white to pale orange flesh. Peak season is mid-August. Select fruit free of brown spots. Store at room temperature until soft to the touch, then refrigerate.
Feijoa: This small, egg-shaped fruit has a thin, slightly bumpy, lime green to olive green skin. Flesh has a granular texture with a creamy color. Taste is a unique blend of pineapple, quince and lemon. New Zealand fruit is available from spring to early summer, and California fruit from fall to early winter. Ripen fruit at room temperature. It is ready to eat when it yields slightly to gentle pressure and has a sweet smell. Store in the refrigerator up to 5 days, and peel bitter skin before eating.
Fruits
Fruits are the containers in which the plant puts its seeds. They are not all fruits as we think of them, but have many different forms. Some are fleshy with parts we like to eat, some are dry, some are heavy and are designed to be dispersed by falling and rolling away from the parent plant, some have wings or fluffy tails to enable them to be caught by the wind to be dispersed.
Fruits are divided into Fleshy Fruits, and Dry Fruits.
Fleshy Fruits can be subdivided again into those formed from a single flower and those formed from a group of flowers. They can have one seed or several seeds in.
Fleshy Fruits formed from a single flower are classified as: Berry, Drupe, Aggregation of Drupes, Pome, Hesperidium. Some authorities also give these separate status: Hep, Pseudocarp, Pepo.
Fleshy Fruits which grow from a group of flowers are: Sorosis, Synconium, Coenocarpium.
Dry Fruits can be divided into those in which the seeds are contained in a seedpod of some sort which opens to release the seeds (called Dehiscent), and those in which there isn’t a seedpod which opens (Indehiscent).
Dry Dehiscent Fruits are Follicle, Legume, Silique, Capsule. Some authorities separate these further.
Dry Indehiscent Fruits are: Achene, Nut, Samara, Caryopsis. Some people sub-divide some of these further. There are also Schizocarpic Fruits.
Knowing the type of fruit a plant has might help you to identify it, and might also help you to know when the seeds are ready to harvest.
Seeds and Fruits
The seeds and fruits are the results of fertilization or sexual reproduction in plants. The ovary in angiosperms develops into the fruit whereas the ovules become the seeds enclosed within the fruit. Seeds are found both in gymnosperms and angiosperms. Let us individually learn about seeds and fruits.
Fruits
One of the many healthy things available in the world today is fruits. They are mostly sweet to taste, are filled with nutrients and some of them are like tomatoes are also eaten as vegetables. The fruit is broadly divided into the pericarp which is the various covering layers of the fruit and the seed or seeds which are present inside it. The pericarp of a fruit can be further divided into:
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- Exocarp– It is the outermost layer which is formed from the outer layer or the epidermis
- Mesocarp– Is the second or the middle layer which is often juicy and varies in thickness in different fruits
- Endocarp– It is the innermost layer and also is different in different kinds of fruits
Browse more Topics under Sexual Reproduction In Flowering Plants
Development of a Fruit
As mentioned earlier, once pollination and fertilization occur, the zygote is formed and the ovary begins to differentiate into the fruit. The outer wall of the ovary begins to differentiate into the pericarp whereas the seed develops within the fruit itself.
Types of Fruits
Fruits can be classified in many ways.
- True and False Fruits
- Simple, Aggregate, and Multiple Fruits
- Simple fruits are further classified as fleshy and dry fruits depending on their appearance
True and False Fruits
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- True Fruits- True fruits are those that are formed solely from the ovary with ovules inside it. No other flower parts form a part of this type of fruit.
- False Fruits-False fruits are formed from the ripened ovary along with some other flower parts like the base or receptacle, the perianth etc.
Simple, Aggregate, Multiple and Accessory Fruits
Simple Fruits
These fruits are formed from a single pistil only. They are further divided into Fleshy and Dry fruits based on the nature of their pericarp and its layers.
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I. Fleshy Fruits
Fleshy fruits, as the name mentions, have a fleshy and juicy pericarp. They are further of many different types:
- Drupe- In this type of fleshy simple fruit, the exocarp is thin, the mesocarp is thick and juicy while the endocarp is stony. Examples of such fruits are mango, plum, and coconut.
- Berry- In this type of fleshy fruits, the endocarp is absent and the seeds are scattered in the mesocarp. Examples are grapes, banana, tomato.
- Pome- Is a false fruit as the thalamus forms a part of the fruit. Examples of this type of fruit are apples, pears.
II. Dry fruits
Dry fruits do not have juicy or thick pericarps and are of two types.
- Dehiscent dry fruits
These fruits burst on their own to release the seeds. They are of many types:
- Follicle- These fruits are formed from a single carpel and dehisce along one suture or margin only. Ex: Calotropis
- Legume- These fruits are formed from a single carpel and dehisce along both sutures. Ex: legumes, beans
- Capsule- Is formed from multiple carpels. It has many pores or chambers in it and it dehisces by splitting into many parts to release seeds. Example: Lady’s Finger
- Siliqua-It is formed by two carpels and dehisces from the base upwards with the seeds attached to the base itself. Example: mustard
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- Indehiscent dry fruits
These fruits do not dehisce or burst to release the seeds. They are of many types:
- Achene: Is single-seeded and the seed coat is separate from the fruit coat or pericarp. Example: Magnolia
- Caryopsis: Is similar to the achene except that the seed coat and the fruit coat are united or fused. Example: Maize
- Samara: One-seeded fruit with wings. Example: Hiptage, Ash
- Nut: One-seeded fruit with a stony pericarp. It may contain husk on its wall as well. Example: Oak, Chestnut
- Cypsela: Is formed from a bicarpellary inferior pistil. It is also one-seeded. Example: Sunflower