The Rise of Grapefruit in the United States

The history of grapefruit in the United States is a fascinating tale of agricultural innovation and adaptation. Grapefruit, a hybrid fruit believed to be a cross between the sweet orange and the pomelo, was first documented in the 18th century in Barbados. However, it wasn't until the early 19th century that grapefruit made its way to the United States.

In 1823, Count Odet Philippe, a French settler, introduced grapefruit to Florida, where the state's warm climate and fertile soil provided ideal growing conditions. Initially, grapefruit was grown primarily as an ornamental plant due to its large, attractive fruit and glossy leaves. These trees were planted in gardens to add a touch of exotic beauty, and their distinctive fragrance made them a favorite among horticulturists. However, the potential of grapefruit as a commercial crop remained untapped during these early years.

The turning point came in the late 19th century, as grapefruit cultivation expanded in Florida and Texas. Growers began experimenting with different varieties, seeking to enhance the fruit’s sweetness and market appeal. In the 1880s, John A. MacDonald, a horticulturist in Texas, discovered a pink-fleshed mutation of the traditional white grapefruit. This variety, later named "Ruby Red," revolutionized the grapefruit industry. Its sweeter taste and vibrant color appealed to a broader audience, elevating grapefruit from a niche product to a sought-after fruit.

By the early 20th century, grapefruit gained a reputation not only for its unique flavor but also for its health benefits. Rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, it became synonymous with a healthy lifestyle, further driving demand. Grapefruit juice, introduced as a refreshing beverage, expanded the market, making it a breakfast staple in American households.

Florida and Texas emerged as the leading producers, with grapefruit becoming a significant agricultural export. The fruit's success also spurred innovations in farming practices, including irrigation systems and pest control, to enhance yield and quality.

In conclusion, the history of grapefruit in the United States is marked by its transformation from an ornamental curiosity to a beloved fruit, thanks to the efforts of early horticulturists, consumer demand, and the favorable growing conditions in Florida and Texas.
The Rise of Grapefruit in the United States

Exploring the Rambutan: A Hidden Gem of the Fruit World

Though closely related to the lychee and equally desirable, the rambutan, belonging to the Sapindaceae family, remains relatively obscure. Botanically identified as Nephelium lappaceum L., with synonyms including Euphoria nephelium DC. and Dimocarpus crinita Lour, it goes by various names across different cultures. Known as ramboutan in French, ramboetan in Dutch, and occasionally as ramboostan in certain regions of India, it carries cultural significance reflected in its diverse local names throughout Southeast Asia and the East Indies.

Native to Malaysia, the rambutan is extensively cultivated across the archipelago and Southeast Asia. Its early global spread is evidenced by historical records of Arab traders introducing it to Zanzibar and Pemba. While limited plantings exist in India, Surinam, and the coastal lowlands of Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Trinidad, and Cuba, Costa Rica stands out with actively marketed fruits, indicating growing commercial interest.

Introduced to the Philippines from Indonesia in 1912, subsequent introductions in 1920 and 1930 from Indonesia and Malaya, respectively, preceded its significant popularity surge in the 1950s. This led to systematic cultivation improvements, resulting in numerous commercial plantations across Philippine provinces such as Batangas, Cavite, Davao, Iloilo, Laguna, Oriental Mindoro, and Zamboanga. Despite seeds being imported into the United States from Java in 1906, widespread cultivation remains absent there.

Nutritionally, the rambutan offers substantial benefits. With 82.3 grams of moisture, 0.46 grams of protein, and 16.02 grams of total carbohydrates per 100 grams of edible portion, it also provides 2.9 grams of reducing sugars and 5.8 grams of sucrose. While low in fiber at 0.24 grams, it modestly contributes to calcium (10.6 mg) and phosphorus (12.9 mg) intake. Remarkably, it contains 30 mg of ascorbic acid (vitamin C), essential for immune function and skin health.

The rambutan's distinctive flavor and nutritional richness position it as a valuable fruit deserving wider recognition and cultivation beyond its native regions. Ongoing efforts to enhance agricultural practices and market accessibility signal its potential for broader global appreciation and consumption.
Exploring the Rambutan: A Hidden Gem of the Fruit World

The Rich History and Global Spread of Lychee

Lychee, a beloved tropical fruit with a rich history, traces its origins to the lush regions between southern China, northern Vietnam, and the Malay Peninsula. Cultivated as early as 1766 BC, the lychee's journey through time is a testament to human ingenuity and the pursuit of flavor.

By 200 BC, a thriving lychee culture had emerged in Hainan, Guangdong, and Guangxi provinces of China. However, challenges arose during the Han Dynasty (111 BC), when Emperor Hanwu's attempt to grow lychee in the palace failed due to unsuitable northern climates.

The name 'litchi' or 'Li-zhi' first appeared around 200 BC, signifying its literal meaning of 'to be detached from the branch'. During the Tang Dynasty, lychees were so prized that a dedicated horse relay transported the fresh fruit to the imperial court from distant southern harvests.

Early cultivation relied on seedlings until the 10th century, when growers recognized the benefits of vegetative propagation. Techniques like air-layering (marcotting) emerged in the 4th century AD, with grafting first recorded in the 16th century, enhancing cultivation efficiency.

European explorers like Michal Boym introduced lychee to the West in 1656, sparking curiosity and fascination. Lychee then made its way to India via Myanmar in 1789, eventually reaching Bangladesh and Nepal, enriching the local agricultural landscape.

Thailand's embrace of lychee began 300 years ago, with Chinese merchants introducing the fruit. Thriving in Thailand's tropical climate, adapted seedlings flourished in the central region, yielding bountiful harvests.

In the United States, General H. S. Sanford played a pivotal role in introducing lychee around 1870, a time of global exploration and fascination with exotic plants.

Today, lychee remains a symbol of tropical delight, cherished worldwide for its sweet, translucent flesh and floral aroma. Its cultivation has expanded across continents, from Asia to the Americas, enriching diverse cultures and culinary traditions.

From ancient Chinese emperors to European explorers and modern farmers, the history of lychee is a testament to humanity's enduring quest for flavor and agricultural innovation. As this delicious fruit continues to captivate taste buds globally, its legacy as a symbol of exotic sweetness remains as vibrant as ever.
The Rich History and Global Spread of Lychee

Black mulberry in history

Morus nigra L., also called black mulberry, is native to Southwestern Asia. It has been grown throughout Europe and around the Mediterranean for centuries.

The term, Morus, comes from the Latin word ‘mora’, meaning delay, probably because of the very slow development of its buds. An alternative explanation is that it comes from the Celtic ‘mor’ (black), referring to the colour of the fruit.

Black mulberry is believed to have originated from Iran. It was known to the Greeks and Romans before the Christian era. Black mulberry was one of the first to be adapted and cultivated for its fruits, not only for food but also for medicinal purposes, by Greeks and Romans.

It was also cultivated in ancient Egypt. It is the most important species in the Mediterranean countries. The black mulberry (Turkish name “Kara Dut”) is widely grown in Turkey for its delicious edible fruits.

It was reported that M. nigra was cultivated in classical times in Italy, and was grown in Greece and Italy for the silk worm industry until the introduction of Morus alba, which is of greater nutritive value for silk worms.

The tree was introduced into America for silkworm culture in early colonial times and naturalized and hybridized with the native red mulberry.

According to a classical fable, the fruit of mulberry was once white but got reddened by the tragic lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe, a story parodied by Shakespeare in Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Black mulberry in history

History and the origin of blackcurrant

The genus Ribes, was classified to the Saxifragaceae family originally, but was later placed within the Grossulariaceae family on the basis of morphological traits such as the presence of inferior ovaries, syncarpous gymnosperm and fleshy fruit. The blackcurrants are natives of Sweden and northern parts of Russia, as well as the northern counties of England.

The word “currant” is originating from the ancient Greek word for the city Corinth and was used to illustrate grapes grown in the region. Early references to Ribes currants use words like corinthes, corans, currans, and bastarde corinthes. The known blackcurrant culture in farms and gardens dates back at least as far as the Renaissance in Europe.

Blackcurrants have been cultivated in northern Europe for more than400 years and records were first described by the 17thcentury herbalists, e.g. Gerard (1636), referring to the use of blackcurrants as ingredients in tea and medical concoctions.

The use of blackcurrants fruit as a herbal medicine emerged in the Middle Ages. In the 16th century, European herbalists started to recommend Ribes berries or their syrup for the treatment of several illnesses, including bladder stones and liver disorders, cough and lung ailments.

In England blackcurrants were once called ‘squinancy berries’ because they were used to treat quinsy.

These small berries don’t appear to have been cultivated until around 1500. During 1700s , blackcurrants were domesticated in eastern Europe and sold to farmer’s markets in Russia. Blackcurrants were introduced in the USA along with red currants in the seventeenth century, but received little interest in terms of their domestication and cultivation.

During the Second World War blackcurrant cultivation was encouraged by British government due to in part the fruit’s suitability to the UK weather and the berries’ high content of vitamin C.

Nowadays blackcurrants are the leaders Ribes crop worldwide and are still mainly processed rather than used fresh, due to their strong flavor.
History and the origin of blackcurrant

History of apples

Its primary wild ancestor is Malus sieversii whose range is centered at the border between western China and the former Soviet Union originated 4000 to 10000 years ago. This species is diverse and wild trees bearing the full range of forms, colors, and tastes are found in Kazakhstan and other independent countries of Central Asia formed from the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The cultivated apple then underwent hybridization with its wild relatives during its spread from the Tian Shan Mountains westward along the Silk Route.

Apples were certainly one of the earliest fruits to be gathered by people, and their domestication was probably preceded by a long period of unintentional planting via garbage disposal.

Based on combined archaeological and molecular data, it seems likely that, in the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age, travelers on the great trade routes that ran from central China to the Danube, carried the seed of the Central Asian wild apple west, either in saddle bags or horses’guts.

It was known to the Greeks and Romans and mentioned by Theophrastus in the third century BC. It is difficult to determine exactly when the apple was first domesticated, but the Greeks and Romans were growing apples at least 2,500 years ago. They actively selected superior seedlings and were budding and grafting 2,000 years ago.

Grafting is a practice that is thought to have begun about 3800 years ago based on a cuneiform description of budwood importation for grape in Mesopotamia. Indirect evidence has been obtained for the cultivation of apples 3000 years ago in Mesopotamia.

The Romans probably learned apple grafting, cultivation, harvesting, and storage from the Greeks, and brought the production chain technology to the rest of their empire.

The Romans brought the whole package to Western Europe and, for the last 2000 years, the domesticated apple has diversified and flourished worldwide. It was dispersed to the New World by European settlers during the sixteenth century.

During the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, M. domestica cultivars found or bred in Europe, Russia, North America, New Zealand, Japan, and Australia were introduced throughout the world and form the basis for most current commercial apple production.
History of apples

Vine peach (mango melon) – The history

There has been suggestion that these melons seem to have originated in China or ancient Egypt (or both) since 2,000 BC from recorded evidence and travelled over the Silk Road through trade and migration to wind up in Turkey. Nevertheless, based on genetic studies, crossing attempts with other Cucumis species, and world distribution of melon varieties, that the origin of melon appears to be Africa.

Carbonized melon seeds were also discovered in eastern Iran and dated to ca. 2000 BC. The domestication process of melon started in Egypt around 2000 BC. From this area, melon dispersed throughout the Middle East and Asia, where a secondary domestication and diversification development may have occurred. Indo-Aryans knew about Cucumis melo before coming to Indian subcontinent from central Asia in 2000 BC.

A travelogue description indicates the presence of sweet melons in Khorasan and Persia by the mid-10th century. Agricultural literature from Andalusia documents the growing of mango melons there by the second half of the 11th century, which probably arrived from Central Asia as a consequence of Islamic conquest, trade and agricultural development.

There is some discussion as to how they arrived in America, as William Woys Weaver shows Samuel Wilson, a seedsman in Mechanicsville (Bucks County), Pennsylvania, offered seed in the Farm Journal in February of 1889.

Another source shows they were first described in 1849 by Charles François Antoine Morren, a Belgian botanist and horticulturist, as well as the Director of the Jardin botanique de l’Université de Liège in the early to mid-1800s. He apparently obtained his trial seed from Cuba and brought them to Belgium for study.

The name Cucumis melo was introduced by Linnaeus (1753) for domesticated plants cultivated in Uppsala, Sweden. Morphologically similar wild-collected plants were later described from Africa, Asia, and Australia under multiple different names for each continent, but all were subsequently synonymized with and thus included in C. melo.

In 1859, the French botanist Charles Naudin using mostly living plants grown in the gardens of the Natural History Museum of Paris, proposed the first useful system of infraspecific categorization for C. melo L. Naudin (1859) subdivided this species into ten groups, which were later revised by Munger and Robinson (1991), proposing trinomial name.

The vine peach became a well-known commercial variety in Europe soon after, where it might have come to America. Regardless of how vine peach arrived, in the early 20th century it was being commercially grown for pickled foods and preserves.
Vine peach (mango melon) – The history 

Cultivation of red raspberry in history

The fruits are native to Eastern Europe and North Asia, raspberry Latin name Rubus idaeus means ‘bramble bush of Ida’ as name hold another story for its naming when the Olympian Gods were looking for berries on mount Ida.

The red raspberry is a unique berry with a rich history that dates back to the first century when the fruits were gathered from the wild by the people of Troy in the foothills of Mt. Ida.

The fruit was first mentioned by Pliny the Elder, in about 45 A.D. Pliny wrote about “Ida fruits" that were harvested from the slopes of Mount Ida in Greece. Raspberries were not cultivated at that time, but were collected from the wild, primarily for medicinal use.

Dioscorides, Greek physician and pharmacologist, was a native of Anazarbus in Cilicia. In his well-known herbal De Materia Medica, Dioscorides describes the medicinal properties of the Idaean raspberry.

It is believed that raspberries to be first cultivated by Romans somewhere around fourth century AD as expressed by Palladio Opus agricultureae and seeds have been discovered at Roman forts in Britain.

The Romans are thought to have spread cultivation throughout Europe. In medieval Europe, wild berries were used for medicinal purposes and their juices for paintings and illuminating manuscripts. By the mid 1600s, raspberries had become popular in London markets.
Cultivation of red raspberry in history

Date palm: history and origin

Date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is one of the oldest fruits grown in the arid region of Southwest Asia and North Africa.

The exact area of origin of the date palm was in or near what is now the country of Iraq, but date cultivation spread to many countries starting in ancient times.

In term of terminology the name of the species dactylifera means “finger-bearing” which refers to the fruit clusters produced by this plant. Dactylifera is a grouping of the Greek word dactylus, means “finger,” and the Latin word ferous, mean “bearing”.

Date is one of the oldest known fruit crops and the earliest record from Iraq (Mesopotamia) shows that date culture was probably cultivated as early as 3000 BCE. The date palm tree was praised and cherished as is evident from the paintings and sculptures of ancient civilizations of the Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Egyptians, and subsequently by the Greeks and the Romans that populated the Mediterranean basin where the Phoenix species are commonly grown.

Date palm fruit was consumed in Mesopotamian times since 4000 BC and by the Egyptians perhaps during 3000–2000 BC. It is believed that the African date palm (P. reclinata) or the Indian date palm (P. sylvestris) or both may have been the progenitor of date palm.

Later, date cultivation spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, and the Middle East. Date culture had spread into Egypt by the mid of the 2nd millennium BC. The expansion of Islam brought together the culture of date cultivation to southern Spain and Pakistan.
Date palm: history and origin 

Pomegranate in ancient world

Pomegranate are originated from central Asia. Pomegranate has an important place in the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean countries. It was cultivated in ancient Egypt and in early Greece and Italy. The fruit which was described by the Greek botanist Theophrastus about 2350 years before the present (BP) and is mentioned in many Greek and Turkish myths.

Edible pomegranates were firstly reported to be cultivated in Iran during 3000 BC. It was recorded that pomegranate cultivation in about 2200 B.C comes from the ancient civilization of Sumer, located in the lower Tigris and Euphrates valley, approximately the area of present-day Basra, Iraq. It is believed that the pomegranate was brought into the area by people who were migrating from the Zagros Mountains— on the present-day Iran and Iraq border.

Phoenicians established Mediterranean Sea colonies in North Africa and brought pomegranates to Tunisia and Egypt by 2000 BC. The Phoenicians were great traders who sent many ships to ports in the Mediterranean Basin.

During that time, pomegranates also naturalized around the world and reached China by 100 BC over the Silk Road.

It was probably introduced into Greece and the areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, as far west as Spain and Portugal by ancient sailors and traders.

Ancient traders in Central Asia and the Middle East referred to the pomegranate as the “fruit of paradise.” Arabian caravans carried the fruit with other trade goods and spices, as well as the water and food they transported to provision the travelers.

Cultivation of the pomegranates in the Roman Empire and Spain is estimated to be in 800s. It was introduced in the Indian Peninsula from Iran during the 1st century AD and was found growing in Indonesia in 1416 AD.

The Spanish sailors brought pomegranates to the New World and some missionaries introduced pomegranate in Mexico and California. The first clear evidence that the pomegranate was in the area to become the United States was in the early 1700s, when they were grown in Spanish Florida and English Georgia.
Pomegranate in ancient world

Red raspberry: Fruit history and nutrition

The genus Rubus is a member of the rose family (Rosaceae), which also includes important fruit crops such as apples, pears, cherries, peaches, plums, and strawberries. The red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) is a unique berry with a rich history that dates back to the first century when the fruits were gathered from the wild by the people of Troy in the foothills of Mt. Ida.

The Romans are thought to have spread cultivation throughout Europe. In medieval Europe, wild berries were used for medicinal purposes and their juices for paintings and illuminating manuscripts.

By the early nineteenth century, more than twenty cultivars of red raspberry were grown in England and the U.S. English cultivars exported to the U.S. were subsequently crossed with North American seedlings leading to improved cultivars.

Each raspberry flower contains from 60 to 160 ovaries. Each ovary contains two ovules, but one usually aborts after differentiation. About one month after pollination, the ovaries ripen simultaneously to form the fruit.

Raspberries are very rich sources of bioactive compounds such as phenolics, anthocyanins, organic acids, minerals, and more. The genus has also very high amounts of antioxidant compounds.

They are among the highest whole food sources of dietary fiber, providing 6.5 g/100 g of fresh weight, which on a calorie basis is 12.5 g/100 kcal. They also contain vitamin C, magnesium, and a variety of other nutrients, such as potassium, vitamin K, calcium, and iron.

The color of raspberry fruit is imparted by anthocyanins. The anthocyanin molecule in raspberry consists of cyanidin and pelargonidin with glucose attached at the 3-position.

Red raspberries are currently the most widely grown while black raspberries are most popular in certain regions of the eastern U.S. The progeny of black and red raspberries have purple fruits; these types are popular in eastern North America.
Red raspberry: Fruit history and nutrition

Fruits Beverage

Fruit always played an important role in human nutrition. However, before the 20th century, drinking squeezed fruit juice was the privilege of a few.

Welch was the first to reserve grape juice with heat treatment in America in 1869, followed by Muller-Thurgan in Switzerland in 1896.

Thus began the production of preserved fruit juices, which was followed by a huge development in the 20th century.

The role of vitamins and minerals in the human body was discovered at that time, which triggered substantial changes in eating habits.

Consequently, fruit consumption has become an everyday need.

Due to the revolutionary development of technical equipment, the appearance of chemicals and biological substances (enzymes, clarifying and flavoring agents), and the applications of new technological procedures, especially the aseptic technique – which enabled the production of fruit juices without preservatives – of fruit juice production became widespread.
Fruits Beverage

Concord grapes: Vitis labrusca

The Concord grapes is a robust grape cultivated from ancestral native species or a derivatives of a wild Vitis labrusca grape that could withstand the harsh New England weather. Concord grapes were first developed near Concord, Massachusetts by Ephraim Wales Bull in 1849.

It grew from a seed planted in 1843, which bore fruit in 1849. Prior to the appearance of the Concord, grape growing in Eastern American had limited success.

The only sugars are found in Concord grapes are glucose, fructose and sucrose, and the major nonvolatile acids found were tartaric and malic.

The Concord grape variety is chiefly used for the manufacture of grape juice. Approximately 96% of the juice made in New York state is prepared from Concord Grapes. Natural acidity, color and aroma of fresh grape berries provide quality in single strength Concord grape juice. Acidity above 0.85% results in juice that is too tart.

Hot pressing of the grapes is important to extract anthocyanin pigments, flavor components, amino acids, organic acids, sugars, minerals, tannins, and other ingredients.
Concord grapes: Vitis labrusca

Apple variety: McIntosh

The McIntosh apple is a hero to some pie makers and a villain to others. The controversy centers on its white finely textured flesh which becomes very soft in the baking - the sort of mushy soft that some people adore and others despise.

The McIntosh had been around for a long time. Named for John McIntosh who discovered it as a seedling on a partly overgrown farm in Dundas County in Ontario around 1811 the McIntosh proved to be an exceptionally hardy apple.

Instead of tossing the tiny trees onto a pile of brush that would later be burned, he transplanted them to a nearby garden.

Although John, his wife and two sons, Allan and Sandy, had been operating a nursery primarily for the sale of the McIntosh apples since the mid-1830s, it took until the 1890s before the variety became popular.

McIntosh apples are relatively less susceptible than Golden Delicious apples to changes in color and to development of shriveling when stored under similar conditions. McIntosh is a hardy apple producing quality dessert apple with firm, crisp, and tart flavor.

This apple has a bright red skin sometimes tinged with green. Its flesh is medium-crisp and juicy and its flavor is tartly sweet and perfume.
Apple variety: McIntosh

Cactus fruit or prickly pear

The cactus fruit is a berry that is frequently juicy and eaten by humans including those of the prickly pear or tuna, cactus (Opuntia).

The prickly pear has been a notable food for desert dwellers since aboriginal times; no doubt it was important to the Aztecs; nomadic desert forebears, the Chichimecs.

Cactus fruits are readily eaten and dispersed by desert tortoises, birds, rodents, coyotes, peccaries and other animals.

About 70-80% of the fruits by dry weight is sugar, mostly fructose which is better tolerated by diabetics than glucose and sucrose.

Spanish conquerors of Mexico recognized the benefits of the prickly pear fruits, due to their vitamin C content, as a partial cure for the scurvy that plagued their sailors.

The driving force behind the prickly pear’s use and popularity is its ability to function as both food and medicine.

Historically, fruits were eaten fresh or sun-dried, pickled cooked as a vegetables in stews or cooked to derive syrups, jellies, or preserves. Fruit juice or pulp mostly from prickly pears, also used to flavor the alcoholic beverage pulque, or the juice simply was mixed with water to produce a sweet drink.
Cactus fruit or prickly pear

Banana fruit in history

Portuguese sailors brought bananas to Europe from West Africa in the early fifteenth century. Portuguese called it by its Arab name of al-vaneyra. The islanders of Sao Tome called the fruit abana. Its Guinean name banema, which became banana in English, was first found in print in the seventeenth century.

The original banana has been cultivated and used since ancient times, even pre-dating the cultivation of rice. The wild ancestor of edible bananas (M. acuminata Colla and M. balbisiana Colla), except for the fe’i bananas, are centered in Malesia, a term that refers to the entire region from Thailand to New Guinea roughly the main trading are of the Malay mariners.

Bananas may initially have been introduced into Africa by Arab traders who brought the plants from Malaysia. By the fourteenth century banana had colonized the whole of Africa. An Arab traveler mentions it as existing in the south of Morocco.

The banana was carried by sailors to the Canary Islands and the West Indies, finally making it to North America with Spanish missionary Friar Tomas de Berlanga is believed to have been the first to bring bananas plants to the New World.

Friar Tomas de Berlanga set up the first New World banana plantation in 1516. Banana plantation were soon established throughout European colonies in the Caribbean as well as in South and Central America.

The yellow sweet banana, much different than its starchy cousin the plantain was discovered in 1836 in Jamaica Jean Francois Poujot, who found one of the banana trees on his plantation was bearing yellow fruit rather than green or red. Upon tasting the new discovery, he found it to be sweet in its raw state, without the need for cooking. He quickly began cultivating this sweet variety.

The sweet banana quickly made its way around the fledging colonies and onto Europe, where it was used extensively in baked goods and desserts.

Soon they were being imported from the Caribbean to New Orleans, Boston, and New York, and were considered such an exotic treat, they were eaten on a plate using a knife and fork.

In the United States, the banana was initially regarded as a luxury fruit and a foreign one at that. Bananas began appearing in New Orleans markets during the 1830s and 1840s. Sweet bananas were all the rage at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, selling for a hefty ten cents each.
Banana fruit in history

History of pears

Pears (pyrus communis, Rosaceae) have been cultivated for thousands of years. The fruit originated in prehistoric times as a fruit crop. Native to Middle East, pears toady also grow world across of Europe and Asia. They do not seem to have been known to the ancient Greeks or Egyptians, but were to the Romans, who spread pear cultivation throughout their empire.

The Romans ate pears,  both raw and cooked. The less exquisite fruits were made into perry, or into pear vinegar, for which Pliny, Varro, Columella and other Roman authors on such subjects all had their own recipes.

The Byzantines feasted on pears in jelly, pear preserves, pears cooked in wine or in oxymel (a syrup of vinegar and honey).

It was in the seventeenth century that the European pear became much more widely distributed.

English and French settlers took the pear to East Coats America and Canada. Probably, the Spanish took pears to South America. In North America it has emerged as the most widely grown and a pear much used in canning.

Dutch traders introduced operas to South Africa, and British explorers took pears to Australia and New Zealand in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In these centuries, as in Europe the pear became a garden orchard and market fruit, and also an export fruit shipped around the globe.

Second only to apples in world production of deciduous tree fruits; pears are consumed fresh, cooked, dried or as preserves. In Europe some are used for making perry or pear wine.
History of pears

History of mulberry fruit

Mulberry has its origin in different part of the world.  The red mulberry is native of United States, whereas black mulberry is a native to western Asia but long ago found its way to Greece and Rome, and thence to other parts of Europe.

The mulberry as dedicated by the Greeks to Minerva, probably because it was considered the wisest of trees and Jupiter the protector was called Morea.

White mulberry is considered to have originated in China and is grown mainly in tropical countries. It has been grown primarily for its leaves, as silkworm folder and it was for this purpose that the trees were brought to other parts of the world.

The first black mulberry trees of England are said to have been planted at Sion House, the seat of the Duke of Northumberland in 1548. Others say that the first mulberry tree planted in England was in the garden at Lambeth Place, by Cardinal Pole 1555.

In the early 1600s, the English King James I, shipped white mulberry trees and silkworms to the colony of Virginia to start silkworm production, which was unsuccessful. However, enthusiasm for silkworm culture reached a peak in the decade of the 1830s when a new, supposedly superior type of mulberry was introduced.
History of mulberry fruit

The origin of peaches

Peaches and nectarines are the same species Prunus persica. China is the center of origin of peaches.  

Chinese literature dates its cultivation in China to 1000 BC, when book of poems and songs was written describing pink peach blossoms and peach tree with ripe fruit. The Romans acquired the peach from Persia and named the fruit persica, assuming Persia to have been the center of origin of peaches.

The Romans spread peaches throughout their empire.

The peach is said to have been first cultivated in England about the middle of the sixteenth century, Gerard describes several varieties of peach as growing in his garden. Tusser mentions it among his list of fruits in 1557.

Peaches were introduced to the New World following the Spanish conquest.

In North America, it was only after the American Revolution in the 1770s when clonal propagation of peaches became a common technique.

Several peach cultivars were released between the 1770s and 1860s from selected seedling of unknown parentage.

A number of cultivars of unknown origin were released in the first half of the 1800s including Early Crawford, Late Crawford and Oldmixon Cling.

About 1850, Charles Downing introduced peaches directly from China to North America, from which emerged the Chinese Cling.  After Civil War, Samuel Rumph planted Chinese Cling in Marshallville, Georgia and released two important cultivars from that field, Elberta and Belle of Georgia.

Chinese Cling and its seedlings such as Elberta, Belle of Georgia, J.H Hale and their derivatives became important peach cultivars throughout the USA.
The origin of peaches

History of plum (Prunus domestica)

The origin of Prunus domestica dates back millenniums of years. It is believed to have originated in the area of the Caucasus and Asia Minor.

The spontaneous occurrence of P. domestica has taken place sometime before the Neolithic Age.

Plums are, next to apples, one of the oldest cultivated fruits. From drawings and literature it is known that the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans ate plums.

Its oldest remains of Prunus domestica ssp. insititia were found both in the Ukraine dating back 6000 years and in the South of Germany near Ulm (4060 – 3956 BC).

The European plum was first mentioned in the 7th century BC in Archilochus’s ‘Pollux’. Theophrast in 4th century BC mentioned the plum under the name ‘pronye’ for the first time.

According to Pliny the plums was brought from Syria into Greece and thence into Italy.

The Romans brought the plum in the region north of the Alp Mountains. A ‘tavern’ was found there at the north of Lake Balaton in Hungary with wall paint from 1st century illustrating woman’s head surrounded by reddish purple plums.

There is a distinct drop in the number of recorded stones in the centuries following Romans period until Carolingian times.

It is probable that high quality cultivars originated from southeast Europe after the Middle Ages and distributed throughout Europe by the seventeenth century. European settlers introduced European plums in the 16th century into North America.
History of plum (Prunus domestica)