Fostering An Interest In Vegetables: Visit A “Vegetable Museum”!

Vegetable Museum-35 kinds of apples! Ever been to a grocery store that stocks over 35 kinds of apples from around the world?

Vegetable Museum exotic eggplant
Have you heard of white eggplant?

Vegetable Museum Yucca and Taro Root
Do you know how to prepare taro root and Yucca?

VegetableMuseum- orange tomatoes,purple cauliflower
Ever seen orange tomatoes, yellow and purple cauliflower, multicolored chard?

Vegetable Museum- New Zealand Horn Melon
What about New Zealand horn melon? (Note to my readers from New Zealand: do you eat this?)

Let’s face it, most of us, including myself, are really quite uninformed when it comes to all the amazing types of fruits and vegetables that are grown and eaten around the world. Fortunately for us, my mother finds things like this very interesting, and on our trip to Northern California this summer, she wanted to show her grandchildren the amazing selection of produce available at The Berkeley Bowl West, even though it was definitely out of our way.

So taking a pointer from my mother, I though I’d write about the idea of finding a local (or not so local) “vegetable museum” in your area and sparking some interest in your kids by introducing them to many things they’ve never dreamed of. You know, things that grow in the ground and on trees! Seems like a good way to encourage healthy eating, don’t you think?

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10 responses to “Fostering An Interest In Vegetables: Visit A “Vegetable Museum”!”

  1. inbal Weisman Avatar
    inbal Weisman

    also it is interesting, I do believe that each place has its special food. Eating veg’s or fruits from other places of the world can increase allergies. Like the typical reaction to the tropical fruits- first and second and thirds eating of it- nothing happens. And than one day your body gets allergies for this thing.
    So I say- go ahead, try things if it is interesting. But continue with your usual elements (veg’s and other food) and examine any reaction to those special foods.
    Happy Simchat Tora!
    Inbal

    Reply
  2. Sara Rivka Avatar
    Sara Rivka

    Hi Inbal, Thanks so much for bringing this up this important point! Actually, I wasnt really talking about eating all those interesting things, most of them just wouldnt be delicious to us anyway. The point it to learn about all the amazing things that exist in the world in order to appreciate even those things that are close to home. all the best, Sara

    Reply
  3. Batya Avatar
    Batya

    looks yummy
    When we came to Israel so many of the fruits were new to us.

    Reply
  4. Genevieve Avatar
    Genevieve

    I want to start out by telling you what a great and useful site you have. I’m not Jewish (I’m Native American) but love the oh-so-neat traditions and festivities surrounding the Jewish way of life. In a way, it resembles some aspects of my culture. I also grew up and remain close with two friends who happened to be half Native American and half Jewish. One thing for sure, there was always plenty of food and laughs when I visited. lol
    Speaking of food, I wanted to share my knowledge about preparing yucca. My grandmother’s tribe had several uses for the vegetable. They would peel it, cube it, and put it in with other veggies and meat to make stew. Yucca was also grated and the juices strained. The grated yucca is made into a thin type of bread, cooked on a pan much like a pancake. This was a staple in the tribe because the bread had a long shelf life. The strained milk like “yucca juice” is left alone until the water and starch separate (a couple days or so). The water is skimmed from the top, as needed, until all that’s left is a powder. This powder could be used as a thickening agent or as a body powder.
    You share so much, I thought I’d share something with you. 🙂 Take care!

    Reply
  5. Tamar Genger Avatar
    Tamar Genger

    I have recently been intrigued with making crafts out of foods, such as the seed from a lychee, they are so pretty and I think wouldn’t go bad or the seeds from the tamarind, they look like beads and are as hard, let me know if you ever try something, I started collecting them and then gave up, I am not creative enough to figure out what to do next.
    Tamar Genger, MA RD
    http://joyofkosher.com

    Reply
  6. Sara Rivka Avatar
    Sara Rivka

    Hi Tamar,
    Sounds great to me! Any seed that can be dried out can be strung as jewelry or used as beads for home decor items….how about a lamp with tamarind seed fringe?
    Large pits/seeds would need to be drilled, you know you put the seed in a clamp and drill a hole through it? One could also make mosaic type art with seeds, similar to the
    beautiful mosaics that have been done with pebbles. With some hot glue I imagine one could make some really nice flower shapes (glue seeds onto a carboard base) which might be
    great present toppers with some natural looking paper! And I havent even mentioned kids crafts…..paint them, glitter them, wrap pipe cleaners around them…..!
    I have seen recently a few necklaces using melon seeds, so I have a little baggie of them in my kitchen drawer right now waiting their turn in line!

    Reply
  7. Barbara Avatar
    Barbara

    Hi,
    Just found your blog today and am enjoying looking through it! The New Zealand horn melon you mention I have seen recently but it is not something very common. It could be a new thing, a bit like kiwifruit were for us way back in the 1970 when we knew them as Chinese gooseberries. Here’s the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horned_melon
    It’s not from New Zealand originally…but it seems it is grown here now.

    Reply
  8. Sara Rivka Avatar
    Sara Rivka

    Thanks so much Barbara, so nice to make connections with readers in New Zealand! I lived in Wellington for a year as a teenager with my family, and we loved it! I still have very fond memories of hiking the Milford Trek and visiting numerous sheep farms, oh and the scones, havent tasted anything like it since!

    Reply
  9. Carol Avatar
    Carol

    That is just amazing. I honestly never heard most of what you posted and I find those cauliflowers really cute. Makes me wonder are they real or genetically modified? just a thought.

    Reply
  10. Sara Rivka Avatar
    Sara Rivka

    Thanks Carol. Hadnt thought of the idea of genetically modified, I really have no idea! But I cant imagine that the market for these exotic vegetables is so large that one would go through some complicated endeavor to produce them. all the best!

    Reply

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