Without going into the subject again, let us remember that fruit can be differentiated on the basis of two criteria;
- the first is real fruits And false fruit (the latter are wrapped in a fleshy receptacle originating from a part of the flower foreign to the pistil; apples, pears and strawberries are examples of false fruits)
- the other: fruits simple, aggregates and infructescences.
It goes without saying that the organoleptic and nutritional quality of fruit depends both on the type of crop and on the origin of origin, and on the shelf life of the marketed product. The advice of food professionals is always oriented on the consumption of local products (possibly with a short supply chain), seasonal (therefore naturally developed) and not stored for long periods in cold rooms.
The choice of a local product with a short supply chain guarantees:
- Financing of companies located in their own territory
- The elimination of intermediaries and the consequent moderation of the price to the advantage of both the producer (who can earn more but just enough) and the consumer (who saves)
- The right point of ripeness; on the contrary, when the commercial path is lengthened, the producer is obliged to anticipate the harvest of the fruit which is still unripe and therefore incomplete. NB the post-harvest ripening is similar but NOT the same as the natural one
- The freshness of the fruit, as the producers DO NOT use conservation technologies
- The healthiness of fruit, as a cultured and sold product does not allow microorgansms to grow and does not require a long-term antifungal chemical intervention
- The organoleptic and nutritional quality as a consequence of point 5
In any case, if short supply chains are lacking, it is always advisable to buy a national product; we remind you that Italy boasts a series of rigorous production regulations focused on consumer protection, while the same cannot be said about the fruits produced in non-EU territories.
At the same time, the choice of seasonal fruit guarantees a more advantageous quality / price ratio in all respects. Furthermore, beyond the gustatory and aromatic characteristics, the nutritional quality (vitamins and antioxidants) also benefits from it. The fruit is a "live" appendage of the plant, which benefits in particular from the presence of ultraviolet solar rays; therefore, greenhouse crops do not have the same metabolic intensity as a natural crop, and this is to the complete disadvantage of the composition nutritional value of the crop.
Furthermore, it is always NOT ADVISABLE to abuse tropical fruit; this is sustainable for two fundamental reasons:
- As anticipated, some climatic zones are characterized by an economic development lower than ours, therefore, the cultural level ANCORA does not allow to orient the cultivation regulations on the full protection of the final consumer (even less if the production target is "exportation). L" use of pesticides and pesticides is exponentially greater than in Italy.
- Much of the tropical fruit marketed in Italy is very caloric: bananas, coconut, avocado, etc.
NB. Not all the varieties mentioned above on the market are of Italian origin, indeed, in reality, the indigenous ones are few. However, their seasonal location is still true as they represent botanical types widely cultivated on the national territory.
It is also advisable to specify that the seasonality of products always includes a minimum of conservation. It is not yet possible to guarantee the collective availability of fruit based exclusively on the short supply chain; today it is possible to keep products such as apples, pears and other products for up to a few months. kiwis, benefiting the trade even in late winter. We remind you that this is a much more advantageous technique than the traditional ones of dehydration, candying, preserves in syrup or in alcohol.
NB. We voluntarily omit the mention of jellies, jams and marmalades which in my opinion are excessively detached (in form and content) from the fruit of origin.
, plums, grapes, apricots etc; they do not have specific peculiarities and only a greater energy and nutritional concentration (increase in calories per 100g of edible part) due to dehydration are observed; however, I strongly advise everyone to investigate the relative method of extracting water. It can in fact take place through different procedures but, among these, one is definitely to be avoided: it is the extraction through the use of sulphates (if in excess, potentially harmful).
in food (up to 70%) in order to inhibit microbial action. Candying is carried out by immersing the fresh fruit in pieces in a hyperosmotic syrup inside which the micronutrients are almost totally dispersed. Given the high calorie content and vitamin deficiency, the dietary consumption of candied fruit is practically useless.or immersed in alcohol; such as candying and drying, these are also methods of preservation. The syrup involves cooking the fruit, which almost completely destroys the content of thermolabile vitamins (such as vitamin C); moreover, the preservation syrup is a liquid with a very high content sugar which makes the product high-calorie and not recommended (such as candied fruit) in frequent or systematic use. The "immersion in alcohol or" under alcohol ", on the other hand, exploits the conservative potential of alcohol itself. It is a method now almost obsolete and absolutely inadvisable in feeding the child. Also in this technique the fresh fruit must be previously cooked, therefore, the vitamin content suffers the same fate as that present in fruit in syrup.
For further information: Fruit - Hints of Botany, Classification and Types of Fruit For further information: Fresh Fruit and Dried Fruit: Nutritional Properties Other Foods - Fruits Apricots Sour cherries Cashews Pineapple Watermelon Orange Avocado Banana Persimmon Persimmons Apple Chestnuts Cedar Cherries Coconut Watermelon Dates Feijoa Fig of India Figs Strawberries Berries Passion fruit (Maracujà, Granadilla) Jujube Kiwi Raspberries Coconut milk Lemons Almond milk Mango Apples Quinces Pomegranate Melon Blackberries Mustard Medlar Olives Taggiasca Olives Fermented Papaya Pears Peaches Plantains (Cooking Bananas) Pomelo Grapefruit Pink Grapefruit Plums, prunes Fruit juices and fruit juices Grape juice Plums Grapes Sultanas and Raisins OTHER ITEMS FRUIT Categories Food Alcoholics Meat Cereals and derivatives Sweeteners Sweets Offal Fruit Dried fruit Milk and derivatives Legumes Oils and fats Fish and fishery products Salami Spices Vegetables Health recipes Appetizers Bread, Pizza and Brioche First courses Second courses Vegetables and Salads Sweets and Desserts Ice cream and sorbets Syrups, liqueurs and grappas Prepare Basic tions ---- In the kitchen with leftovers Carnival recipes Christmas recipes Light diet recipes Women's, mom's and dad's day recipes Functional recipes International recipes Easter recipes Gluten-free recipes Diabetic recipes Holiday recipes Valentine's Day recipes Vegetarians Protein recipes Regional recipes Vegan recipes
