This week's zesty theme is the history of our fruit growing industry. Did you know that Ribena was invented during World War Two?
The Bramley is a well-known and very popular British apple cultivar, usually used as a cooking apple. A peculiarity of the variety is that when cooked it becomes golden and fluffy. Its origin goes back to 1809.
Two plants, from two different continents, were brought together on a third continent - Europe - to make the delicious strawberry we know and love as a British summer treat.
The tomato was brought to Europe by explorers returning from South America in the sixteenth century. Now officially designated as a fruit, rather than a vegetable, it was initially regarded as pretty but poisonous, though soon became a significant crop. And for 70 years or so, it was the basis of a major industry in the Sussex seaside town of Worthing begun in Victorian times (see picture).
Blackcurrants have been growing in the British countryside since at least the 17th century, and this native northern European fruit bush is both a commercial crop, and a very easy to grow plant for gardens and allotments.
The black mulberry is not native to Britain. However, it was widely planted in Britain due to a campaign by King James I, who wanted a "home-grown" silk industry. Unfortunately, the black mulberry is the wrong tree for this!
The National Fruit Collection in Brogdale Farm near Faversham in Kent, is one of the largest fruit collections in the world. It includes over 4000 named apple, pear, plum, cherry, bush fruit, vine and cob nut cultivars. It is both a remarkable botanical resource and a unique place to visit.
