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1. The  common mango Mangifera indica is commonly cultivated and used for food.

2. More fresh mangoes are eaten every day than any other fruit in the world.

3. The paisley design motif is based on the mango.

4. Mangoes have been cultivated in India for about 5,000 years.

5. Mangoes contain an enzyme that aids in digestion and can be eaten in small portions to soothe a stomach ache.

6. An average sized mango can contain up to 40% of your daily fibre requirement.

7. In India, the tree is considered auspicious and wedding rituals are conducted under pavilions decorated with the long dark green mango tree leaves.

8. Most mangoes sport a red blush on the side that faces the sun when ripening.

9. To ripen, leave them uncovered at room temperature. Once ripe, they can be stored in the refrigerator.

10. Mangoes can be pickled or used to make mango chutney.

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1. Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium, but usually refers to Allium cepa the garden onion.

2. Traces of onion remains have been found in Bronze Age settlements dating back to 5000 BC.

3. Alexander the Great fed his army onions with the belief that if they ate strong foods, they themselves would become stronger.

4. The ancient Egyptians worshiped the onion, believing that its spherical shape and concentric rings symbolized eternity

5. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest onion ever grown weighed 10 lbs 14 oz and was grown by V. Throup of Silsden, England.

6. Yellow onions make up more than 75% of the worlds production of onions.

7. A recent urban legend suggests that placing onions around your home will absorb the swine flu virus, preventing infection. This myth dates back to the 1500's.

8. Eye irritation when cutting onions can be avoided by cutting onions under running water or submerged in a basin of water.

9. A traditional Maltese remedy for sea urchin wounds is to tie half a baked onion to the afflicted area overnight.

10. Ways of preserving onions include the classic pickled onion and the more fashionable onion marmalade.

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1. A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus, most fruit sold as plums is of the subgenus Prunus Domestica.

2. Blackthorns (sloes), greengages, damsons and apricots are all botanically categorised as plums.

3. Dried plums are known simply as prunes, although the prune is actually a distinct type of plum.

4. Plums and prunes are known for their laxative effect.

5. The famous Victoria Plum was found in 1840 as a seedling in a garden in Sussex.

6. Experts were able to identify over one hundred individual varieties of plum stones on Henry VIII’s flagship the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545 and was raised in the 1980's.

7. The word plumb, as used in carpentry, derives from the Latin for lead, referring to the lead weight used at the end of a plumb line.

8. TV presenter Angela Rippon wrote and illustrated the 'Victoria Plum' childrens books.

9. Umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums) were thought by the samurai to combat battle fatigue.

10. Plums can be made into wine, and both jam and chutney.

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1. The latin name for the common Blackberry is Rubus fruticosus, although there are hundreds of micro species.

2. In botanical terminology, the fruit is not a berry, but an aggregate fruit of numerous drupelets.

3. Some varieties have more dietary fibre, weight for weight, than wholemeal bread.

4. In the south west of England it was believed that the first blackberry spotted growing each year would banish warts

5. Superstition in the UK holds that blackberries should not be picked after Michaelmas (29 September) as the devil has claimed them, having left a mark on the leaves by urinating on them.

6. There is evidence that blackberries were eaten in Britain in Neolithic times.

7. The thornless blackberries cane was first developed at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK.

8. The worlds only blackberry store is in Michigan, but it only sells the mobile device not fruit.

9. Native Americans made fiber, obtained from the stem, it was used to make a strong twine.

10. Blackberries can be used to make wine, flavour gin, and or course blackberry and apple jam.

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1. The latin name for the Sloe is Prunus Spinosa and it is also known as the Blackthorn.

2. The fruit are an ancestor of many varieties of cultivated plum.

3. Sloe stones used to be used to give colour to inferior wines.

4. Sloe stones have been found in prehistoric dwellings, it is thought they may have been used for dying fabric.

5. Straight blackthorn stems have traditionally been used to make walking sticks.

6. Blackthorn blossom is edible and can be crystallised as a cake decoration.

7. Sloe juice can be used as an indelible ink.

8. Sloes are traditionally used to flavour gin, but can also be used for wine, jam, syrup and fruit cheese.

9. Blackthorn bushes are common in hedgerows throughout Britain, except in the north of Scotland.

10. There is great discussion over how to best make sloe gin on the sloebiz forums.

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1. The latin name for the Apple is Malus domestica and the Bramley cultivar is officially know as 'Bramley's Seedling'.

2. The bicentenary of the Bramley apple will be celebrated in 2009, marking 200 years since the pip that grew into the first Bramley apple tree was planted.

3. In 1809 the first Bramley tree grew from pips planted by a young girl, Mary Ann Brailsford, in her garden in Nottinghamshire, in 1846 a local butcher, Matthew Bramley, bought the cottage and garden.

4. The original Bramley tree is still producing fruit.

5. A peculiarity of the variety is that when cooked it becomes golden and fluffy, for this reason it is mainly used for deserts and chutneys.

6. Bramley apples are flatish with a green skin which becomes red on the side which receives direct sunlight.

7. Apples are often used in soft fruit jams as they have a relativly high pectin level which helps the jam to set.

8. Apples float because 25% of their volume is air.

9. There is no mention of an apple as the forbidden fruit in the Bible. It is referred to as "fruit from the Tree of Knowledge".

10. Bramley apples are an essential ingredient in blackberry and apple jam

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1. The latin name for the Lime is Citrus aurantifolia, the name refers to several species and hybrids.

2. Sour limes possess a greater sugar and citric acid content than lemons, while sweet limes lack citric acid content.

3. British sailors used to be issued a daily allowance of citrus fruit to prevent scurvy, this is where the nickname limey comes from.

4. India grows 16% of the worlds lime, with Mexico (14.5%), Argentina (10%), Brazil (8%) and Spain (7%) following behind.

5. Microwaving a lime for 15 seconds before squeezing produces almost twice as much juice.

6. Freshly squeezed lime juice is a key ingredient in the Margarita.

7. Lime Jell-O is the official state food of Utah.

8. The two varieties of limes used most prevalently are the larger Persian and the smaller Key (mainly available in the US).

9. It is thought that limes originally came from Southeast Asia, then were spread to Egypt and Africa in the 900s. Moors introduced limes to Spain in the 1200s, and became used throughout Europe.

10. Columbus took  limes to the Caribbean in 1493 and they were subsequently cultivated in the Florida region by Spanish explorers.

1. The latin name for the Gooseberry is Ribes uva-crispa.

2. It is not the same plant as the Indian Gooseberry, Chinese Gooseberry (Kiwi Fruit) or Barbados Gooseberry (a Cactus)

3. Gooseberries produce fruits in various colours including green, white and red depending on variety.

4. It is not unusual for bushes to crop for at least twenty years.

5. One serving of 100g raw gooseberries contains 40 Kcals.

6. One ancient belief tells how fairies would shelter from danger in the pickly bushes. This is how gooseberries became known as fayberries.

7. Competitive gooseberry growing was very popular, until the 1st world war there were 170 shows in the north of England.

8. Egton Bridge, eight miles from Whitby, is the setting for the oldest surviving gooseberry show in the country, established in 1800.  The show is held on the first Tuesday in August each year by the Egton Bridge Old Gooseberry Society.
Winning gooseberries can be the size of golf balls.

9. The classic Gooseberry Fool recipe has its origins in Tudor times.

10. The gooseberry has been crossed with the blackcurrent to produce the jostaberry.

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1. Citric Acid is a weak organic acid, its molecular formula is C6H8O7

2. Lemons and limes have particularly high concentrations of the acid; it can constitute as much as 8% of the dry weight of these fruits.

3. At room temperature, citric acid is a white crystalline powder, you can buy it from cookery or brewing supplies shops.

4. Commercially produced citric acid is mainly used for preserving soft fruit drinks, and in home wine making.

5. Citric acid is used as a flavoring in many preparations of Vitamin C.

6. It is a natural preservative and is also used to add an acidic, or sour, taste to foods and soft drinks, for example in elderflower cordial.

7. It is denoted by E number E330

8. Citric acid is the active ingredient in some bathroom and kitchen cleaning solutions. A solution with a 6% concentration of citric acid will remove hard water stains from glass without scrubbing.

9. Industrial-scale citric acid production began in 1890 based on the Italian citrus fruit industry.

10. Most citric acid is now produced by feeding sugar to Aspergillus niger bacteria.

1. The latin name for Elder is Sambucus Nigra and botanically it belongs to the honeysuckle ( caprifoliaceae ) family.

2. It is sometimes known as the Judas Tree, as it is said to be the tree Judas Iscariot Hung himself on.

3. Elder trees are found in Europe, West Asia and North America.

4. It is often associated in folklore with witches, English folklore suggests the elder tree is a favourite form for a witch to take.

5. In Russia a Elder tree planted outside the front door is thought to ward off evil spirits.

6. For the best flavour Elderflowers should be collected when creamy coloured, before they turn white.

7. The hard, close grained wood has been used for making combs, skewers, mathematical instruments and toys.

8. Historically, the flowers and leaves have been used to relieve pain, swelling and inflammation.

9. Fishing floats can be made from the varnished dried pith of the twigs.

10. The leaves are a natural insect repellent, which is why you see Elder shrubs planted around compost heaps and outhouses.