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Plums are a stone fruit that originated in China where plum blossom is considered a symbol of good fortune. The five petals of the plum...

The herb, dill, gets its name from the Norse word, dylla, meaning to soothe. Ancient Egyptians used it as an aphrodisiac and to ward off...

Many folkloric traditions have used cabbages to explain where babies come from. The shape of a cabbage is likened to a womb and the...

Figs are thought to have been the first plant food to be domesticated. There is evidence that they were cultivated more than 11,000 years...

Lentils were part of the Neolithic Package - a set of innovations that marked the transition from hunter-gathering to settled...

Ethiopia is known as the birthplace of coffee but it is also the birthplace of okra cultivation. Today okra is a popular ingredient in...

Depicted on Tutankhamun's tomb and originally cultivated in French caves, cellars, quarries and tunnels in the 17th century. They are...

The watermelon has become a symbol for Palestine because it shares the same red, black, white and green colours of the Palestinian flag,...

Medieval Europeans believed nutmeg could ward off the bubonic plague and it became as valuable as gold. The only source of nutmeg was...

Mangel-wurzel, sugar beet and beetroot all originate from the wild sea beet that grows on European coastlines. At first, it was the...

Renting a pineapple, for the evening, was a feature of 17th-18th century well-to-do parties. At that time, pineapples cost the equivalent...

Chia is the Mayan word for strength. Aztec warriors consumed chia to enhance their energy and endurance. The Raramuri (lightning-footed...

Brits and British sailors got the nickname 'limey' from limes. The British navy was the first to pioneer using citrus fruits on all their...

Sloe were used for food, dye, ink and medicine for millennia. Otzi the Iceman lived in the Alps, during the Copper Age, over 5,000 years...

Historically, onions were considered an aphrodisiac. Egyptian priests were forbidden to eat them. European newlyweds, in medieval times,...

Originating in South America and brought to Europe by Spanish explorers in the 15th century, decades before the unrelated potato. The...

Chillies are a nightshade fruit that have been cultivated in the Americas for 10,000 years. They have been grown for spice, medicine,...