Facts

Sweet, juicy dry prunesThe legends say that prune is one of the first fruit trees that attracted human attention. The European prune is first mentioned in the 7th century BC Archilochus's work „Pollux “. Theophrastus (4th century BC) mentions the name „Prumnon“ and the Romans changed the name Prumnon into Prunum. Plinian (1st century) reports on many different type [...]

Pumpkin seeds, the star of MexicoPumpkin seeds are also known as pepita which comes from Mexican Spanish, pepita de calabaza meaning „small seeds of pumpkin “. Edible squash or pumpkin kernels are usually a straight and asymmetrically oval, light green in color and its shell can be white colored. Some varieties are smooth and are grown only for its kernel.Pumpkin seeds [...]

Chia seeds, our favorite superfoodChia is an edible seed of Salvia hispanica, a flowering plant from the mint family (Lamiaceae), originating from Central America. It is also connected to Salvia columbariae from the southwest of the US and Mexico. Chia seeds are of an oval shape, grey with black and white spots and about one millimeter wide.Chia seeds are an ancient food t [...]

Ginger, a root that we loveGinger (Zingiber officinale) is a tuberous root. You can get it unpeeled or peeled, whole or ground. Ginger is actually from the Lilly genus. It is presumed that it originated from Indonesia where a couple of wild sorts grow. It was cultivated in India and China, from where the arab spice merchants brought it to the east coasts of the Mediterrane [...]

Goji berries for body and mind wellbeingGoji (Lycium barbarum or Lycium chinense) is a woody stemmed plant from the family of Solanaceae. It is a bush that can grow up to a height of 2 m and its fruit is a reddish egglike berry of up to 2 cm length. It contains 20-40 small seeds. Berries can be eaten raw or dried.Goji berries traditionally originate from China, and becaus [...]

Quinoa, the mother of all grainsQuinoa is an annual plant (Chenopodium quinoa) that is grown as a grain, but botanically it's connected to spinach. Quinoa originates from the Anda region on the northwest of South America. Originally, five to seven thousand years ago, it was used as animal feed. People started consuming it around three to four thousand years ago at the Lake [...]

Health is hidden in small seedsFlax is a one year or two-year herbaceous plant. Linen fabric is made from a spindle-shaped fiber of the flax stem from the genus Linum usitatissimum. It is cultivated in the regions of moderate climate, mostly in Europe. It's a common plant, widespread from the plains to the alpine areas. It's self-sown and grows in fields, on the side of ro [...]

Hazelnuts, favorite superfoodHazelnut is the favorite among nuts. Hazel plant thrives in regions with mild and moist winters and mild summers. Common hazel (greybrown hazel, forest hazel, lat. Corylus avellana) grows at the area of Europe and Asia. It is usually a bush like plant that can grow up to a height from 3 to 8 meters but sometimes it can grow up to 15 meters. It' [...]

For health benefits, have a pop of poppy seeds!Poppy naturally grows in the Europe area, West of Asia, and North Africa. It spreads like weed on meadows and fields, in between grain, in yards, roads and railroads. Poppy propagates easily with seeds and likes moist nitrogen rich soil. It grows from the lowlands up to the mountain ranges. Poppy has been known in Europe for [...]

Black gold that enriches many dishesThe homeland of black pepper is the Indian country Kerala where it grows in the mountains of West Gati. Pepper is the berry of an evergreen plant that can grow up to 15 m in height. Throughout history pepper was extremely valued and was used in haggling. It was often called „black gold “. Today it is mostly cultivated in Brazil, Indi [...]

Introducing carob, a humble tree with rich podsDo you remember the aromatic carob cakes that our mothers and grandmothers used to make? Carob has been domesticated in our cuisine, especially in dalmatian cuisine, which is nothing strange since carob originates from the eastern Mediterranean, Syria and Palestine. It has been used in cooking for over 4000 years. It gets its [...]