Produce aisles are filled with amazing things. Test yourself with this quiz.
1. Ancient Greeks knew it as "the fruit of the gods." It has a sweet and sour taste, with a dose of astringency. Braise with a pork loin or make into a pudding when it's very ripe.
2. A colorful vegetable that's related to the beet, it comes with shiny, ribbed green leaves and stalks in shades of green, pink, orange, yellow, red and white. Prepare the leaves as you would spinach. Stems can be sliced thinly and added to salads or cut into larger pieces and blanched, then used in recipes.
3. It looks a little like a lumpy, unripe Bartlett pear, but it's a sibling of squash and cucumbers. A lovely ivory, edible seed is tucked at the core. Eat it raw in salads or cook it like summer squash.
4. It looks like a super-plump, sorta-fuzzy beige pea pod - or a supersize edamame pod. Crack open the shell, and you'll find a sweet-tart sticky paste. Native to tropical Africa and popular in India, it makes a refreshing beverage and adds its tangy personality to sauces.
5. This member of the gooseberry family - hence the papery covering - calls Mexico its first home. It boasts a lemony tang that plays well with sauces after a light blanching. Do not confuse this with unripe tomatoes.
6. Nickname: Rocket. This ancient Roman aphrodisiac (what wasn't?) has a peppery bite. Toss a fresh, heaping mound with hot-out-of-the-pot pasta; it wilts and is divine. It also makes a perfect salad tossed with lemon juice, olive oil and pine nuts.
7. According to Jewish tradition, each of these contains 613 seeds, one for each of the mitzvot, or commandments. Getting the seeds out can be messy, so we dunk it, sliced open, in a bowl of cold water.
Answers: 1. Persimmon. 2. Swiss chard. 3. Chayote, also called mirliton. 4. Tamarind. 5. Tomatillo. 6. Arugula. 7. Pomegranate.
