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Almonds
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ''Prunus'', it is classified with the peach in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera by corrugations on the shell (Fruit anatomy#Endocarp, endocarp) surrounding the seed. The fruit of the almond is a drupe, consisting of an outer hull and a Pyrena, hard shell with the seed, which is not a nut (fruit), true nut. ''Shelling'' almonds refers to removing the shell to reveal the seed. Almonds are sold shelled or unshelled. Blanching (cooking), Blanched almonds are shelled almonds that have been treated with hot water to soften the seedcoat, which is then removed to reveal the white embryo. Once almonds are cleaned and processed, they can be stored over time. Almonds are used in many food cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marzipan
Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar, honey, and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imitations of fruits and vegetables. It can also be used in biscuits or rolled into thin sheets and glazed for icing cakes, primarily birthday cakes, wedding cakes and Christmas cakes. Almond paste, Marzipan paste may also be used as a baking ingredient, as in stollen or banket (food), banket. In some countries, it is shaped into small figures of animals as a traditional treat for New Year's Day or Christmas. Marzipan is also used in Tortell, and in some versions of king cake eaten during the Carnival season. Around the world Europe The Geographical indications and traditional specialities in the European Union recognize two marzipans in Europe. One in Toledo (Spain) and another one in Lübeck (Germany). So ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prunus
''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the paleotropics of Asia and Africa, 430 different species are classified under ''Prunus''. Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for their fruit and for decorative purposes. ''Prunus'' fruit are drupes, or stone fruits. The fleshy mesocarp surrounding the endocarp is edible while the endocarp itself forms a hard, inedible shell called the pyrena ("stone" or "pit"). This shell encloses the seed (or "kernel") which is edible in many species (such as almonds) but poisonous in others (such as apricots). Besides being eaten off the hand, most ''Prunus'' fruit are also commonly used in processing, such as jam production, canning, drying, and seeds for roasting. Botany Members of the genus can be deciduous or evergreen. A few species ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a fruit consisting of a hard or tough nutshell protecting a kernel which is usually edible. In general usage and in a culinary sense, a wide variety of dry seeds are called nuts, but in a botanical context "nut" implies that the shell does not open to release the seed (indehiscent). Most seeds come from fruits that naturally free themselves from the shell, but this is not the case in nuts such as hazelnuts, chestnuts, and acorns, which have hard shell walls and originate from a compound ovary. The general and original usage of the term is less restrictive, and many nuts (in the culinary sense), such as almonds, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, and Brazil nuts, are not nuts in a botanical sense. Common usage of the term often refers to any hard-walled, edible kernel as a nut. Nuts are an energy-dense and nutrient-rich food source. Botanical definition A seed is the mature fertilised ovule of a plant; it consists of three parts, the embryo which will develop into a ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties), nectarines. The specific name ''persica'' refers to its widespread cultivation in Persia (modern-day Iran), from where it was transplanted to Europe. It belongs to the genus ''Prunus'', which includes the cherry, apricot, almond, and plum, in the rose family. The peach is classified with the almond in the subgenus '' Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera by the corrugated seed shell (endocarp). Due to their close relatedness, the kernel of a peach stone tastes remarkably similar to almond, and peach stones are often used to make a cheap version of marzipan, known as persipan. Peaches and nectarines are the same species, though they are regarded commercially as different fruits. The skin of nectarines lac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blanching (cooking)
Blanching is a cooking process in which a food, usually a vegetable or fruit, is scalded in boiling water, removed after a brief, timed interval, and finally plunged into iced water or placed under cold running water (known as shocking or refreshing) to halt the cooking process. Blanching foods helps reduce quality loss over time. People often use blanching as a treatment prior to freezing, drying, or canning—heating vegetables or fruits to inactivate enzymes, modify texture, remove the peel, and wilt tissue. The inactivation of enzymes preserves color, flavor, and nutritional value. The process has three stages: preheating, blanching, and cooling. The most common blanching methods for vegetables/fruits are hot water and steam, while cooling is either done using cold water or cool air. Other benefits of blanching include removing pesticide residues and decreasing microbial load. Drawbacks to the blanching process can include leaching of water-soluble and heat sensitive nutrie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Droughts In California
The historical and ongoing droughts in California result from various complex meteorological phenomena, some of which are not fully understood by scientists. Drought is generally defined as “a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time (usually a season or more), resulting in a water shortage.” A lack of rainfall (or snowfall) or precipitation in meager quantities, higher than average temperatures and dry air masses in the atmosphere commonly underlie drought conditions; these natural factors are further complicated by increases in populations and water demands. Since the California water supply is attained from numerous sources, fulfilled by varied and intricate weather patterns, there is no one cause of drought. California is not only the most populous state and largest agricultural producer in the United States, it is also the most biodiverse; as such, drought in California can have a far reaching economic and environmental impacts. There are five maj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climate Change In California
Climate change in California has resulted in higher than average temperatures, leading to increased occurrences of drought and wildfires. During the next few decades in California, climate change is likely to further reduce water availability, increase wildfire risk, decrease agricultural productivity, and threaten coastal ecosystems. The state will also be impacted economically due to the rising cost of providing water to its residents along with revenue and job loss in the agricultural sector. California has taken a number of steps to mitigate impacts of climate change in the state. Paleoclimatological evidence Paleoclimatological studies indicate that the last 150 years of California's history have been unusually wet compared to the previous 2000 years. Tree stumps found at the bottom of lakes and rivers in California indicate that many water features dried up during historical dry periods, allowing trees to grow there while the water was absent. These dry periods were asso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twig
A twig is a thin, often short, branch of a tree or bush. The buds on the twig are an important diagnostic characteristic, as are the abscission scars where the leaves have fallen away. The color, texture, and patterning of the twig bark are also important, in addition to the thickness and nature of any pith of the twig. There are two types of twig: vegetative twigs and fruiting spurs. Fruiting spurs are specialized twigs that generally branch off the sides of branches and are stubby and slow-growing, with many annular ring markings from seasons past. The age and rate of growth of a twig can be determined by counting the winter terminal bud scale scars, or annular ring marking, down the length of the twig. Twigs can be useful in starting fire. They can be used as kindling wood, bridging the gap between highly flammable tinder (dry grass and leaves) and firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly proces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, flower, and fruit collectively form the shoot system. In most leaves, the primary photosynthesis, photosynthetic tissue is the palisade mesophyll and is located on the upper side of the blade or lamina of the leaf but in some species, including the mature foliage of ''Eucalyptus'', palisade mesophyll is present on both sides and the leaves are said to be isobilateral. Most leaves are flattened and have distinct upper (Glossary of botanical terms#adaxial, adaxial) and lower (Glossary of botanical terms#abaxial, abaxial) surfaces that differ in color, hairiness, the number of stomata (pores that intake and output gases), the amount and structure of epicuticular wax and other features. Leaves are mostly green in color due ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole () is the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem, and is able to twist the leaf to face the sun. This gives a characteristic foliage arrangement to the plant. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole in some species are called stipules. Leaves with a petiole are said to be petiolate, while leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile or apetiolate. Description The petiole is a stalk that attaches a leaf to the plant stem. In petiolate leaves, the leaf stalk may be long, as in the leaves of celery and rhubarb, or short. When completely absent, the blade attaches directly to the stem and is said to be sessile. Subpetiolate leaves have an extremely short petiole, and may appear sessile. The broomrape family Orobanchaceae is an example of a family in which the leaves are always sessile. In some other plant groups, such as the speedwell genus '' Veronica'', petiolate and sessile leaves may occur in different species. In the grasses (Poaceae), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batsch
August Johann Georg Karl Batsch (28 October 1761 – 29 September 1802) was a German naturalist. He was a recognised authority on mushrooms, and also described new species of ferns, bryophytes, and seed plants. Life and career Batsch was born in Jena, Saxe-Weimar to George Lorenz Bratsch and Ernestine (''nee'' Franke) Bratsch. He studied at the Jena City School, and then had private tuition. He showed an aptitude for natural sciences and drawing, and so subsequently studied medicine and philosophy at the University of Jena (now known as the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena), entering in 1772 and obtaining his doctorate in philosophy in 1781 and in medicine in 1786, his supervisor being Justus Christian Loder. Batsch was married in 1787 to Amalie Pfaundel. They had three children, Friedrich (born 1789), George Friedrich Karl (1792), and Karoline (1795). He died in 1802 after a short illness. In 1786 Batsch began to teach natural history at the University of Jena and in 17 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs. Flowers may facilitate outcrossing (fusion of sperm and eggs from different individuals in a population) resulting from cross-pollination or allow selfing (fusion of sperm and egg from the same flower) when self-pollination occurs. There are two types of pollination: self-pollination and cross-pollination. Self-pollination occurs when the pollen from the anther is deposited on the stigma of the same flower, or another flower on the same plant. Cross-pollination is when pollen is transferred from the anther of one flower to the stigma of another flower on a different individual of the same species. Self-pollination happens in flowers where the stamen and carpel mature at the same time, and are positi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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