On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 708

used in Persian cooking, where they provide
thetartrubiesinadishcalledjeweledrice.
FoodWords:Berry,Strawberry
Berry comes from an Indo-European root
meaning“toshine,”perhapsforthebright
colors of many small fruits. Thestraw in
strawberry comes from a root for “to
spread,tostrew.”Strawisthedriedstalks
strewn about the field after the grain
harvest; perhaps strawberries were named
fortheplant’shabitofspreadingbymeans
of runners. A related cooking term is
streusel, an informally scattered topping
onbakedgoods.
OtherTemperateFruits

GroundCherryThisisonenamefora
coupleofrelatedfruitsfromlow-lyingplants
inthenightshadefamily,closerelativesofthe
tomatillo(p.331).ThePeruvianorCape


groundcherryorgooseberry,Physalis
peruviana,camefromSouthAmerica,while
theordinarygroundcherry,P.pubescens,is
nativetobothNorthandSouthAmerica.Both
fruitsresembleminiature,thick-skinned
yellowishtomatoes,areenclosedinpapery
husks(thusanothername,husktomato),and
keepwellatroomtemperature.ThePeruvian
groundcherryhasfloralandcaramelaroma

notesinadditiontogenericallyfruityesters.
Thesefruitsaremadeintopreservesandpies.
PersimmonPersimmonsarefruitsoftreesin
the genusDiospyros, which is native to both
Asia and North America. There’s a plumsized native American persimmon,D.
virginiana, and a Mexican species known as
the black sapote (D. digyna), but the most
importantpersimmonspeciesworldwideisD.
kaki, a tree with applesized fruits native to
China and adopted by Japan; it’s sometimes
saidthatpersimmonsaretotheJapanesewhat