Fruit

Fruit

Fruit is classified in three main categories: simple fruits, multiple fruit and aggregate fruit. Simple fruits are fruits from from a single ovary. Multiple fruit is from from several flowers and united together as a bunch, examples include strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Aggregate fruit is from numerous ovaries of a single flower that unite later to form a fruit like a pineapple.

Simple fruits are split into three more categories: pericarp fleshy, pericarp indehiscent (does not split open when ripe) and pericarp dehiscent (splits open when ripe).

Nutrients in fruit and health benefits include...
- People who eat more fruits have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases
- Most fruits are naturally low in fat, sodium and calories
- No fruits have cholesterol
- Fruits are sources of many essential nutrients like potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C and folate
- Potassium can help maintain healthy blood pressure, sources include bananas, prunes, dried peaches, dried apricots, cantaloupe, honeydew melon and orange juice
- Dietary fiber can help reduce blood cholesterol and may lower risk of heart disease. Fiber is also important for digestion, sources include whole or cut-up fruits
- Vitamin C is important for growth and repair of body tissues, help heal cuts and wounds and keeps teeth and gums healthy
- Folate helps the body form red blood cells and is important for pregnant woman

On the eatwell plate fruit is one of the biggest portions along with vegetables. You have to eat at least five portions every day. Fresh, frozen, tinned, dried and juiced fruits all count so try to include fruit and vegetables in every meal. A portion of fruit is...
- 1 apple or orange or pear or banana or similar sized fruit
- 2 plums or kiwi fruits or satsumas or mandarins or similar sized fruit
- 1/2 grapefruit or avocado
- 1 large slice of pineapple or melon
- 1 cupful of grapes or berries
- 1 heaped tablespoon of dried fruit
- 1 small glass of fruit juice

Planning

Next week, we will be making a fruit crumble and therefore, this week we have to plan our ingredients and our recipe. To make our crumble, we have to use hard fruits. Hard fruits include apples, apricots, bananas, grapes, oranges, plums, rhubarbs etc. However, we can also use some soft fruits like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries etc.

For my recipe, I would like to add:
- Strawberries
- Bananas
which has to weight 200-250 grams altogether.

My crumble recipe is going to include:
- 100g of flour
- 50g of butter
- 50g of oats
- 2-3 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of brown sugar on top
- Cream after it is done

When making my crumble I have to include skills like crumbling with my hands and not mashing it together so that it will resemble breadcrumbs. I also have to use my knife skills to cut my fruit and my 'checking if it's done' skills to check if my crumble is done or not.

I plan to steam my fruits in a saucepan before putting them in the ovenproof dish to bake. I will do this by putting in all my fruits into a saucepan, adding around 100ml of water and a pinch of cinnamon for around 5 minutes.

We learnt how to check the done-ness of our crumble today. If we see that the edges are slightly brown but not too brown, this shows that it's done. The top of the crumble should also be golden brown. Another method that I think would work is to stick a knife into the crumble on the sides and if it is still hard on the inside then it is probably not done.

Nicely presented strawberry and banana crumble found on the internet

Reflection

Today in Food Technology, I made a fruit crumble with strawberries and banana as my topping. For my actual crumble, I added flour, butter, sugar, cinnamon and brown sugar.

This involved using knife skills like the bridge hold and the claw grip, crumbling skills and my 'checking if it's done' skills.

I think that I worked in a safe and hygienic manner because I washed my hands before making my crumble and sometimes while I was making my food because my hands were dirty with other food. I wore an apron, tied up my hair, removed all my jewellery to prevent dirt and germs getting into my food. In addition, I used the correct chopping board and placed a wet tea towel underneath to prevent it from slipping.

I was organized today too because I worked in order of the recipe. Firstly, I cut my fruit up into tiny pieces then placed them into a saucepan to steam for a while. This is to soften the fruit but I only steamed my strawberries since the banana was soft enough. After that, I drained out the juice the strawberries produced and placed my fruit into my ovenproof dish. Secondly, I weighed out my crumble ingredients then crumbled it to resemble breadcrumbs. Finally, I poured my breadcrumbs into my dish and then added some brown sugar and cinnamon on top. I put my dish into the oven to bake at 205 C for 30 minutes. While the crumble was baking, I washed up and cleaned my work space.

The appearance of my dish wasn't particular colourful or appealing but it is pretty delicious. It was a golden brown colour at the top and the bottom was a dark red colour because of the strawberries. I liked the taste of my dish because it was sweet but not too sweet. The combination of strawberry and banana came out well and it tasted flavourful. The crumble's texture was crumbly hence the name.When it came out of the oven, it smelled like freshly baked goods which made me really hungry. When I was eating it, it smelled mainly of melted strawberries which made my mouth water.

Next time, I could improve by using different, harder to use and creative ingredients like pineapple, kiwis, oranges etc. This time I went with a simple pair of ingredients which is known to taste good together- strawberry and banana. 

I presented my dish at home very simply, only using a spoon, fork, a dishcloth and a plate lining the tinfoil container but I think the pictures turned out pretty well :)