1. Week 1 Friday 23 rd January 2009 Mystery Fruit Answers

2. Fruit 1 – Mango Common Names: Mango, Mangot, Manga, Mangou. Origin: The mango is native to southern Asia, especially Burmaand eastern India. It spread early on to Malaya, eastern Asia and eastern Africa. The flesh of a mango is peachlike and juicy. The flavour is pleasant, rich and high in sugars. Therefore, it tastes very sweet. To prepare mango, you need to remove the skin which is inedible, remove the kidney-shaped stone in the centre and then slice the remaining mango flesh.

3. Fruit 2 – Pineapple Common Names: Pineapple, Ananas, Nanas, Pina. Origin: The pineapple is native to southern Brazil and Paraguay where wild relatives occur. It was spread by the Indians up through South and Central America to the West Indies before Columbus arrived. In 1493 Columbus found the fruit on the island of Guadaloupe and carried it back to Spain and it was spread around the world on sailing ships that carried it for protection against scurvy. The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines and may have taken it to Hawaii and Guam early in the 16th Century. The pineapple reached England in 1660 and began to be grown in greenhouses for its fruit around 1720. Fruit: The oval to cylindrical-shaped, compound fruit develops from many small fruits fused together. It is both juicy and fleshy with the stem serving as the fibrous core. The tough, waxy rind may be dark green, yellow, orange-yellow or reddish when the fruit is ripe. The flesh ranges from nearly white to yellow.

4. Will you be able to guess the fruits next week? The answers will be online from break time on Friday.