Test your food knowledge.

Here are some interesting tidbits about some of the items you'll find in your share this week: 

• Collard greens were grown by the ancient Greeks and Romans (USDA, 2012). 

• A southern tradition in the United States, collard greens are eaten on New Year’s Day to ensure wealth in the coming year because their leaves resemble folded money (USDA, 2012). 

• Superstition in the United Kingdom holds that blackberries should not be picked after September 29th as the devil has claimed them, having left a mark on the leaves by urinating on them.

• The worlds only blackberry store is in Michigan, but it only sells the phone, not the fruit.

• Florida is the leading state for squash production in the country and New Jersey is nationally ranked the 4th (USDA, 2010).

• Nobody is certain where parsley originated, though it is said by some to have originated in Sardinia.

• It is said that parsley goes seven times to the Devil and back before it germinates due to the long time it takes to grow. Because of the difficulty in growing it, it is said that only witches or evil people can grow it.

• Tomatoes are technically fruit because a fruit is generally defined as the edible part of a plant containing the seeds, while a vegetable is the edible stems, leaves, or plant roots.  Confusion exists because it is often sold as a vegetable.  Arkansas took both sides in the debate by declaring the tomato both the official fruit and the official vegetable (The Telegraph, 2010). 

• Sugar snap peas were developed in the seventeenth century but did not become commonly available in the United States until the 1970’s (USDA, 2012). 

• A 100-calorie serving of sugar snap peas contains more protein than a whole egg or tablespoon of peanut butter (USDA, 2012).