Oh, those great tastes of summer
fruits and veggies are rolling out at Pathfinder Produce! Stop by this
week at our friendly, convenient market that is open each Thursday afternoon at
the Village Commons from 1 to 5 p.m. We’ve always got something fresh and
exciting to share with your family!
As a reminder to everyone,
Pathfinder Village will host its annual summer American Red Cross Blood Drive
on Tuesday, August 9, and we encourage everyone who is eligible to consider donating
in their home communities. Blood supplies are vital to those undergoing
surgery, fighting cancer, or who have suffered injuries and trauma.
Donating is safe, doesn’t take long, and a one pint donation can help up to three
individuals requiring assistance. To make an appointment, call 1-800-RED
CROSS or visit the American Red Cross blood
donation website.
***
I consider myself to have a good vocabulary, but
this week I came across a word I’d not encountered before – “drupe.” I
get excited about new words, probably because I use words a lot at my
job. Or maybe it’s because learning new words is similar to brain
exercises, like Sudoku or the puzzles that are popular through various
websites. (Read this article from Scientific
American to learn more about how training your brain is beneficial).
Anyhow, “drupe” is a perfect word for Scrabble,
which is a game my family loves to play when we’re relaxing and making an
effort to turn off the screens. We typically pack our game when we go on
vacation, and it’s just something we do on those lazy summer nights when the
fog is rolling in, the peepers are singing, and the fireflies are
flashing. (We have a version with a board that has a built-in turntable,
which makes the game easier to play).
So what’s a drupe? There’s a very specific botanical definition,
which indicates that it’s a type of fruit that doesn’t split to release its
seeds, that has an outer fleshy body, and has a hardened stone in the center
that has a seed inside. More commonly, it’s used to describe some of my
favorite fruits, like plums, peaches, cherries and nectarines. It also
includes things like coffee beans, avocadoes, mangoes, olives, and apricots.
Apparently there’s more to drupes, and they are
classified into three main subsets -- there are freestone drupes, where the
stones are easily extracted from the fruit; clingstone, a self-explanatory term
that once commonly was used in describing peaches; and tryma
(another new Scrabble word!) which refers to nut-like drupes that are difficult
to categorize, like hickory nuts and walnuts.
August is the month when many drupes mature and
are harvested. Nutritionally, drupes are great, providing a host of
different nutrients, phytonutrients, and healthy fats. Many also have
dietary fiber and are low in calories, so they’re the perfect addition to your
summer meals or as healthy snacks.
Until next time, dig those drupes and train that
brain!
Lori
