4. Artichokes
Okay, so get this: artichokes (you know, that crazy-looking thing we dip in butter sometimes) are actually flowers! That’s right, the artichoke that we’re familiar with is actually the edible base of a flower, just before the flower part actually blooms. And it grows, similarly to brussels sprouts, on a hearty stalk, ending up looking very top-heavy indeed. But seriously beautiful…who knew?!
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3. Asparagus
So maybe this one isn’t as crazy as those artichoke flowers, but it still looks a little strange. A spring veggie that’s native to Europe, northern Africa and Asia, asparagus is a stalk-y green shoot that sprouts up from the ground. Its leaf-like coverings are actually small stems and you have to make sure you harvest and eat it while it’s still young, otherwise it gets really tough to eat. All that aside, it still looks a little weird to us.
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2. Cashews
Originating in Brazil, the evergreen tree actually produces both a cashew apple and a cashew seed, which can then be eaten on its own or turned into cashew butter or cashew cheese. We had absolutely no idea that this is how cashews grow, or that they were a byproduct of a separate fruit, the cashew apple. Not only that, but cashew trees can grow to be up to 45 feet tall – that’s insane! Did you know that this is how cashews grow??
1. Bananas
No one’s surprised that bananas grow in bunches, but what about the huge flower that’s hanging off the bunch?? That’s a banana blossom (or heart) and, if left on the tree, would also turn into a banana, although you can also eat it as is, it’s just got a different flavor and texture than regular bananas. Aside from the crazy flower we knew about, would you guess how useful bananas are in ways unrelated to food? The leaves are used in many cultures as a textile and even turned into and used as paper. Pretty cool for your average fruit.
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Were you just as stunned as we were to see how these 11 foods grow??