The lessons covered 11 fruits, but there are thousands more with stories worth knowing. Pick one and trace its journey from origin to your kitchen.
The project
Choose a fruit not covered in the lessons and research its path through history. Where did it start? How did it travel? What’s its name’s origin? What surprised you?
Good candidates
Any fruit works, but these have especially rich histories: avocado, coconut, strawberry, peach, orange, kiwi, dragonfruit, passion fruit, papaya, lychee, persimmon, date, cranberry, blueberry, or starfruit.
What to look for
- Where does the fruit originally come from?
- When and how did it reach other parts of the world? (Trade routes, colonialism, immigration, accident?)
- What does its name mean? Does the name change across languages in interesting ways?
- Is there a surprising historical fact, a moment where this fruit changed something?
Tips
- Start with the name. Etymology often leads you to the history.
- Look for the moment the fruit crossed an ocean. That’s usually where the interesting story is.
- Wikipedia is a fine starting point. Follow the citations for deeper detail.