The holy grail The Ancient Romans already knew the worth of this strange-looking rare fungus. The fact that truffle is incredibly hard to cultivate and can only be found in certain types of soil certainly adds to its appeal. It contains more than 100 different aromas and is one of the most expensive ingredients in … Continue reading Truffle – Trüffel
Wood Cauliflower – Krause Glucke
The curious sponge mushroom When seeing this sponge-like mushroom it might not at first occur to you that it’s a delicious edible mushroom but the wood cauliflower is exactly that. It’s cream to yellow in colour and can weigh several kilograms. The mushroom only grows in the wild and can be found in Central Europe … Continue reading Wood Cauliflower – Krause Glucke
Kale – Grünkohl
The curly cabbage The distinctive curly leaves make kale an especially beautiful member of the brassica family. Appreciated for its unusually high protein content, kale has been an important part of the Northern European diet for a long time. The winter vegetable is popular in warming stews and can even be used to make wraps. … Continue reading Kale – Grünkohl
Cumelo
Even though this fruits name sounds like a misspelling or a relative of the zesty pomelo, the name cumelo actually comes from combining the words cucumber and melon which exactly describes what it is. This fresh, slightly sweet tasting fruit has been cultivated in Italy’s Puglia region for centuries and boasts a water content of … Continue reading Cumelo
Corn – Mais
Aztec gold Ancient Mesoamerican peoples worshipped maize deities for good reason; to this day corn is one of the most important cereals in the world and feeds billions of people. It stills plays a vital role in its birth place Central America and because it’s an adaptive crop it is now grown in over 160 … Continue reading Corn – Mais
Pak Choi
The gentle cabbage Even though pak choi is a member of the brassica family it is way less cabbagy-tasting than most of its relatives. The vegetable, also known as bok choy, hails from China where its name literally means white vegetable in Cantonese. Pak choi has white or light green stems with juicy green leafs … Continue reading Pak Choi
Shiitake
The umami mushroom This flavourful mushroom hails from East Asia where it what was named after the tree it likes to grow on. In Japan shiitake mushrooms have been cultivated for centuries and play a big part not only in the culinary world but are also used for medical purposes to boost the immune system … Continue reading Shiitake
Patisson squash – Patisson-Kürbis
The crown jewel Patisson is definitely the most eye-catching of all squashes. With its disc shape and scalloped edges it almost looks like a crown. It’s one of the oldest squash varieties around and is rumored to have already been cultivated by the Incas. Patisson squash is a summer variety and resembles courgette in terms … Continue reading Patisson squash – Patisson-Kürbis
Giant Puffball – Riesenbovist
The giant mushroom Probably the biggest edible mushroom of them all, the giant puffball is absolutely unmistakable. It’s a giant white ball that can weigh up to 20kg; some of us might vaguely remember kicking an overripe puff ball in a field like a football because unlike a lot of other mushrooms they don’t grow … Continue reading Giant Puffball – Riesenbovist
Garlic – Knoblauch
Small but mighty The most pungent of the allium family, garlic originated in Central Asia and was already appreciated for its health benefits by Ancient Egyptians & Romans. The upper class in Europe only used it for medical purposes for quite some time as the strong sulfurous smell & taste didn’t convince them until French … Continue reading Garlic – Knoblauch
The Food Library 