Project Task
Click here for a printable copy of this task
Our summer class topic is…
This blog will include a Big Question to reflect on about our current topic. You may like to research some information and have a discussion with your family members about the question and then write down your response. Try to include evidence and information to support your ideas.
Big Question of the Week
Where does my food come from?
Select one type of food, it could be vegetables, pasta, rice or even chocolate. Find out some information about where it comes from and some facts about how it is grown/made.
Watch the videos below to find out more information to help you with your answer:
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My Kalamata Pitted Olives come from Greece ??. It was nurtured under the Hellenic sun ☀️. The olives are very unique.
How interesting? How are they different from other types of olives?
Facts about strawberries
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1. Strawberries are grown in rows into garden soil.
2. Strawberries come in bare root bundles
3. They are planted in spring when the ground is still cool and moist
Where do strawberries come from in the UK
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British strawberries mostly come from the warmer places like Kent , Sussex or Wales.
How do farmers grow their strawberries
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Farmers plant their strawberries by putting them 45cm apart and in rows that are 75cm apart. They use a big shovel to accommodate the roots of the plant. They spread the roots out in a hole and make sure the crown of the plant is resting on the soil.
Countries that Britain transports strawberries to
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Britain transports strawberries to Spain, Israel, Morocco and Egypt during the year.
Great findings so far! Do you know which famous sports event strawberries are a popular snack? They are served with cream!
Potatoes- interesting facts:
Originally, potatoes came from the Andes Mountains in South America.
Potatoes don’t grow from a simple seed, instead they grow from a seed potato.
Potatoes- the process of growing:
Special machine mounds the soil into ridges. A machine plants the seed potatoes into the ridges and covers them with soil to protect them. The potatoes are planted in the spring so the warmth of the sun helps them grow.
Roots grow in the soil, this is where the potatoes will grow and there are green leaves above ground.
Good soil, plenty of water and sunshine- this is all they need to grow and be harvested.
Super facts about potatoes!
My canned tuna comes from Pacific Ocean. It’s made by tuna, water and salt.
I like tinned tuna too, Angie, I often add some to my salads. Do you know how the process of canning works?
My favourite food: Chocolate – made with *Cocoa*
It originates from the seeds (cocoa beans) of the cocoa fruits (cocoa pods), which grow on cocoa trees 🙂
Where is cocoa produced ?
Cocoa is produced in countries in a belt between 10ºN and 10ºS of the Equator.
Growing Conditions: The natural habitat of the cocoa tree is in the lower storey of the evergreen rainforest, and climatic factors. Cocoa plants respond well to relatively high temperatures, with a maximum annual average of 30 – 32ºC and a minimum average of 18 – 21ºC.
Soil Conditions: Cocoa is grown in a wide variety of soil types.
Cocoa needs soil which will contain: coarse particles and a reasonable quantity of nutrients.
Facts about cocoa:
1.Archaeological evidence in Costa Rica indicates that cacao was drunk by Maya traders as early as 400 BC.
2.Its natural environment is the Amazonian forest which provides natural shade trees.
3.Cocoa, or the recipe for the drink named *xocoatl* was brought to Europe in 1528 by Hernan Cortes.
4. Producing cocoa is very demanding because you need to:
– take care of the trees, pods and seeds because they are very delicate
– after harvesting the beans need to be fermented, dried, cleaned and packed and then they are ready to be sold in shops or other places.
Great findings Helena, this is so interesting to hear about the process! It’s hard to believe it all starts from growing the cocoa!
Apples.
– Apples are the fruit of apple trees and are one of the most widely grown tree fruit.
– Millions of tonnes of apples are grown every year.
– There are thousands of different varieties of apples including Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady and Granny Smith.
– Granny Smith apples originated in Australia in 1868 accidentally after a chance seedling by a woman named Maria Ann Smith.
– While most apples are eaten fresh, they have other uses including juice making and cooking.
– The apple tree originated in Central Asia.
– China is the leading producer of apples.
– Apples were taken to North America by European settlers.
– Apple trees can be vulnerable to a number of different diseases and pests. Chemical sprays are often used to limit the damage but organic methods are also popular.
– Honey bees are commonly used to pollinate apple trees.
– Apple trees typically blossom in spring with fruit maturing in autumn.
– An average apple contains around 130 calories.
– It is believed that the saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” originated in Wales in the 19th century.
Harvesting and Delivery
Growers tell when apples are ready by checking their sugar level (brix), checking their starch level, looking for the seeds to darken, and finally, by doing an old-fashioned taste test. Apples should be high in sugar and lower in starch by the time they’re harvested.
To harvest the apples, the reflective material is rolled to the sides and big bins are brought in to hold the picked apples. All the apples are picked by hand. Care must be taken to gently roll the picked apples into the bins to avoid bruising the fruits. Once transported to the packaging facility, the first step is to check over the apples and sort them into groups .The apples pass under a scanner, which checks each apple for things like colour, shape and roundness, bruising, and other physical deformities. Based on this information, they are sorted into separate chutes.
The sorted apples float down another chute to the storage bins. To avoid damage to the apples, the bins are submerged in water and then filled with floating apples. The bin is slowly lifted out of the water and the apples settle gently into place.
From here, the apples are stored in a refrigerated room kept just above freezing for anywhere from a few days to months.
When they’re ready to go to market, the apples are taken into another packaging facility where they go through a final visual inspection. Each apple gets tagged with a sticker and then packaged by hand. Boxes are carried to the refrigerated shipping room to await delivery to store shelves.
It’s important for the apples to stay chilled during this whole process. Higher temperatures can also make them to turn mealy and lose flavour.
Wow Chloe H, you have found out so much about apples! It’s interesting to hear that lots of checks are completed before they can be sold. Do you have a favourite type of apple?
Plantain comes from North America it is like spring and plantain travels on a train.
I like peanuts it comes from South America
I do too Gabriella, do you know how they are made?
Where are dates grown?
Dates are grown nearly all over North and East Africa.The biggest country in North Africa that grows dates is Egypt, growing nearly 1,373.57 dates.Some countries that are not in Egypt like Arabia and Iraq also grow dates which means that they need a lot of sun light and heat to grow.They still need water though otherwise they couldn’t grow and would die of thirst.
How do dates grow?
The stone in the date is actually the seed which grows it. When it is planted on a hot place (at least 25° Celsius) in the soil then all you have to do is water it a bit it starts growing roots and then starts
growing itself. If you don’t want to water it at all then all you have to do is plant it next to a water source like a little pond.
Fun facts about dates
1. Dates have been a food supply for people in the Middle East and Northern Africa for more than 7000 years.
2. Dates have the vitamins A,B, and D in one of them and if you mix them with camel milk then you get all four vitamins in one thing that you eat.If you eat 15 of them per day with camel milk you can survive.
Great findings Samuel. I didn’t realise dates have so many vitamins in them, I might buy them a little bit more now!
I like Pink Lady the most ?
Me too, Chloe!
Well done for your research about bread Louis. That’s interesting to hear France is the biggest producer of wheat in Europe!
Chocolate comes from cocoa beans that grow on trees. To make chocolate the beans are first harvested, fermented and dried. Then they are roasted for flavour and put through a machine to crack off the shells. After this they are grinded with sugar for sweetness then left to temper in molds.
How interesting Jiana, it is such a long process to make chocolate!
Banana
The origins of the banana are convoluted and complex. Whilst there is archaeological evidence of banana cultivation in New Guinea dating as far back as 8000 BC, other banana domestication projects have been found in Southeast Asia in the jungles of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Generally, it is agreed that bananas originated in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific around 8000 to 5000 BC. Bananas are believed to have been the world’s first cultivated fruit.
The name banana originates from the Arabic word ‘banan’ which, rather logically, means finger. Its scientific name is musa sapientum, and means “fruit of the wise men”
-Bananas do not grow from a seed but from a bulb or rhizome,
-takes 9 to 12 months from sowing -a banana bulb to harvesting the fruit.
-banana flower appears in the sixth or seventh month.
Bananas are one of the most consumed and cheapest fruits worldwide: they are the most traded fruit and the fifth most traded agricultural product.
Thanks for the facts Karolina, that’s interesting to hear bananas are one of the most consumed fruits worldwide!
Plantation is from North America and you have to fry it !
What type of food is this Graceanne?
My favourite chocolate comes from Switzerland. It takes 400 cocoa beans to make 1 pound of chocolate.
It has travelled 466 miles (750 km) from Switzerland to Uk.
Sounds delicious Emi, Switzerland is known for its delicious chocolate!
Apples,???
Apples are one of my favorite fruits.
Poland is the largest producer of apples throughout Europe and the third in the world (after China and the USA).
Different types of apples grow at different times during the year. They can be harvested from early summer to late autumn – summer, autumn and winter varieties respectively.
Properly stored, they retain their taste and nutritional value for up to ten months. They can therefore be eaten all year round. Apples delight with the richness of varieties (there are over 10,000), differing in size, shape, color, taste, aroma and purpose.
My favorite type of apple is called: Gloster.
Hard, sweet and juicy, called dessert apples, are usually eaten raw. They overclock slowly so that they can be added to the vessel in which they should remain in the form of hard pieces. Acid varieties are best suited for baking, cooking and preserves, because they quickly overcook. They will replace wine vinegar in borscht or cabbage soup and increase the taste of beetroot vegetables. There are also universal table apples – we eat them raw, add to dishes, process. We can eat them in many different ways: raw apples, apple pie, jam, jam or as apple juice or vinegar.
They are very tasty and healthy because they have many vitamins such as: A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, D, E, Beta-carotene and many others.
Enjoy your apple ??
Great facts about apples Malgosia! There are lots of types of apples. I love apple crumble pudding, my mum makes it sometimes!
I have a new cook ?? book ? were I keep records of my recepiez! Tomorrow afternoon I will cook ?? dinner ?!