Fruit and Vegetable of the week

Fruit of the week
Quince 

The quince is the sole member of the Cydonia family of fruits and is native to warm-temperate southwest Asia. It is a small deciduous  tree, which grows about 5–8 m tall and 4–6 m wide. It is related to apples and pears,  and bears fruit which is bright golden yellow when mature it is somewhat pear-shaped, and approximately 7–12 cm long and 6–9 cm wide.
Most varieties of quince are too hard, astringent and sour to eat raw unless softened by frost and subsequent decay. They are used to make jam, jellies and quince pudding, or they may be peeled, then roasted, baked or stewed. The flesh of the fruit turns red after a long cooking time.
The term marmalade, originally meaning a quince jam, derives from "marmelo," the Portuguese word for this fruit.

Being rich in dietary fiber, the quince is good for those people who are trying to lose weight and maintain a healthy body. Quince boasts of antioxidant properties, which helps the body fight against free radicals and reduces the risk of cancer.

The quince has approximately 238 kJ per 100gm and contains potassium, vitamin C, folate, iron, magnesium and phosphorus.

Vegetable of the week
Eggplant

The eggplant, or aubergine is a plant of the nightshades family and is closely related to the tomato and potato and is native to India.

The plant can grow 40 to 150 cm tall and the fruit is fleshy and has a meaty texture. The most widely cultivated varieties are elongated ovoid, 12–25 cm in length and 6–9 cm wide in a dark purple skin, although there is a much wider variety out there. Anywhere from being the size of a table tennis ball to weighing up to a kilogram. Colours also vary from white to yellow or green as well as reddish-purple and dark purple.

Surprisingly The eggplant is higher in nicotine than other edible plant. However you would have to eat about 9 kilos of eggplant to intake the same amount of nicotine as is found in 1 cigarette.

There is approximately 80 kJ per 100 grams of eggplant and it is a great source of folic acid and potassium.