Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Trees you should see on your travels and what they give you

As you travel you see trees which provide shade in summer and a pleasant environment. They also contribute to your country's economy, and that of the country where you are taking a trip. Here are some examples:

Maple Trees And Maple Syrup
The maple trees you see in Canada provide maple syrup. Most of the world's maple syrup comes from Canada. Maple trees grow in other countries but it is not economic to make maple syrup. The Canadian maple tree provides maple syrup, contributing to their economy, brightens up my breakfast porridge in London and Singapore, supplies supermarket shelves around the world (it's there, if you look for it). The maple trees contribute to the colours of autumn or fall, as one says in Canada and the USA. It is the symbol on the flag and on many souvenirs you buy in Canada and overseas.

Apple Trees and Apple Cider
In America apple trees were supposedly spread by Johnny Appleseed who marched along, eating apples, and dropping the cores and spreading the pips. Apple trees provide apples.

England is famous for Cox's orange pippins. Gardens in England often have apple trees.

In London we also have the French apple Golden Delicious.

Cider, and Calvados (apple brandy, distilled) are made in Northern France where you can buy them from places doing tours and their shops, as well as trying them in restaurants.

Increasingly over the last decade we have been importing apples from Australia and New Zealand which were never known in England in the 1950s and 1960s in my late parent's life as young marrieds post world war II. You will see Gala apples and Pink Lady in the UK. They are now everyday items in Tesco and Waitrose and other supermarkets in the UK.

From Australia we get Granny Smith's. You pass the place where Granny Smith grew her apples on a coach tour south of Sydney, Australia.

Pear Tree Products
In England pear trees are less common, but also get planted alongside the apple trees in English garden. (Alas the pear tree in my old home in England has died this year, after getting some kind of patchy orange spot blight on the leaves last year.)

In Northern France they grow pear trees making perry. Some Calvados has pear juice mixed. (I asked my wine expert who Pay d'ays and poe jontais? has pear juice too. I shall look that up later today.

Cherry Trees and Kirsch
Cherry trees are a feature of Washington DC in the USA in spring time. The trees were given by Japan as a peace offering after the end of WWII. We also have a lot of cherry trees in London suburbs.

Kirsch is made from cherries.

Almond Trees
Yes, obviously almonds, almonds to eat, as a snack food.

In France I had trout with almonds at a restaurant. The French cake friand can be made with almonds. I tried a friand with almond and lemon in London. (See my previous post.) Apparently, according to an article quoted in Wikipedia, the friands are also popular in Australia and New Zealand. I must admit I never noticed them in Australia or New Zealand. Perhaps they were there but not mentioned by name, or I saw the name but was not as interested and intrigued then as I am now.

In England, a great chocolate eating country, we have Cadbury's fruit and nut chocolate.

Many cakes are contain ground almonds. Macaroons.

You can also make almond flour and almond milk.

Walnut Trees
Walnut trees provide walnuts to eat. Walnut wood is used for furniture.

Olive Trees
You see olive trees in hot countries. I saw olive trees in Malta. I had not taken much notice of the gnarled trees lining the streets until I noticed loves underfoot.

Palms, pines, pineapples, dates, coconuts
Add pine trees, pine nuts, palm oil plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia, coconut palms, date palms providing dates all around the Mediterranean, which are imported from Morocco, and Israel, especially popular at Christmas but available all year.  Coconuts provide coconuts to eat, coconut milk to drink in Singapore and Malaysia and Thailand at restaurants and hotels and from roadside stalls. I took a tour of a pineapple plantation and canning factory in Hawaii. Pine furniture is available  , increasingly taken over from other woods.

English Oaks and Other Woods
The English oak tree was used for building boats and making furniture. In the USA many houses are built with wooden frames. Plus of course floorboards, beams, floorboards, fittings and furniture and finally wooden fences around property.

Scandinavian Fir Trees
From Norway we get the Norway spruce, the Christmas tree which appears in Trafalgar square in London every Xmas time.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.




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