By Tim Lambert
Almonds
Almonds are native to western Asia. They are mentioned in the Bible and the Egyptians grew them. The Romans grew almonds and they have been popular ever since.
Apple
The apple has been grown for thousands of years. It was well-known in Ancient China and Egypt. Apples were also known to the Greeks and Romans and they were popular through the centuries to the present day.
Apricot
Apricots originally came from China. In ancient times they spread across Persia to the Mediterranean region and the Romans knew them. Later the Arabs grew apricots.
Avocado
Avocados first grew in Central America and the Spanish discovered them in the 16th century. In the 19th century, avocados were introduced to the USA and Australia. However, in Europe, avocados were not normally eaten until the late 20th century.
Bananas
Bananas are native to Southeast Asia. However, by 500 BC they were being grown in India. Alexander the Great ate them and his men took them back to the Western World. By 200 AD bananas were also grown in China. Bananas were probably taken to Madagascar by the Arabs and spread from there to mainland Africa. In the 16th century, the Portuguese took bananas to the New World. The first recorded sale of bananas in England was in 1633 however they were expensive until the end of the 19th century.
Blackberries
Blackberries grew in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. For thousands of years, people ate blackberries and since ancient times they have been used as medicine.
Blackcurrant
In the Middle Ages and for centuries afterward, blackcurrants were used as medicine. During World War II the government in Britain encouraged people to grow them as they were a rich source of vitamin C. Most were made into cordial and blackcurrant drinks have remained popular in Britain since then.
Blueberry
Blueberries are native to North America. They were eaten by Native Americans (sometimes with meat). They were also used as medicine. Europeans learned how to grow blueberries and from the late 19th century they were canned.
Breadfruit
Breadfruit is native to Indonesia and Malaysia. It was spread to the Pacific by the Polynesians. In the 18th century Europeans took breadfruit to the West Indies and Central America.
Cherries
Cherries are native to Asia. They were eaten by the Chinese, the Greeks, and the Romans. However, in Northern Europe, cherries only really became popular in the late Middle Ages. In the 17th century, colonists took cherries to North America.
Dates
Dates were cultivated in the Middle East by 4,000 BC. They were imported into England in the Middle Ages. From the early 20th century dates were grown in the suitably warm parts of the USA.
Fig
Figs have been grown in the Middle East since prehistoric times. They were mentioned in Sumer (Iraq) as early as 2,500 BC. They were a staple food in Egypt and were later grown by the Greeks and Romans. Figs were probably introduced to China in the 8th century AD. Figs were taken by Spaniards to the Americas in the 16th century. Figs were also introduced to England in the 16th century.
Gooseberry
Gooseberries are native to Europe and Western Asia. They were first mentioned in England in the 16th century when they were grown as medicine. However, in the 19th century, they were popular food. The name gooseberry may simply be gooseberry because they were eaten with goose or it may be a corruption of the Dutch word kruisbes, which means cross berry.
Grapefruit
It is not known exactly how grapefruit originated. It is believed to be a hybrid of two other fruits. At any rate, grapefruit was first recorded in the West Indies in the mid-18th century.
Grapes
Grapes are native to Asia and were grown before 4,000 BC. Grapes were, obviously, used to make wine but they were also eaten as a fruit and they were popular with the Greeks and Romans and have been ever since.
Guava
Guavas are native to Central America. The Spanish came across them in the early 16th century. Today guavas are commonly grown in the Caribbean, Florida, and parts of South America
Hazelnuts
Hazelnuts are believed to be native to Asia. They were grown by the Chinese and also by the Greeks and the Romans. Hazelnuts were first grown in the USA in the 18th century.
Kiwi fruit
Kiwifruits are native to Southeast Asia. Although grown in China for centuries they were not commercially grown in the West until the 20th century. In the last years of the 20th century, kiwi fruit became very popular.
Lemons
Lemons originally came from Southern Asia. They later reached the Middle East and they were known to the Romans although they were rare in the Roman Empire. Later the Arabs introduced lemons to Spain and Sicily. In the 15th century, lemons became popular in northern Europe.
Limes
Limes are native to Southern Asia. The Arabs took them to the Mediterranean area and later the Crusaders took them to Europe. Columbus took limes to the West Indies. From 1795 British sailors were given rations of lime juice to prevent scurvy.
Loganberry
Loganberries are hybrids of blackberries and raspberries. They were first grown in 1880 or 1881 by John H. Logan.
Lychees
Lychees are native to China, where they have been grown for centuries. However, lychees were unknown in Europe until the 18th century. From the late 19th century lychees were grown in Hawaii, California, Florida, and southern Africa.
Mango
Mangoes are native to southern Asia. In the 10th century, Persian merchants brought them to the Middle East, and by the 18th century, they were grown in South America and the West Indies.
Melons
The early history of melons is unclear. However, melons are probably native to western Asia. They were known in China and were cultivated by the Arabs. In the Middle Ages, they were imported into Europe. In the 16th century, melons were taken to the New World by the Spanish.
Oranges
Oranges are native to China and they were grown in that country as early as 2,500 BC. The Romans imported oranges but after the fall of Rome, they were forgotten in Western Europe. When the Arabs conquered Spain in the 8th century they introduced oranges. Later they were introduced to Italy. In the 16th century, Spaniards took oranges to the Americas. In the 17th century, rich Englishmen began growing oranges.
Passion fruit
Passion fruits were native to central South America. They were given their name by the Spaniards who were reminded of the passion of Christ. Passion fruits were introduced into England and Australia in the 19th century.
Pawpaw
The pawpaw is native to North America. The Spanish discovered the pawpaw in 1541. However, pawpaws did not become popular in Europe until the end of the 20th century.
Peaches
Peaches came from China where they were grown by 800 BC. Later the Persians grew them and the Romans ate them. Peaches were brought to the Americas in the 16th century. They were grown in England by the 17th century but they were rare and expensive until the 20th century.
Peanuts
Peanuts are native to South America although they later spread to Mexico. Europeans discovered them in the 16th century and took them to other parts of the world.
Pears
Pears are native to Europe and North Asia. Pears were grown by the Greeks and by the Romans. Pears were grown in England in the Middle Ages and many new varieties were grown in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. As well as being eaten pears were used to make perry.
Persimmons
Persimmons are native to China where they were grown for hundreds of years. Another variety of persimmon was native to North America but in the 19th century, Oriental persimmons were introduced into the continent.
Pineapple
Pineapples originally grew in South America and the Caribbean and Christopher Columbus discovered them in 1493. However, during the 16th and 17th centuries, pineapples were very expensive in Europe as they had to be imported. By the early 18th century pineapples were grown in hothouses in Northern Europe but they were still very costly. In the 19th century, pineapples became cheaper. Pineapples were first canned in the late 19th century. Canned pineapple first became common in the early 20th century.
Plums
Plums are ancient fruits. They grew wild in Europe, Asia, and North America. Plums were grown by the Ancient Chinese and the Romans and later by the Arabs. The Crusaders brought damsons back from the Middle East to Europe. Today plums are one of the world’s most popular fruits.
Pomegranate
Pomegranates were native to Iran and they have been grown for thousands of years. They were eaten by the Egyptians and also by the Ancient Chinese, the Greeks, and the Romans. Pomegranates were known in Europe in the Middle Ages and they were mentioned by Shakespeare. Pomegranates were introduced into the New World in the 16th century. Pomegranate is believed to be a corruption of the old French words pome garnete, which meant seed apple.
Raspberries
Raspberries are native to Asia. The Romans grew them and they were also grown in England from the Middle Ages onward. Raspberries were used as a medicine as well as food.
Rhubarb
Rhubarb is native to Asia. It was known to the Greeks and the Romans and they used it as medicine. By the early 19th century it was used as food as well as medicine.
Satsumas
Satsumas were first recorded in Japan where they were grown for centuries. Satsumas were introduced into the USA in the 19th century.
Strawberries
Strawberries grew wild in Europe and eastern North America. They were grown by the Romans and were a popular fruit in Europe during the Middle Ages. In the 19th century, strawberries became widely cultivated in the USA. Nobody knows why they are called strawberries. They may once have been called strewn berries because the berries are strewn on the plant. Or the name may come from the old word strew, which meant to spread because runners spread from the plant.
Tangerine
Tangerines are native to Asia. They were introduced into Europe in the early 19th century and they were named Tangerines because they came from the port of Tangier in North Africa. Tangerines were introduced into the USA in the mid-19th century.
Walnuts
Walnuts first grew in Persia. They were grown by the Greeks and later by the Romans and walnuts spread through Europe. Walnuts were well-known in England in the 16th century.
Watermelons
Watermelons are native to Africa. They were grown in Ancient Egypt and later their cultivation spread throughout the Mediterranean region. Later Europeans took them to the New World.
Last revised 2024