Think you know your produce?

Chicago Tribune

Today's produce aisle is filled with amazing things. Test your food smarts with this quiz.

1. Ancient Greeks knew it as “the fruit of the gods.” It has a sweet and sour taste, with a good dose of astringency. Braise with a pork loin, or roast with a fat hen. Makes a fine pudding; even the pilgrims knew that. This puckery fruit demands plenty of sugar and spices; allspice, cinnamon and ginger are the traditional triumvirate.

2. A colorful vegetable that's related to the beet, it comes with shiny, ribbed green leaves and stalks in shades of green, pink, orange, yellow, red and white. Prepare the leaves as you would spinach. Stems can be sliced thinly and added to salads or cut in larger pieces and blanched, then used in recipes. A slightly bitter taste fades with cooking. It is fairly perishable, lasting about three days in the fridge.

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3. It's not a lumpy, bumpy, frumpy unripe Bartlett pear. There are no black seeds inside; instead, a lovely ivory edible seed is tucked at the gourd's core. Traces its roots to Mesoamerica and is a sibling of squash and cukes. Eat raw in salads. Or cook (think summer squash), and season well — very well. It's mild flavored.

4. It looks like a super-plump sorta-fuzzy beige pea pod — or a supersize edamame pod. Crack open the shell, and you'll find a sweet-tart sticky fruit paste. Native to tropical Africa and popular in India, it makes a refreshing beverage and a snack, adds its tangy personality to sauces and is key to Worcestershire sauce.

5. This member of the gooseberry family — hence the papery covering — calls Mexico its first home. It boasts a lemony tang that plays well with sauces after a light blanching. Do not confuse with unripe tomatoes.

6. Nickname: Rocket. This ancient Roman aphrodisiac (what wasn't?) has a peppery bite. To-die-for when tucked into grilled cheese. Toss it fresh — a heaping mound — with hot-out-of-the-pot pasta; it wilts and is divine. A perfect salad: Tossed with lemon juice, olive oil, drizzled with pine nuts. Voila!

7. According to Jewish tradition, each one of these contains 613 seeds, one for each of the mitzvot, or commandments. Getting the seeds out can be messy, thus we dunk it, sliced-open, in a bowl of cold water. Sweet-sour flavor goes well with lamb or chicken.

8. Its pearly white color and sideways growing habit is why the English name for this food refers to a beloved mollusk. It has a mildly earthy flavor and often is used in Asian stir-fries.

9. Firm, crisp, lightly sweet, this food holds its texture after picking, but its skin is so delicate vendors often wrap it in protective netting. Originally from China, it was introduced into the United States in the mid-19th century. Slice raw into salads, bake into thin tarts, turn into chutney.

ANSWERS: 1. Arugula 2. Pomegranate 3. Mirliton/chayote 4. Tamarind 5. Tomatillo 6. Arugula 7. Pomegranate 8. Oyster mushroom 9. Asian pear