The Orange County Fair 2015 Visit # 1

Did You Know? - Cinnamon has been known from remote antiquity. It was imported to Egypt as early as 2000 BC, but those who report it had come from China confuse it with cassia.

Cinnamon was so highly prized among ancient nations that it was regarded as a gift fit for monarchs and even for a god: a fine inscription records the gift of cinnamon and cassia to the temple of Apollo at Miletus.

Though its source was kept mysterious in the Mediterranean world for centuries by the middlemen who handled the spice trade, to protect their monopoly as suppliers, cinnamon is native to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Malabar Coast of India, and Burma.

Did You Know? - Centennial Farm is a three-acre working farm at the OC Fair & Event Center created to educate youth about agriculture and its importance to daily life. The Farm is home to fruit and vegetable gardens, livestock, and the Millennium Barn.

Children and adults can view pigs, chickens, cattle, goats and more while strolling though gardens of lush vegetation.

We do ask that you please do not pick our crops as they are used for educational purposes. Centennial Farm offers tours as well as general public hours see hours below.

Did You Know? - Vegetarian sources of proteins include legumes, nuts, seeds and fruits. Legumes, some of which are called pulses in certain parts of the world, have higher concentrations of amino acids and are more complete sources of protein than whole grains and cereals.

Examples of vegetarian foods with protein concentrations greater than 7 percent include soybeans, lentils, kidney beans, white beans, mung beans, chickpeas, cowpeas, lima beans, pigeon peas, lupines, wing beans, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, walnuts, cotton seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds.

Did You Know? - The runner bean or scarlet runner is an easy-to-grow plant ideal for beginners. They often receive a bad reputation possibly due to tough shop-bought ones, but home-grown runner beans can be picked when they are just ready and are a delicious and attractive addition to any vegetable plot.

Their red or white flowers add a splash of color and as one of the legumes they take nitrogen from the air and fix it in their roots, ideal for leafy, nitrogen-loving, brassicas to follow.

In the US, in 1978, the scarlet runner was widely grown for its attractive flowers primarily as an ornamental. Since that time, many US gardeners have adopted the bean as a regular member of the vegetable garden. The flower is known as a favorite of hummingbirds. In the UK the flowers are often ignored, or treated as an attractive bonus to cultivating the plant for the beans.

The seeds of the plant can be used fresh or as dried beans. The pods are edible whole while they are young and not yet fibrous. The starchy roots are still eaten by Central American Indians.

Did You Know? - Asparagus has been used as a vegetable and medicine, owing to its delicate flavour, diuretic properties, and more. It is pictured as an offering on an Egyptian frieze dating to 3000 BC. In ancient times, it was also known in Syria and in Spain.

Greeks and Romans ate it fresh when in season, and dried the vegetable for use in winter; Romans even froze it high in the Alps, for the Feast of Epicurus. Emperor Augustus created the "Asparagus Fleet" for hauling the vegetable, and coined the expression "faster than cooking asparagus" for quick action.

Did You Know? - Edible plant stems are one part of plants that are eaten by humans. Most plants are made up of roots, stems, leaves, flowers, buds and produce fruits containing seeds.

Humans most commonly eat the seeds (e.g. maize, wheat, coffee and various nuts), fruit (e.g. tomato), leaves (e.g. lettuce, spinach, and cabbage), or roots (e.g. carrots and beets), but humans also eat the stems of many plants (e.g. asparagus).

There are also a few edible petioles (leaf stalks) such as celery, as well as some edible flowers.

Did You Know? - With less soft starch than dent (yellow) corn (Zea mays indentata), flint corn does not have the dents in each kernel from which dent corn gets its name. This is one of the three types of corn cultivated by Native Americans, both in New England and across the northern tier, including by tribes such as the Pawnee on the Great Plains.

Archeologists have found evidence of such corn cultivation by the Pawnee and others before 1000 BC.

Cultivation of corn occurred hundreds of years earlier among the Mississippian culture people, whose civilization arose based on population density and trade because of surplus corn crops.
Distinctive traits

When fully ripe, dent corn has a pronounced depression or dent at the crown of each kernel. Flint corn kernels lack these depressions.

Because flint corn has a very low water content it is more resistant to freezing than other vegetables. It was the only Vermont crop to survive New England's infamous "Year Without a Summer" of 1816.

Did You Know?

1 - Daisies belong to one of the largest families of plants in the world, that of "vascular plants", i.e. those which circulate goodness around their systems, making up almost 10% of all flowering plants on Earth.

2 - Daisies are found everywhere on Earth except Antarctica.

3 - The name "daisy" is thought to come from the Old English "daes eage", meaning "day's eye", for the way in which it opens at dawn.

4 - The daisy family, known to scientists as Compositae, was classified in 1792 by Paul Dietrich Giseke, a German botanist and close friend of the Swedish "father of modern taxonomy" Carl Linnaeus.

5 - Daisies represents purity and innocence.

6 - A daisy is actually two flowers in one: the (usually) white petals and the cluster of (usually) tiny yellow disc petals that form the "eye".

7 - Daisy leaves are edible and can make a tasty addition to salads (they're closely related to artichoke and are high in Vitamin C).

8 - Medicinal properties ascribed to the daisy include that it slows bleeding, relieves indigestion and eases coughs. In homeopathy, the garden daisy is known as the gardener's friend for its ability to ease an aching back.

9 - If not controlled, some daisies can become serious weeds because they thrive in generally inhospitable conditions are are resistant to most bugs and pesticides.

10 - Bees love daisy relatives, including Goldenrod, making them an important friend of honey makers.

Did You Know? - The beetroot is the taproot portion of the beet plant, also known in North America as the table beet, garden beet, red or golden beet, or informally simply as the beet.

It is several of the cultivated varieties of beet (Beta vulgaris) grown for their edible taproots and their greens. These varieties have been classified as B. vulgaris subsp. vulgaris Conditiva Group.

Other than as a food, beets have use as a food coloring and as a medicinal plant. Many beet products are made from other Beta vulgaris varieties, particularly sugar beet.