It’s pretty safe to say that over the years, as we’ve developed a dependency on the grocery store, we have completely lost touch with how our food is produced. For instance, any kid can walk in a grocery store and tell you the difference between chocolate and cinnamon, but would they be able to point it out to you if they saw it growing in its natural element? Probably not.

The funny thing about it is that even most adults would be hardpressed to tell you what a cashew fruit looks like on the tree or where exactly those zingy, green little balls called capers come from. The good news is that we’re here to help clear all that up for you and more. Here are 12 images that will make you realize you have no idea how your food is grown.

1. Capers

Capers, though delicious and often sold in many restaurant dishes, is not a familiar food to everyone. Even when they’re sitting there floating in those skinny jars on the store shelf, not everyone knows what they are and how to use them.

It turns out though that these little flavor bombs have been accentuating the flavor of Mediterranean cuisine for well over 4,000 years now, and there’s a reason; they’re friggin delicious. Even if you do know about this awesome little food, chances are you have no idea what they are or where they came from.

Capers are actually a flower bud of this blooming beauty above. They are harvested before they open and then pickled to preserve them and add flavor.

2. Cashews

You surely know what a cashew is, but have you ever seen it growing? Turns out these “nuts” are actually seeds that grow beneath the “cashew apple”, an edible fruit rind that’s used in many countries to distill a strong alcohol from. Even the hard shell that encases these tasty, mellow nuts have myriad medicinal and edible applications.

3. Cinnamon

The same goes for cinnamon; we’ve all seen the pretty sticks and used the fragrant crushed powder. Well, those sticks are harvested by scraping back thin layers of the inner bark of this tree.

4. Pineapples

Most people tend to think that pineapples grow on tropical fruit trees, and they are half right. They actually grow on a tropical, low-growing fruit plant. With long bladed leaves that look reminiscent of aloe, these plants produce a beautiful, brilliant pineapple fruit at the center.

4. Brussel Sprouts

Being that they look and taste so similar, it would be easy to assume that brussel sprouts grow much like their larger cabbage cousins. Though they are both in the same family (Brassicas), they take a very different approach to fruiting. Rather than growing in a cocoon of protective leaves on the ground, these plants shoot their stocks straight up with their leaves at the very top. The “sprouts” spring forth from the stock itself where they are more resistant to bacteria in the soil.

6. Chia seeds

Thanks to the ever-popular “Chia pets” that have been gracing our homes since the late 70s, most of us do know what chia seeds are and even how they get their start. What people don’t know, though, is what this pretty, benevolent plant looks like in its full, brilliant attire.

The seeds are produced from the light, vibrant blue flowers that grow atop their long stalks, and are worthwhile as border hedges and ground covers in the garden.

7. Artichokes

Those sharp, pointy-leaved green globes we pick up from the supermarket are actually the premature flowers of this beautiful plant right here. Part of the milk thistle family, the flower head is topped by gorgeous purple and pink spikes or thistles and are a major attractant of bees. Even though you probably had no idea what they looked like on the plant, these fruits have such a long-held place in cuisine history that there’s even a Greek myth that involves a jealous Zeus transforming one of his many free-spirited lovers into one.

8. Passion fruit

Everyone knows the sweet, tangy, delicious flavor of passion fruit. Even if you haven’t had one fresh and whole, most of us have experienced the flavor in drinks, sauces, and smoothies. No one, though, would believe the fruit comes not on a tree, but on a vine with brilliant, showy blooms like this one. These aggressive vines will quickly take over trellises, walls, and even buildings if you let them, creating one beautiful and brilliant floral display.

9. Dates

Also known to fruit fanatics as “Nature’s candy”, these desert bound fruit trees bear some of the most delicious and abundant fruits around. They don’t do anything, however, before they’re ready. These gorgeous trees take up to 8 years before they’re mature enough to put out the tasty fruits, and a full decade before they produce massive harvests like this one. If you’ve ever eaten one, though, then you know they are so totally worth the time and effort.

10. Wasabi

There are those of us that love it and those of us that hate it. And then there are very few of us who know how it is grown. Most “wasabi” products found in stores are really made with a ground mustard and horseradish concoction, but there is no subbing for a true wasabi flavor. This can only be gained from the Wasabi Japonica plant native to Japan. It is a water-bound plant that roots itself in river beds while their leaves hover atop long stems just above the water.

It is the root or “tuber” that produces that unmistakable wasabi flavor, but only after it has been left to grow for at least two full years. Think about that the next time you go to toss your leftover wasabi in the trash next time you go for sushi.

11. Figs

We’re sure you know what figs are, but are you familiar with them outside of the “Newton”? These are actually one of the oldest staple crops known to man, with “subfossil” cultivars dating back to 9,400 BC. The reason why is just as astounding as their history.

The shriveled, mini-pear shaped fruit is actually what is known as an “inverted flower”. Meaning that the flowers bloom within the casing of the fruit. They are harvested after they have dried a little and shriveled because this indicated the flower is done blooming within and what’s left over is those tasty, fruit encumbered seeds we all know and love so well.

12. Chocolate

We all know what chocolate is, and most of us even know that it comes from cacao beans, but few of us would be able to point them out if we saw them growing in front of us. The “beans” are actually seeds that grow in these large pods. They grow in a wide range of colors, from yellow to red, and the pods grow directly out of the tree trunk.

The pods are cracked open after harvest and the seeds are then roasted to chocolaty perfection!

That wraps up our list of 12 foods that you most likely didn’t know how they were grown. We hope you learned as much as we did. Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

H/T: Sweet and Savory/Shareably