Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Suriname cherries revisited


My Suriname cherry bushes (Eugenia uniflora) - I have four, 3 are of the large fruited Vermilion and one is supposed to be the black version, two of the three large fruited ones, are now producing a handful of fruit daily. The black fruited one bears much smaller fruit and they're not black but a darker burgundy color, maybe I need to leave them longer so they can turn black ? They do taste a little sweeter and less pungent on average though.

One thing I have realized is that you have to leave the fruits until they basically fall into your hand at the slightest pull, otherwise they can taste very pungent. Then even the ones that do fall into your hands can vary in taste dramatically, from pungent, to very sour (makes your face pucker) to almost sweet. They all have a melting quality.

I didn't think I would say this, but I now look forward to my trip around the garden to collect ripe Suriname cherries daily. My girls don't like it, so there's more for me. They are supposedly extremely high in anti-oxidants and vitamin C.

So whats my verdict - I might just come to really like this little fruit. The plants are very beautiful, ornamental, undemanding, fruit profusely and grow fast, from seed to fruit just over 2 years for me.

2 comments:

  1. I've never heard about this plant. Thanks for the post, I learned something new!

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  2. You're welcome. I'm sure I'll be posting a couple more you haven't heard of :)

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