What fruit has been disappointing? (forum)

Diana starts with ...
It's impossible to predict what flavours different people like of course, but I would be interested to know which fruiting plants people have found not as delicious as expected from the description?

In my case, I like most fruitm but I don't like black sapotes, babacos or yacon as much as I thought I would (black sapotes do look like chocolate pudding, but they don't taste like chocolate. Babacos have been mentioned by a few people in this forum as not very sweet).

On the other hand, I have seen several negative descriptions of white mulberries (bland, insipid, boring etc), but I really like them, they are subtle (but apparently they vary in flavour from plant to plant). Same goes for Atherton raspberries.

I have several plants that I have never tasted the fruit of- kei apple, pitomba, rose myrtle, native guava, sandpaper fig, cherry of rio grande, rollinia, ceylon hill gooseberry, and yellow cherry guavas. Beach cherry sounds nice too, I don't have one yet. Can anyone comment on what these taste like?

Thanks.
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Time: 1st December 2009 10:55pm

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About the Author Diana
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JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Hi Diana,

Beach cherry to me is very bland, not sweet, not sour just boring. the same as rollinia.

BTW,Rose myrtle is another name of ceylon hill gooseberry. I have never tasted them before.

Time: 1st December 2009 11:04pm

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Diana says...
Thanks Jujube for sale in Melbourne, that's good to know.

Common names are confusing, sorry about that unclear description. I meant Archirhodomyrtus becklari - rose myrtle (the native rainforest plant), rather than Rhodomyrtus tomentosa - ceylon hill gooseberry/ rose myrtle (the south east Asian plant of the same family).

Thanks.

Diana.

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Time: 1st December 2009 11:25pm

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JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Hi Diana,

Oops,I did not know that rose myrtle is a common name of a couple of species in the same family. Thanks for clarifying.


Time: 2nd December 2009 7:58am

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Kath says...
Hi Diana,
I like your question. Rollinias are fabulous, although you will not like my description, they are like a cross between lemon meringue and glue, lemon flavoured with a thick gloopy texture. They discolour quickly so are really good to share. Cherry of the rio grandes are great, like a cherry - almost. I am also a big fan of the cedar bay cherry - they are so much better than the Brazillian cherry, the plant is slow but surprisingly tough for a tropical plant. Sandpaper figs vary, they can be disappointly small with inedible skin, but I still like to have a pick at them when passing by. Ceylon hill gooseberries are gorgeous. A very pretty little shrub when in flower and the fruits are delicuous, I imagine they would make a superb jam. The skin looks unappealing being very dark in colour and furry, but split this to reveal a deep maroon delicuous berry type flash. Yum.

Time: 2nd December 2009 12:36pm

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
I bought some santol fruit a while back and it was so sour/poor in flavour I couldn't eat them. Different to the descriptions I had read, I wonder if there are better varieties around.
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Time: 2nd December 2009 3:01pm

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HappyEarth says...
Black sapote was disappointing to me. But it has value when mixed with other ingredients. As for rollinia ... i rate it very highly. Im surprised this fruit isnt popular commercially.

Rich
www.happyearth.com.au

Time: 2nd December 2009 5:49pm

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Speedy says...
Sometimes silly common names given to
some fruits can build peoples expectation to then make tasting them dissapointing.
One example is "Chocolate pudding fruit"
for Black Sapote or Black Persimmon.
It tastes nothing like chocolate, but then some people will still argue that it does.

I like black sapote on it's own or mixed with other things.

another thing is cultural info on the uses of the fruits in other countries, eg Santol is often eaten with salt,
sugar and chilli, like when you eat green mango.
and who these days would say no to green papaya salad,
when 25-30yrs ago people would think you had rocks in your head if you said you eat raw green papaya.

sometimes it can be down to varietal differences, or harvest time, post harvest ripening or other 'process' before eating.

Some insipid tasting fruits can taste great grown on a different soil, climate or time of year.
I've tasted Cedar Bay Cerries that develop in the winter and are sweeter than the summer ones on the same bush.

Then you've got personal tastes and preferences, it's such a subjective thing.
genetically, some people are more sensitive to tastes like bitterness.
the same may be true for other tastes.

Kei apple is very sour slightly apricoty.
I like them fresh, but good for jam and jelly.
downy rose myrtle =Ceylon Hill Cherry- yummy

I love Rollinia, though you can get fantastic tasting ones as well as not
so good and poor tasting fruit.

Time: 2nd December 2009 11:11pm

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Michael says...
I've tasted Dragon fruit from the shops and they are very bland. My Dad who doesn't like Dragon fruits tasted one from my garden and he was blown away by how much sweeter and fresh mine were. So I think it's also important to consider if you have tried the fruit freshly pick from the garden or bought it from the shops which were picked 2 months ago and shipped over from another country .

Time: 2nd December 2009 11:38pm

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HappyEarth says...
Just a thought ... i think it is important to give a new fruit a few goes - as quite often the flavour and taste grows on you after each subsequent tasting. This has happen to me with lognans and wampis.

Rich
www.happyearth.com.au

Time: 3rd December 2009 6:51am

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Grant says...
I find that the chocolate pudding fruit tastes just like the cheap "instant" chocolate pudding that you buy in packet.... only the texture of the fruit is much much thicker

Time: 3rd December 2009 10:28am

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Diana says...
Thanks for all your information, those are all really good points and interesting to know. I can't wait to get some fruit from my rollinia and cherry of rio grande now. It doesn't sound like anyone has tried pitombas. The description says 'soft, melting, juicy flesh with a highly aromatic slightly acid flavour. Taste comparable to an apricot.'

Has anyone grown aerial potatoes? I grew some winged yams and new guinea beans last summer. The vine has beautiful heart-shaped purple and green leaves, it was very decorative, but the yam was a bit bitter with an aftertaste. I think I left it in the ground too long. The new guinea beans (a marrow-like thing, not a bean) were very bitter and inedible to me, even when picked tiny.
I do like arrowroot tubers,though.

Thanks,

Diana.

Time: 3rd December 2009 8:52pm

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JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Hi Diana,

I only pick the new guinea beans when the diameter is about the same as a rolling pin where the fruit is as it best. It should be sweet similar flavour to a zukini. Too young is too bitter and too old is too chewy.

I cook winged yams with meat or coconut milk because by itself it does not have much flavour.

Happy growing.




Time: 4th December 2009 8:47am

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Tropicdude says...
I just tasted my first Rollinia last weekend, at first I was put off by the look of the fruits insides, it looked like a white slime, also I am a bit of a chicken when it comes to testing weird looking things.

but I am glad I did, I tested it and I was surprised, it did not have a slimy consistency, it was more like cream, no fiber, and was very sweet. I ate the whole half of the fruit they gave me.

I also tried Santol, I did not care for it.

Store bought dragon fruit I have tasted were very bland, but I would give a few more tries. I d like to test the white variety and also fresh from plant.

Only tried 1 Jaboticaba ( the last one on the tree ) it was good tasting like a grape. Rambutans vary a lot in taste, this year they were very good.

Some people find miracle fruit bland, but I find that the more you suck on them the more you want.

how a fruit is used / prepared also makes a difference, I mean take the lemon, lets say you never tried one, and you tasted one, you would say that it was so sour you couldn't eat it! anyway this is the case with the garcinia xanthochymus ( yellow Mangosteen) I tried one fresh and it was sour and very acid. this year I decided to make a juice from it, I only had 3 fruit, but they are so "powerful" I was able to make 2L from those 3 med sized fruit. and it was delicious, kind of like passion fruit mixed with tangerine.
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Time: 4th December 2009 2:08pm

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Speedy says...
If Dragonfruit is a bit bland for you try layering slices in a bowl with a bit of sugar (to your taste)
and leave in the fridge for a few hrs.
serve with a squeze of lime juice if you like.
this way you can appreciate the aroma, especially the red ones which I find are really perfumed.

the yellow spikey 'dragonfruit' has always been my favorite and
dont need any sweetening.
I reckon they have the same
sweet/sub-acid balance as purple mangosteen, though different flavour of course.
just perfect

Time: 5th December 2009 12:14am

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Diana says...
Thanks for that tip, Jujube.

I didn't know that new guinea bean has to be big before it is edible- the opposite of zucchini, which is more tender and sweet when small. Very big new guinea bean fruit are presumably not so nice, they are pretty impressive though (we had one about as tall as me).

Speedy, I have a yellow dragonfruit plant about ten centimetres high, I think it will be about a year before I get any fruit from it, but I look forward to it.

Diana.

Time: 7th December 2009 9:59am

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Jenny says...
very disappointed by this black sapote this morning, I got it (green) from markets at Mt Gravatt over a week ago, ripened it in a bag with a banana, it turned almost black & soft but the taste has no sweetness at all, a bit bitter. I was all set to mix with cream or milk etc but there was no point. Not at all how I remember the one in Tropical FW tasted years ago. Not going to plant the seeds either...
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Time: 4th April 2012 8:39am

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Db says...
Jenny, same thing happened with me with black sapote that I bought couple of weeks back from local market here, it was huge in size (600 grams), I kept it for a week at room temp to rippen, it turned black so i thought its ready. But unfortunately it was completely tasteless, but it was not fully ripened.. I was having high expectation as I recently potted 'Superb' variety of black sapote from Daleys. I'm bit worried how my superb will taste if it ever fruits..

Time: 4th April 2012 8:49am

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john says...
They may have been picked too soon. Check always that the calyx (the modified leaves at the stalk) are able to be separated from the body of the fruit. If not, don't buy.

Time: 4th April 2012 9:10am

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Nick says...
I agree with HappyEarth, when I first tasted a red tamarillo I had to add a tonne of sugar to make it barely palatable, now I can eat a few without any sugar and enjoy it!

Time: 4th April 2012 9:28am

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peetah says...
what about white sapote?

Time: 6th April 2012 4:57pm

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Jantina says...
I had one from Perry's nursery and some from Jason and found them all delicious.

Time: 6th April 2012 5:28pm

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Mike says...
Jantina do you still want pineapple tops because I have a couple?

Time: 6th April 2012 5:40pm

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Julie says...
peetah, my unnamed white sapote which I grew from seed is very disappointing. They ripen too close together and don't keep - they are also slightly bitter.

Maybe a named or grafted variety would have done better.

Time: 6th April 2012 9:31pm

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Itdepends says...
Pineapple guava- got heaps of fruit for the first time this year but I just don't like the flavour- out it goes.

Time: 6th April 2012 9:56pm

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Brendan says...
Have to agree Itdepends, like you, I don't like the taste of the pineapple guava. Mine taste 10 times better!
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Time: 7th April 2012 9:46am

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amanda says...
Capulin cherry...a major flop! Tiny poisonous tasting things :-( (worse than my pitanga)
Maybe there are some rare decent ones around...?

Time: 7th April 2012 9:49am

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Jantina says...
Damn Amanda, and it's my fastest growing tree too. Sigh.

Time: 7th April 2012 11:37am

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Jantina says...
Mike , yes please.
jantinarohde at activ8 dot net dot au
thanks.

Time: 7th April 2012 11:38am

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Mike says...
Jantina, I'll email you on Tuesday from work.I have 2 good gold types.If you want a few other vegies seeds,tubers etc I can chuck some in the bag.

Time: 7th April 2012 11:57am

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amanda says...
Sorry Jantina :( Maybe my capulin doesn't like it here? I get very poor fruit set (so I think it needs a friend also) and the fruit just stays really tiny and doesn't seem to ever ripen? Weird.

It grew like a rocket for the first 2 yrs - but hasn't done much growing at all over the last year...(it's a cutting from Diggers)

Time: 8th April 2012 10:38am

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Jantina says...
Amanda , Jason told me they were'nt much chop but I was still hopeful. You win some you lose some.

Time: 8th April 2012 11:58am

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Jantina says...
Mike, yes please again.

Time: 8th April 2012 11:59am

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