Subject: Tomato tree

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 10 Oct 1996 11:18:44 -0700

My wife bought a "tomato tree" through one of her magazines and I
planted a couple of years ago.  It is about eight feet tall, with a
large spray of leaves at the top and has about fifty fruit.  The fruit
look somewhat like a plumb tomato, with a hard outer skin and have a
tomato like taste. I don't think they are really edible (not poisonous)
because they don't taste very good.

Does anyone know what this plant is?

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From: [email-masked] (DGholston)
Date: 13 Oct 1996 21:14:56 -0400

Message-ID: <[email-masked]>

>My wife bought a "tomato tree" through one of her >magazines and I
planted a couple of years ago.  It is about >eight feet tall, with a large
spray of leaves at the top and >has about fifty fruit.  The fruit look
somewhat like a >plumb tomato, with a hard outer skin and have a
>tomato like taste. I don't think they are really edible (not >poisonous)

>Does anyone know what this plant is?

The plant is a tree tomato or tamarillo (Cyphomandra betacea) It is
related to the the tomato but not a true tomato. It is edible if properly
prepared, although not everyone cares for it.  Ripe tamarillos may be
merely cut in half lengthwise, sprinkled with sugar (and chilled if you
like) and served for eating by scooping out the flesh and pulp.  The fruit
should not be cut on a wooden or other permeable surface, as the juice
will make an indelible stain.  For other purposes, the skin must be
removed, which is easily done by pouring boiling water over the fruit and
letting it stand for 4 minutes before peeling. The peeled fruit can also
be sprinkled with sugar and chilled before serving, or stewed with sugar,
with or without added spices, and served that way.

Don Gholston
California Rare Fruit Growers
http://www.crfg.org/