Tomato Family Fruits

May 31st, 2012
food, quito
In the US the tomato and it's close relatives are all culinarily [1] vegetables but here in Ecuador there are three kinds of fruit closely related to the tomato: naranjillas, tomates de arbol, and uvillas. I like the idea a fruit families [2], and it's neat to see another one. Plus I'm always interested in fruit. [3]


Tomate Del Arbol



Uvilla



Naranjilla



Mixed Tomato Fruits


[1] Botanically, yes, a tomato is a fruit. But so are cucumbers and chili peppers, while rhubarb, carrots, and sweet potatoes are botanically vegetables but occasionally considered culinary fruits. For example, EU Council Directive 2001/113/EC of 20 December 2001 relating to fruit jams, jellies and marmalades and sweetened chestnut purees intended for human consumption says "for the purposes of this Directive, tomatoes, the edible parts of rhubarb stalks, carrots, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, melons and water-melons are considered to be fruit".

[2] Peach, plum, apricot, cherry, etc. Lime, lemon, orange, grapefruit, pomello, tangerine, etc. Raspberry, blackberry, wineberry, black raspberry.

[3] I also noticed blackberries taste strange here. All the ones I've tried here taste the same, except for a few wild ones which taste like American ones. The strange flavor is strongest raw, less strong as juice, and almost completely masked in a milkshake [4] or ice cream. A picture, in case someone can identify this cultivar:


Blackberries

[4] Not a frappe.

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