Tamarillo

Exotic for us fruit tamarillo in appearance is very similar to the usual tomatoes. This is probably why the Portuguese and Spaniards, who by the will of fate turned out to be the first European tasters of this fruit, gave the plant another name - tomato tree.

The fruits of tamarillo are similar in shape to a smooth chicken egg, although a little larger. They grow in clusters of 3 to 12 pieces on shrub trees up to three and a half meters high. As a rule, mature fruits are distinguished by an even red, yellow or orange color. Although sometimes you can find a tamarillo fruit with a purple or dark lilac skin, and in some specimens, slightly pronounced longitudinal stripes of a dark hue are often observed.

The color of the flesh of the fruit tamarillo varies from creamy yellow to red-orange, while in yellow fruits the seeds differ slightly in color from the flesh, while the shade of the seeds of red fruits can be dark brown and even black.

Interestingly, the closest relatives of this fruit are tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes and peppers, so in fact it is more a vegetable, not a fruit. But nevertheless, tamarillo belongs to the category of fruits. The specific sweet and sour taste and other properties of tamarillo can be compared to those of tomato and passion fruit. This circumstance makes this exotic fruit a truly versatile fruit in culinary terms. It can be used to make both dishes, which are usually made on the basis of vegetables, and dishes traditionally made from fruits.

You can eat the tamarillo fruit raw or fry it with onions, then put it on a sandwich as an excellent spread. In addition, it is often boiled with meat, used as a filling for lasagne, pizza or pies. It is added when preparing stew, chutney, curry, stewed with apples.

However, before making any dish from the fruit tamarillo, do not forget to peel the fruit, as it tastes very unpleasant, and therefore can spoil any meal. You need to deal with the fruit as with tomato, placing it in boiling water for several minutes, after which you carefully remove the skin with a knife.

The fruit tamarillo differs not only in color, but also in taste characteristics. For example, purple and red fruits are characterized by an acidic taste and resemble an unripe tomato. In view of this property, tamarillo, they are most often used in side dishes, vegetable stews or cooked with meat. Orange and yellow fruits are suitable for making desserts, jams and fruit salads.