Some of you may remember our Mystery Photo posts where we posted something to see who knew or could guess what it is. Today's Mystery Photo is a mystery to US!!
Last week Dr. Debbie Eisenhut and I were taking a back way through Sinkor and stopped at a fruit stand, where a girl had a table of these:
Last week Dr. Debbie Eisenhut and I were taking a back way through Sinkor and stopped at a fruit stand, where a girl had a table of these:
She called them bush cherries.
The ripe ones are burst out of a husk of some kind.
Here are some unripe ones, this must be what they look like on the bush or tree or however they grow. The girl selling them did not really know much about how or where they grow. The cherries (I think they are some kind of berry actually) were very sour, like a cranberry, and they have a soft pit inside, that you just eat along with the berry. Even though they are sour, they are not entirely unpleasant to eat plain. As it turns out the pit is the bitter/sour part.
I discovered that when I tried to make jam, but the seeds stayed whole when I mashed the fruit and when I chewed one, it was quite unpleasant. So I strained the fruit to make juice and made jelly instead. It's not low sugar, and it's still quite tart, but I like my jelly that way. Also it didn't set up quite right, but African Bush Cherries are not on the list on the pectin container.
So if anyone knows anything about these fruit, fill us in. In the meantime, we will enjoy our jar of homemade jelly!
2 comments:
They look lovely, whatever they are!
Hi Debbie. I just happened to click on your blog. The bush cherry is called maesogotrya barteri. You can see it at this address http://liberianfaunaflora.org/FFI/Plant.aspx?p=30&ix=426&pid=3004&prcid=0&ppid=3004&family&genus&species
At another site I read that it is very difficult to cultivate hence no farms. It would be wonderful to raise it on the compound but apparently it is not easy to do.
Thanks! Debbie Eisenhut
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