naranjilla

[treefrog]

i picked up a naranjilla plant as a novelty a couple years ago.  i just had my first taste.  i'm underwhelmed.  it's o.k., but nothing to get exciited about.  maybe as the plant matures, it will get better.  first fruit is often dissappointing, but for now, meh.
very much the eye-catcher, but fruit-wise, not so much

[treefrog]

having trouble posting an image

[funlul]

first fruit after couple years only? I know it's a perennial, but kinda expecting it to fruit in the first year?

my first year plant bloomed nicely but i haven't seen any fruits yet.

[fruitlovers]

Naranjilla is best juiced. Very popular drink in Peru where they call it lulo.

[geosulcata]

Mine take 12-18 months to fruit. I use them for juice only. I do not know anyone that eats them out of hand repeatedly.

[fruitlovers]

I do eat them out of hand. If you get a good type and let them ripen perfectly then they can taste very similar to a kiwi. Juicing them will work even when not perfectly ripe or best of type as lots of sugar is added.

[Mike T]

The typical variety here is a rampant amazingly thorny bush with small sour fruit used in asian papaya salad as a sour ingredient.The spines on my bushes cover nearly all surfaces of stems and leaves and the stiff needles can inflict a menacing irritation. I have seen pictures of large fruited and spineless types with apparently fruit edible out of hand but I have never experienced these.

[Mike T]

I would defy anyone to drink a glass of lulo from my naranjillas as it would be quite a puckering experience.I could add some bilimbi juice as they don't get used much and that would sweeten it and make it more palatable.

[fruitlovers]

I would defy anyone to drink a glass of lulo from my naranjillas as it would be quite a puckering experience.I could add some bilimbi juice as they don't get used much and that would sweeten it and make it more palatable.

Sounds like you have the worst of the worst. Really selection work was done long time ago on naranjilla for thornlesness, size, and quality.

[TriangleJohn]

I wait until the spines/hairs are easily brushed off the fruit before I harvest mine. They are harsh flavored but work well mixed with other juices or sweetened.

[Mike T]

Mine are the shallow end of the gene pool with a unique combination of bad characteristics.They have pest potential too and I get spined on all the little ones I pull up around the yard.Mine rivals the most fearsome salaks for the diversity of spines and thorns on a single plant with different styles on each part of the plant.