So I’ve been reading through the various Surinam Cherry (Eugenia Uniflora) posts and wanted to get the most updated information regarding the best tasting Surinam Cherry found so far. It would be great to see pictures of your favorite variety and why you like that particular variety. It would also be great to hear a detailed flavor description.
I’ve only tasted about 5-10 different varieties of Surinam Cherries and I wasn’t in love with them before so I didn’t keep track of their names. The only named ones I can recall are Vermillion, Jim/Mark Thick leaf and, Zill Dark and my Zill Dark Seedling #1.
The only variety I’ve recently eaten is a special Surinam Cherry that was purchased by Jim Neitzel from Walter Anderson Nursery some 20+ years ago. It was labeled “Eugenia Smithii”.
Mark Lee got this special plant from Jim and shared a few cutting of it with me a few years ago. I grafted the scions onto a seedling and it has given me fruit for the last two years.
If Mark Lee didn’t save this variety, it would probably be lost already. What makes this variety so special is that the leaves are very large and extremely thick. The leaves feel twice as thick as regular Surinam Cherries. This variety makes extra large fruit that is very dark, almost completely black that is sweet and has very little Diesel/turpentine taste, if you know what I mean.
My grafted plant was growing in a 5 gallon container and I just up potted it a few days ago. I’m surprised how big the fruit got considering it is in a relatively small pot and I didn’t water much. This fruit is probably especially big because there are only a few fruit on the tree at that time.
This small tree consistently produces fruit Quarter sized and the larger fruit are Half dollar size or slightly larger. This particular fruit had a Brix of 14.3% and I’m sure it can get sweeter with age and if planted in the ground.
Simon