I first checked the tree on the 10th October. You would never know anything was happening under that greenery would you?
It is a bit of an effort to bend down and go under the tree but when I eventually manipulated myself under the branches while watching out for any snakes or lizards napping nearby in the sun I was very excited to see...
...the fruit starting to grow along the branches.
Three days later.
One week and one day later....
...the branches were covered in delicate flowers.
13 days after that....
...from flower to fruit.
Just over two weeks later on the 17th November....
...what a bizarre show!
19th November and some fruit is already ripe.
Unfortunately the fruit ripened during a heatwave so it was much too hot to cook Jaboticaba Jelly like I did last June. Just the thought of standing over a hot saucepan of simmering jaboticabas in 37C degree heat almost made me pass out. You can see how quickly the fruit ripen and you won't find any in the shops because the shelf life is only a few days.
If you grow one and don't have netting on the tree you have to keep a close watch on when the fruit is ripe otherwise the birds will beat you to it. You can see photos of the inside of the fruit here if you haven't seen it before. It looks like a grape but it has a tough skin with a seed inside and has an unusual and unique taste.
I think this must be the most unusual and bizarre tree that I have ever seen. Don't you agree?
It truly is bizarre! Goodness, thats worth selling tickets for.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, Lynda! ;-)
DeleteWhat does the fruit taste like? What different ways do you eat/cook it? very curious!
ReplyDeletePhil, the taste is hard to describe but I guess it is more like a grape than anything. You can cook them up and make jelly which I did in June. You can also make wine and some people cook them up for juice.
ReplyDeleteHow cool that you took the stage of development photos! That is an unusual tree, I've never even heard of it before!
ReplyDeleteIt may be too cold to grow there, Kathy. It is a native of Brazil and likes a tropical climate but will tolerate a light frost. We are in a cool temperate zone although you wouldn't have known that these past few weeks during the heatwaves but it is growing okay here. It takes several years before it fruits. I had a look at the tree today and there is no fruit left on the branches at all now...9 days after the last photo was taken of the ripe jaboticabas.
ReplyDeleteNanna Chel I have an allotment over at Beelarong Community Farm in Brisbane and there are jaboticaba trees growing there in the food forest. The fruit looks quite strange growing out of the branches. I have never picked this fruit before because I wasn't sure what to do with it. But now I will if there is still fruit on the tree. Thanks for the recipe.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough I had just been reading your blog this morning :-) The fruit only lasts for a couple of days and there is none left on our branches now. There will probably be another batch in June (here anyway) ...perhaps earlier where you liven and it is a much better time to be cooking them up. The skin is quite tough but once you bite into it it tastes quite nice inside but then there is the seed you have to spit out so I think most people prefer to just cook them up and strain off the seeds and skin. Sorry you had damage in that storm. It looks scary on the radar and must have been terrifying to experience.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to take all those photos. I had never heard of this tree. Most interesting!
ReplyDelete