Monstera Fruit

From: StellrJ at aol.com on 1999.07.12 at 04:29:27(3494) Today, I was in the food co-op on the east side of Olympia, Washington. It was the last place I ever expected to see Mostera deliciosa fruits, but there they were--the name translated to "Delicious Monster Fruit." Well, since this is a fruit I have long daydreamed of one day tasting, I "seized the day" and bought one, even though, at $5.45 each, they were more than I would normally shell out for produce. Attached to each fruit with a rubber band were instructions from the grower (an organic farm in Florida) on how to use the fruit. They said to put the fruit in an empty jar, stem end up, and wait for the green scales to fall off and reveal a white core. Twice they pointed out that this must happen on the fruits own accord, without human help (presumably because of calcium oxalate). Well, I have followed those instructions, and the fruit sits in its jar on a shelf in my bedroom. Does anyone else have experience with this fruit, to tell me if there is anything else I need to do? At that price, I cannot afford to let it go to waste. Jason Hernandez +More Naturalist-at-Large

From: "Julius Boos" <ju-bo at email.msn.com> on 1999.07.13 at 16:25:55(3495) >>Today, I was in the food co-op on the east side of Olympia, Washington. It was the last place I ever expected to see Mostera deliciosa fruits, but there they were--the name translated to "Delicious Monster Fruit." Well, since this is a fruit I have long daydreamed of one day tasting, I "seized the day" and bought one, even though, at $5.45 each, they were more than I would normally shell out for produce. Attached to each fruit with a rubber band were instructions from the grower (an organic farm in Florida) on how to use the fruit. They said to put the fruit in an empty jar, stem end up, and wait for the green scales to fall off and reveal a white core. Twice they pointed out that this must happen on the fruits own accord, without human help (presumably because of calcium oxalate). Well, I have followed those instructions, and the fruit sits in its jar on a shelf in my bedroom. Does anyone else have experience with this fruit, to tell me if there is anything else I need to do? At that price, I cannot afford to let it go to waste.< Jason-- Try wrapping the entire thing loosly in plastic wrap ('Saran Wrap'), but loose enough for you to see when the 'scales' begin to loosen at the stem end (this begins at that end), unwrap, and enjoy! The flesh should be a shiny cream/white as the scales come off, but fruit MAY have been picked too 'green', let us know how it turns out! Very interesting taste/texture/flavor!! Look out for a few LARGE seed (1/2-3/4") and sow any you find, they grow beautifully! Good luck-- Julius +More >>Jason Hernandez Naturalist-at-Large<<

From: Regferns at aol.com on 1999.07.13 at 16:31:47(3496) Jason, Here in South Florida they grow quite well. I have an area landscaped with them and right now they are in their "fruit" producing mode. The one bad thing about them is that when they ripen, many of them will ripen at the same time giving off a sickening sweet aroma. Sometimes there are too many of them and so I have begun using them to feed my large specimens of ferns. The fruit decomposes and the ferns don't seem to mind. I have not noticed any appreciable differences in the growth of the plants because they are always being fertilized with other nutrients, but why let good organic material go to waste?. +More I do occasionally nibble on the Monstera fruit, and have noticed that the taste is a cross between pineapple and banana. If you make a cross section of the fruit, you will notice that it looks like a pineapple. Enjoy your fruit anyway you like. A neighbor made sorbet and a marmalade out of some of mine. This summer I will experiment with a Monstera Daiquiri. Reggie Whitehead South Miami, Florida

From: Don Martinson <llmen at execpc.com> on 1999.07.13 at 16:38:29(3498) >Today, I was in the food co-op on the east side of Olympia, Washington. It >was the last place I ever expected to see Mostera deliciosa fruits, but there >they were--the name translated to "Delicious Monster Fruit." Does anyone >else have experience with this >fruit, to tell me if there is anything else I need to do? At that price, I >cannot afford to let it go to waste. > >Jason Hernandez >Naturalist-at-Large Hi Jason, My experience with Monstera was from when I was in graduate school and one of the large plants flowered in the Marquette University greenhouse. The instructions were correct regarding waiting for the green "scales" (I'm sure there's a horticultural term for these) to begin falling off to indicate the fruit is ripe. The pulp underneath will be quite soft - very much like a ripe bananna in texture ( and taste, too). I can't give you much help on how long it will take the fruit to ripen, since I don't know how "green" these were when picked. I'm wondering if placing it in a bag with a ripe apple (which produces ethylene gas) might hasten the ripening process. By my recollection, the ripening on the plant took some time. Good Luck and bon app?tit! Don Martinson +More Wauwatosa, Wisconsin (Milwaukee suburb) USDA Zone 5 (-10 to -20F) AHS Heat Zone #4, Map at: ( http://www.suite101.com/userfiles/79/hz1024.jpg ) mailto:llmen@execpc.com

From: StellrJ at aol.com on 1999.07.13 at 16:41:49(3499) Okay, the fruit began to show loosening scales yesterday evening (Sunday, July 11), along with an exquisite fragrance reminiscent of carambola. After I went to bed that night, I could hear scales dropping off in small groups. This morning (July 12), the fruit was about one-third peeled, revealing a mealy-looking white surface beneath the scales. Since I live within easy walking distance of my workplace, I checked it again at noon today, finding it about half peeled. When I returned home in the afternoon, the fruit had shed about two-thirds of its scales, and its fragrance filled my entire bedroom. I write this about 10:30 at night, after having just eaten the now-completely ripened fruit for dessert. Once all the scales were gone, there was what looked a bit like a white ear of corn, but very easily bruised by the touch. It was eaten like corn on the cob--I bit off the outer layer, apparently an aggregate of fruitlets, revealing a hard, woody "cob" in the center. Mixed in with the yellowish-white flesh were some strange, blackish flakes, which I ignored. The fruit was exquisitely sweet, with an exotic flavor I cannot describe in words. Truly, my years of longing have not been disappointed!! +More Jason Hernandez Naturalist-at-Large

From: "Craig M. Allen" <cm_allen at yahoo.com> on 1999.07.14 at 21:42:11(3502) I have eaten a few from the plants here at Fairchild Garden. They ripen slowly, and each fruit only has a small section that ripens each day. I was also told to eat only the part from which the scales fell on their own, and that seemed to be just a few inches per day. Hope this helps, Craig M. Allen +More --- StellrJ@aol.com wrote: > Today, I was in the food co-op on the east side of Olympia, Washington. It > was the last place I ever expected to see Mostera deliciosa fruits, but there > > they were--the name translated to "Delicious Monster Fruit." Well, since > this is a fruit I have long daydreamed of one day tasting, I "seized the day" > > and bought one, even though, at $5.45 each, they were more than I would > normally shell out for produce. > > Attached to each fruit with a rubber band were instructions from the grower > (an organic farm in Florida) on how to use the fruit. They said to put the > fruit in an empty jar, stem end up, and wait for the green scales to fall off > > and reveal a white core. Twice they pointed out that this must happen on the > > fruits own accord, without human help (presumably because of calcium > oxalate). Well, I have followed those instructions, and the fruit sits in > its jar on a shelf in my bedroom. Does anyone else have experience with this > > fruit, to tell me if there is anything else I need to do? At that price, I > cannot afford to let it go to waste. > > Jason Hernandez > Naturalist-at-Large > > === Craig M. Allen Conservatory Manager 'Windows to the Tropics' Fairchild Tropical Garden 10901 Old Cutler Road Miami, Florida 33156 Tel. 305-667-1651 ext. 3320 FAX 305-661-8953 email: cm_allen@yahoo.com _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

From: "Julius Boos" <ju-bo at email.msn.com> on 1999.07.15 at 05:00:59(3509) Dear Craig and friends, To get more fruit ready for enjoying at the same time, wrap the fruit in saran wrap, it will then all ripen at the same time and all the scales will fall of symultaneously! Julius +More >I have eaten a few from the plants here at Fairchild Garden. They ripen slowly, and each fruit only has a small section that ripens each day. I was also told to eat only the part from which the scales fell on their own, and that seemed to be just a few inches per day. Hope this helps, Craig M. Allen<<

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