Here on the urban homestead we grow some quite odd/unusual fruit. This year our tropical cherry bushes (aka surinam cherry) bushes are loaded with a decent harvest.
A decent harvest is when we get more than a (one) handful so that means asking “grandma google” (ask Jordanne has so rightfully dubbed this search engine) for advice on using these fruit.
We tried out this recipe (I didn’t bother adding canned cherries, just increased the amount of surinam cherries instead) which turned out quite good. So, the recipe’s a keeper and it goes into my every growing collection of recipes.
Comments(14)
Laura @ Laura Williams' Musings says:
June 26, 2009 at 6:09 amOh mercy that looks good!! Wanna ship a piece of that to Tennessee? lol
Sue Charboneau says:
June 26, 2009 at 9:02 amI have not seen this type of “cherry” in any nursery catalogs , could you tell me where you bought it?Thanks.
Shirley says:
June 26, 2009 at 11:51 amSue, it is also called Barbados Cherry and is available here:http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/fruitproducts_ab.htm. It is about the 8th plant down usner the bananas.
Shirley
Shirley says:
June 26, 2009 at 11:59 amSue, the latan name is Malpighia punicifolia. You might can find some seed. The seeds are generally very slow to germinate, usually requiring from 6 to 12 months at minimum. Seeds should be kept in moderately moist soil at 70-85F. Do not overwater. Use well-drained soil. The
fruit is really good when dead ripe.
Shirley
katecontinued says:
June 26, 2009 at 1:45 pmI would like to grow this fruit. I am on the lookout for edible shrubs, bushes, trees – because I am so excited about feral foods and hearty natives. So far I have discovered in my area – the strawberry tree, the banyon tree. loquot and Carissa or natal plum.
Is this a seed you will be including in your seed business?
Anais, those pictures (Justin?) are so mouth watering, so beautiful. Well done.
Janice says:
June 26, 2009 at 9:31 pmBoy that looks heavenly & decadent, now THAT is what you call living richly. 🙂
Sue Charboneau says:
June 27, 2009 at 1:03 pmThank you Shirley, I found some on Tradewinds, but they were out of stock.Sue
Homegrown says:
June 27, 2009 at 5:42 pmWe have an enormous cherry bush in our back yard here in Barbados– now I know what to do with the cherries!!! It is about 25 feet high and the same across. The bush is just starting to bear again! Yipee!
Marilyn says:
June 29, 2009 at 5:12 amThanks for sharing that sometimes your harvest is a “handful.” I’m working on improving my backyard “yields” and it’s good to know that experts like yourselves sometimes don’t have success. I feel better now about my “handfuls” of strawberries! P.S. Been a “lurker” for a loooong time!
Robbyn says:
June 29, 2009 at 12:31 pmWow, so glad to see that recipe! We just planted two surinam cherries a week ago and can’t wait to see if it fruits next year…your dessert pics look delish!
Robbyn
karenhenks says:
June 29, 2009 at 12:41 pmHi Anais,
Would you mind sharing how you pitted the Surinam cherries? Did you use a regular cherry pitter, or a knife, or? Just wondering; we have Surinam cherries but I’ve never cooked or baked anything using them, they just ripen and fall so quickly……
Thanks,
Karen
hmsclmom says:
July 7, 2009 at 6:15 pmMy mouth started to water the minute I saw those Surinam cherries! They bring back such great memories of my childhood. I had friends who had a bush in Hawaii and I loved it when I got to share in the harvest!
Aloha,
Debbie
REAL FOOD, REAL SIMPLE: URBAN HOMESTEAD MEALS | Little Homestead in the City says:
July 5, 2010 at 9:34 pm[…] week we enjoyed a few fruity treats like the ‘tropical cherry upside down cake’ and blueberry muffins. Though I love using up the homegrown fruit on hand, I hate making these […]
REAL FOOD, REAL SIMPLE: URBAN HOMESTEAD MEALS | Little Homestead in the City says:
July 6, 2010 at 5:22 am[…] week we enjoyed a few fruity treats like the ‘tropical cherry upside down cake’ and blueberry muffins. Though I love using up the homegrown fruit on hand, I hate making these […]