[HN Gopher] Foraging for America's Forgotten Fruit
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Foraging for America's Forgotten Fruit
Author : samclemens
Score : 32 points
Date : 2024-09-30 04:16 UTC (18 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.atlasobscura.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.atlasobscura.com)
| gnabgib wrote:
| Pawpaw's keep coming up recently:
|
| _Consider the Pawpaw_ (95 points, 7 months ago, 65 comments)
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39523641
|
| _Why don 't grocery stores stock pawpaw fruit?_ (84 points, 9
| months ago, 151 comments)
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38851025
| HelloMcFly wrote:
| It's not just here, I'm seeing a lot of attention on them this
| late Summer / early Fall?
|
| I think it's interesting given the severe Ohio drought has
| wrecked a sizeable amount of the crop this year. I think they
| don't for very long, and flavor changes drastically as it over-
| ripens. I read last year that there was a new GMO's hybrid that
| is looking to become more commercially viable but couldn't find
| an update in looking now.
| asimpletune wrote:
| I picked some loquat the other day that were growing over a fence
| in my neighborhood. When I got home I just sort of stuck the
| seeds in a pot and forgot about them. A few weeks later they all
| started to grow! So I moved them all to large pots and have been
| every now and then day dreaming of all the other fruit I could
| grow.
|
| Pawpaw feels like they would match the vibe of my loquat trees,
| and I bet they'd love the climate in Italy.
| diego_moita wrote:
| Hold your hopes.
|
| Citrus plants are known for being extremely easy to hybridize.
| If there is a non-loquat citrus tree around your neighbour's
| house, then it is very likely that you will not have loquats in
| your new tree. It might very well be a hybrid of something else
| with a loquat. It will take you about three years to discover
| that.
|
| If you want to be 100% sure you're growing a loquat, you'd
| better grow it from a branch cut.
| nkurz wrote:
| Not a terrible thought, and loquats are highly variable in
| fruit quality, but loquats aren't citrus so there is no
| chance they will hybridize with it. It's in the rose family
| thus genetically closer to pears and apples, and (apparently)
| can reliably be grafted to quince rootstock. I think it's
| highly unlikely that anything but another loquat will
| pollinate it. Perhaps you are confusing it with kumquat?
| http://www.dbnursery.com/brendas-blog/what-is-the-
| difference...
| e1gen-v wrote:
| Are you thinking of kumquats?
| pvaldes wrote:
| More probable, Loquats are distant cousins of apples in the
| rose family.
| diego_moita wrote:
| Oh sh*t!
|
| My bad ... English is my 3rd language and I still do these
| embarrassing mistakes on it.
| pvaldes wrote:
| Take in mind that it needs water. Is not a Mediterranean fruit.
| fellowniusmonk wrote:
| I once made loquat cardamom jam from my loquat tree and it was
| legitimately one of the most satisfying thing I have ever
| eaten. On a buttered english muffin it was otherworldly.
| droopyEyelids wrote:
| Rain on the parade: pawpaws have a narrow ripeness window when
| they're really superb, and squirrels can spot it easier than us
| and ruin them all.
|
| Its a frustrating fruit to try and enjoy.
| mud_dauber wrote:
| I live in WV. This explains why my local farmer's market
| doesn't stock them.
| Loughla wrote:
| They also only have a shelf life of days or hours depending
| on when you pick them. That's the main reason
| kibwen wrote:
| The article makes a passing mention that the skin and seeds are
| toxic, but I've heard that the flesh can be toxic too. The
| neurotoxin in question is annonacin:
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annonacin So I'd recommend
| enjoying it only in moderation, and don't give it to your kids.
| Loughla wrote:
| We used to have a stand of these on our farm that died years
| ago. So I found a supplier for native trees and replanted.
|
| They started fruiting this year, and I was super excited. Every
| old person said they were great, the Internet said they were
| great. I remember loving them as a kid! How can I miss? I
| planned the exact species that was here before!
|
| They taste like a banana and a sweaty gym sock had a baby, and
| that baby grew up raised by a pineapple.
|
| They are gross.
| pvaldes wrote:
| Probably overripe. Is your tree grafted? What is the variety?
|
| Time to consuming and cultivar are crucial to enjoy them.
| Fruits from wild seeds can be yucky also.
| ThinkingGuy wrote:
| Pawpaws are referenced in the song "Bare Necessities" from the
| 1967 Disney "Jungle Book" movie. Because of that I always assumed
| there were an exotic fruit that only grew in India or some
| faraway tropical land.
|
| https://www.disneyclips.com/lyrics/lyrics2.html
|
| I was well into my adulthood when I learned they grow right in my
| home state here in the US.
| pvaldes wrote:
| Pawpaw fruit does not look like a pear. That reference in the
| song is for a different fruit from genus Carica (Papaya). The
| true pawpaw is from genus Asimina.
| n2dasun wrote:
| I planted pawpaw trees in my yard about 3 years ago and finally
| have fruit this year
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