Well I dried the mabolo and the taste is quite nice, the fruit is a little chewy though, I'll save it for my fruit lovers mix. I also made a butter with it which is delicious, I think: the farmer is not keen. It has a strong floral taste, somewhat like rose (bear in mind I haven't been close to a rose for 3 years), very nice would make a lovely meringue filling, or perhaps whipped up into a fool or syllabub. However the drawback is the texture. It's grainy. I think this is because I scrubbed the fine hairs off and left the beautiful red pink peel on. I was hoping the colour would bleed into the butter, it did a little but not enough to make up for adding the graininess. Tomorrow I'll make it again without the peel. Here's the recipe just in case:
Velvet Apple Butter
3 cups chopped, peeled mabolo
1 lime halved
1/2 cup sugar
Simmer chopped fruit and halved lime in enough water to cover until fruit is soft. Remove from heat, take out lime halves and blend with sugar. Return to pot (add limes again if you wish) and simmer until thickens, it took me about another 15 minutes. Can appropriately (I put the lime halves in two of the jars). Enjoy on warm crumpets or with plain yogurt.
Showing posts with label mabolo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mabolo. Show all posts
Monday, 17 August 2009
Sunday, 16 August 2009
wowolo! Mabolo!
The harvests are coming in thick and fast. Today the Mabolos started to drop. The Mabolo or Velvet Apple is one of my favourites.
I gathered a 5 gallon bucket of the fruit below the tree and all down the little hill which the tree tops. The fruit are easy to find, a low russet red among the brown leaves. So pretty. They look like a firm white peach - a russet pink skin with a downy pinkish green fuzz topped by a simple 4 lobed green crown which hugs the fruit and turns red-black with age. Inside the skin the fruit is pink tinged but changes rapidly to a white cream. It's hard like an unripe peach, but not crunchy, the texture is dry and a tiny bit grainy. There's no real bite to the fruit but it's firm and pleasant. The taste is subtly floral, and I know there's something it reminds me of, just can't remember what. Inside there are between 4 and 7 seeds each about the size of a brazil nut: I don't think they're edible.
The fruit is ready when it falls, sometimes it bruises a little in the drop and if bruised, or if left for a day or two it will start to become mushy and soft. Not a long shelf life. Best to eat when found.
Tonight I put some in the dehydrator to see if they'll work in the dried fruit mix. I hope they do, the floral taste will be a nice addition, and because they are so dry to start they should dry quickly. I've put them in at a lower temperature, we'll see in the morning . . . I also cooked a little in some lime juice and sugar to see how they might hold up as a preserve: not sure yet, need to test more tomorrow, but first impressions are quite good - close to pear in both texture and taste, so might make a good butter with a little added vanilla, or a great pie or crumble.
I first tasted Mabolo last year and am very excited and happy to be able to use it this season. The seeds i planted from last years fruits look about ready to graft too. Oh it's such a nice busy happy time.
Just read that the skin is supposed to smell like rotten cheese, ours seem not to, just smell fruity.
I gathered a 5 gallon bucket of the fruit below the tree and all down the little hill which the tree tops. The fruit are easy to find, a low russet red among the brown leaves. So pretty. They look like a firm white peach - a russet pink skin with a downy pinkish green fuzz topped by a simple 4 lobed green crown which hugs the fruit and turns red-black with age. Inside the skin the fruit is pink tinged but changes rapidly to a white cream. It's hard like an unripe peach, but not crunchy, the texture is dry and a tiny bit grainy. There's no real bite to the fruit but it's firm and pleasant. The taste is subtly floral, and I know there's something it reminds me of, just can't remember what. Inside there are between 4 and 7 seeds each about the size of a brazil nut: I don't think they're edible.
The fruit is ready when it falls, sometimes it bruises a little in the drop and if bruised, or if left for a day or two it will start to become mushy and soft. Not a long shelf life. Best to eat when found.
Tonight I put some in the dehydrator to see if they'll work in the dried fruit mix. I hope they do, the floral taste will be a nice addition, and because they are so dry to start they should dry quickly. I've put them in at a lower temperature, we'll see in the morning . . . I also cooked a little in some lime juice and sugar to see how they might hold up as a preserve: not sure yet, need to test more tomorrow, but first impressions are quite good - close to pear in both texture and taste, so might make a good butter with a little added vanilla, or a great pie or crumble.
I first tasted Mabolo last year and am very excited and happy to be able to use it this season. The seeds i planted from last years fruits look about ready to graft too. Oh it's such a nice busy happy time.
Just read that the skin is supposed to smell like rotten cheese, ours seem not to, just smell fruity.
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