Weird fruit of the week
This weekend I found one of my neighbors in my front yard lurking by our kousa dogwood. I gave her a funny look.
She didn't seem abashed at all, but just picked one of what I thought were ornamental berries from the dogwood and said, "These are delicious. You ought to try one."
I smiled vaguely because I wasn't sure what to make of this. (We've had the tree for a hundred years and no one has ever told me you could eat the fruit.) ...
When she left, I picked one. I squeezed the bumpy red shell and a sweet yellow pulp popped out.
OK, yes, they are edible, I suppose. But not exactly in the same way that, say, a ripe nectarine is. You aren't going to eat them with any joy.
I told my husband about the fruit, but he waited 24 hours to see if I would get sick and die before trying one.
(Photo by me)
Comments
But you're aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!
If you call this living. EL
Posted by: Multimedia Editor(ish) Mary | September 15, 2009 1:10 PM
Laughed until my ribs hurt. Funniest response, ever, EL! In my mind, I heard your comment in my grandmother's voice...
Thanks. I think. :-) EL
Posted by: Baltofoodie | September 15, 2009 2:36 PM
"Life is not for the living."
Or something like that.
Posted by: Laura Lee | September 15, 2009 3:22 PM
I'm just grateful you didn't pull out your samurai sword and go after her for picking without asking permission.
I was just telling Sam I had to get one. With this and then yesterday's off-duty policeman's shooting, it will be interesting to see if there's a falling off of burglaries in the area. EL
Posted by: Dahlink | September 15, 2009 3:26 PM
I overheard two male students talking about this today. "Did you hear?" "AWEsome--he killed the guy!" I hope this isn't what JHU becomes known for.
When you think about it, the sword owner is probably really traumatized (not as much as his victim, of course). But it's hard not to fall into the "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore" mentality. EL
Posted by: Dahlink | September 15, 2009 3:54 PM
Guess I'll have to find that samurai sword I bought in Spain back in the 70s. Have to sharpen it up though. Luckily the student didn't find that he'd brought a sword to a gunfight.
Posted by: Retired in Elkridge | September 15, 2009 4:49 PM
In fruit related news: the produce truck by the Cockeysville Library had the most amazing honeycrisp apples. And they've shut down for the season and I forgot to ask where they were coming from.
D'oh.
Posted by: bryanintimonium | September 15, 2009 5:06 PM
To BryaninTimonium
The fruit truck by the library is actually owned by Misty Valley Farms and their stand is on the corner of Shawan and Falls Road. I'm not sure where they get their apples from, but I'm sure they still have them there. Love that place!
Posted by: Taste of Baltimore | September 16, 2009 11:08 AM
EL,
I've been eating kousa fruits for years. Not just famine food, but not something that one would necessarily want to gorge on, either. There is at least one named-variety selection that's been made for larger fruit size - "Big Apple".
Several years back, in a NAFEX discussion on kousa, someone indicated that they experienced tachycardia(rapid heartbeat) following ingestion of the fruits, but I've never experienced that.
Posted by: Lucky_P | September 16, 2009 12:05 PM
I grew up in a town that had a ton of Dogwood trees, but we never ate the fruit. Did we hurl them at other kids? Yes. In fact, the stain this fruit leaves on clothes is hard to get out. But did we eat them? No way, man. That's just freaky.
Posted by: Sam Sessa | September 17, 2009 10:48 AM
This is my absolute favorite story because I tasted a palm tree's fruit on a very early date with my now-wife.
She tried to be cool, but she's a doctor so she photographed the tree and the fruit so that she could show them to the emergency room doctor when I collapsed from fruit-poisoning.
She read your post and wants to know: "Waiting 24 hours is smart. Is her husband a doctor?"
Posted by: HowChow Blog | September 17, 2009 2:53 PM