View Single Post
Old January 4, 2010   #12
orflo
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: belgium
Posts: 134
Default

I have some of the other cyphomandras, there are quite a bit of them. They are grown especially in Brasil, where they produce abundantly. In my climate none of them can be grown outside, even not cyphomandra corymbiflora. This one can take some frosts, but temperatures can drop deep during wintertime.
All my cyphomandras are tub-grown and placed in a sunny but frost-free sheltered place during winter. Because of the tubs, production isn't as abundant, but it's not too bad. I think the fruits are quite versatile, the tamarillo is indeed the best one to eat (I didn't try them all yet), and, with a bit of imagination ,can be as versatile as tomatoes. Just don't compare them to tomatoes, despite their name (tree tomato!), but consider them to be a fruit on their own, with lots of uses. If they're fully ripe, I don't add sugar, but if they're not completely ripe, some sugar is recommended.
There is one cyphomandra that produces fruits within one long season over here: cyphomandra abutiloides, with small , 2 cms long fruits. These fruits aren't really bad, but there is a bitter, tangy flavour in them that makes them inferior to tamarillos.
orflo is offline   Reply With Quote