If you love peanut butter then you'll love this fruit. It is native to Venezuela but recently has been showing in South Florida gardens. I first encountered it in 2010 at a Farmers' Market in Naples, Florida. The fruit is ripe when the skin changes from orange to red. And it tastes like peanut butter, well almost.
The tree grows fast, and produces fruit all year long. It is self-pollinating meaning you only need one plant to produce fruit.
I've had mine in the ground for 10 months and it is already producing fruit.
The olive shaped, orange to red colored fruit has a large seed surrounded by a thin layer of flesh, about 1/8th of an inch (2-3 mm) in depth. The peanut butter taste varies from mild to medium.
It might not seem worth the effort of growing and preparing this fruit but if you have problems eating peanuts then this fruit can be a healthy alternative.
I found my peanut butter fruit tree (Bunchosia argentea) at a Rare Fruit Council International, Palm Beach Chapter, fruit auction.
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| Peanut Butter Fruit, South Florida grown, Copyright 2014 by Helen A Lockey |
I've had mine in the ground for 10 months and it is already producing fruit.
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| Naples, Florida, grown peanut butter fruit. Copyright 2014 by Helen A Lockey |
It might not seem worth the effort of growing and preparing this fruit but if you have problems eating peanuts then this fruit can be a healthy alternative.
I found my peanut butter fruit tree (Bunchosia argentea) at a Rare Fruit Council International, Palm Beach Chapter, fruit auction.
Hello, which part of the fruit is edible? Our neighbor has a tree like this in her backyard, she does'nt know the name of the tree. She said the birds love the fruits. The way you described the fruit, I think what our neighbor has is a peanut butter tree :) I am from the Philippines, by the way. I came across your blog while looking for the name of the tree in my neighbor's backyard :)
ReplyDeleteHello On The Side,
ReplyDeleteThe thin skin & thin orangey red colored flesh surrounding the very large seed are both edible.
Thanks. What about the seed? Is it edible? Can it be eaten raw, or cooked maybe? I tried to crack the seed, the shell is really hard. :-D
ReplyDelete-Emy
Hi Emy,
ReplyDeleteAs far as I am aware the seed is not edible. The botanic name of peanut butter fruit tree is Bunchosia armeniaca. You could use this name to find out more about the seed. :)
Thanks!
ReplyDelete