I took a short break in Cameron Highlands with some friends recently, and every one of us came home with bags filled to the brim with lots of foodstuff for our family and friends. Apart from the ‘must-buys’ such as flavored teas (which we could not get locally), fresh flowers, I also picked up a rather exotic looking fruit.

As with all shop keepers, the Indonesian lady tending the stall was full of praises for this tomato like fruit which, according to her, was a ‘Cameronian Apple” and that it was a sweet and flavorful fruit. Having being sold a Tamarillo (Cyphomandra betacea) the same way many years ago, I wasn’t going to trust any shopkeeper when it came to exotic looking fruits! To cut the long story short, let’s just say that I succumbed to buying this strange looking tomato like fruit due to ‘peer pressure’ from 2 very well meaning friends. And I was also quite sure that I would have a number of volunteers who would be eager to try out the fruit back in my office, so why not? (haha)

Photo courtesy of Lily Chen

Photo courtesy of Lily Chen

After returning to office, the rather unassuming fruit sat on one of the side tables at the office pantry for almost 2 weeks before it started to ripen. Apart from the purplish brown streaks running down the length of the fruit, one could very well assume that this was another tomato cultivar except that it smells like a honeydew melon! Anyway, with much ‘anticipation’, everyone (even our picky Chongz) got to sample the strange looking fruit. The texture and taste of the yellow flesh was just like tomato, but it was sweet and a little on the ‘raw’ side. We weren’t accustomed to the ‘raw’ taste, so if I were to try this again, I would probably use it as a salad ingredient, throw this in syrup and serve it as a fruit cocktail, use it to make jam, or serve with vanilla ice cream topped with lots of fresh cream!

Photo courtesy of Lily Chen

Ok, ok, back to the fruit – so is it a tomato, an eggplant, or a melon? Well, apparently, it is neither, but it is close relative of the Tomato and eggplant.  The Pepino dulce (also known as Pepino/ Melon pear) or Solanum muricatum is thought to be a native of the South American Andes and the fruit is commonly sold in markets in Peru and Chile. Away from its native range, this shrub is also grown commercially in subtropical areas such as New Zealand and Western Australia, and of course, in the Malayan Highlands. Several cultivars are also available, including seedless varieties, those that are able to set fruit without pollination (i.e. self-fertile), as well as those with better flavor and aroma (minus the ‘raw’ taste).
While the fruit does have a long shelf life, it does not seem to be sold in Singapore, which is one of the largest consumers of fresh produce from Cameron Highlands. Some possible reasons would be perhaps due to the fact that the ripe fruits bruise easily and do not transport well. On the other hand, if the fruits are harvested too early, development of flavor and sweetness can be hampered due to insufficient ripening.

Pepino planting in the highlands – ripening Pepinos appear as yellow ‘spots’ in the photo (Photo courtesy of P.E. Lim and P. Teng)   

 

Pepinos grown in a display garden (Photo courtesy of P.E. Lim and P. Teng)   

 

 

All things being said, I would still try this again the next time I’m in Camerons!

Lily Chen