It is the season of pepperfruit. It is. I find them on trays all around Warri – my birth city, where I spend Easter.
I’m a fan only of the red ones – sweet tooth and all. But back in Lagos, I spot the green ones and buy some to compare. What I find is what I share below. Spoiler – I still prefer the red ones after all the eating ‘research’.
Unripe/ Green:
- Flesh taut around the seeds
- Texture of the skin – crunchy
- Fragrance & Flavour – vegetal & spicy
- Hot, lingering bitterness, menthol aftertaste
Ripe/ Red:
- Flesh loose around the seeds
- Texture of the skin – soft, juicy
- Fragrance & Flavour – sweet & spicy
From this, you can see that there are many transitions of the fruit as it ripens.
- The flesh softens
- It becomes juicy(ier)
- The scent/ fragrances develops into this warm, spicy scent that captures me
- It is sweeter
And I think finally, I have enough – stashed away – to concoct a few things.
Though I’m a flesh person mostly, I’m saving the seeds. Again. For more exploration.
What do you think of pepperfruit? Have you tried it before? Do you do anything with it?
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