Che fruit

[castanea]

The popularity of food and music are not comparable.
When no country on the planet likes a particular fruit, that is a good metric.
When a country that has had serious food security issues won’t eat a fruit, that is a good metric.
When so many different animals refuse to eat a fruit, that should get your attention. When birds that eat figs and cherries and plums and apples and pears refuse to touch che fruit, that should make you think.

[hobilus]

I think we can all agree that nursery catalogs are at least a little deceptive. I’ve never eaten che, but my expectation of it is about like my expectation of raisin tree- Hovenia dulcis. Probably not the type of thing to be eaten by the bushel full, but maybe more of a curiosity and a nibble. I’ve read most of the disparaging things you’ve written about Che, and weighed them. I’m also encouraged somewhat by the people who DO like them. Dunno, don’t really care to speculate too far beyond that. I have 3 acres of trees, what’s another one?

I don’t think anyone is trying to invalidate your experience, which sounds like it’s substantial. There is a lesson I have to relearn or remind myself of at times, but it applies equally well to being a parent (which I am) and to circumstances in which I am the experienced one trying to advise the young and green upstart. That lesson is that certain things can only be learned through experience. We can tell our kids not to make the mistakes we did, but it seldom carries the gravitas that it might considering the effort and emphasis we attempt to place on it. Maybe you’re right, and you’ll be entitled to all of the told you so’s. Until then, I’d suggest not taking it so hard. People want to make up their own minds, which is not an unreasonable concept either. Even if they are foolish in your eyes.

[hobilus]

@a_Vivaldi

More effort’s gone into worse fruit before (goumi, medlar, sorbus, arbutus, ‘edible’ dogwoods,

I like and grow all of the fruits you mentioned, except Arbutus and Sorbus. Not that I’ve tried many Sorbus except maybe ‘Ribena’ and some random wild types. I did have some REALLY strange hybrid Sorbus bred by Luther Burbank once. If you think medlars are strange, this is a horse of a different color still. Maybe you’ve had them, @castanea ?They’re kind of good, but in a way that makes me think you might describe them as “unwholesome”. You eat a couple and feel you’ve had enough, was roughly my experience, though I don’t regret having eaten them. But that also gets at the potential of breeding, for though they’re strange and not 100% toothsome, Burbank was able to increase the size and palatability of Sorbus fruits by an order of magnitude or more in his own lifetime, all while breeding a million other things!

I can’t grow Arbutus here, but I would if I could. It’s another one that is often described as bland and insipid, but I find them quite tasty. I have a whole mess of medlars. Definitely more than is reasonable. But then I have hawthorn popping up everywhere, so theres rootstock aplenty, and already planted. They make a fabulous butter or membrillo style paste, I think. Many to most turn up their noses at medlar, though it’s been well regarded by some throughout history, and a scarce few appreciate them still on their merits. The paste is usually quite popular when I bring it to gatherings. It goes quickly.

I’d be surprised if things are as monolithic as you’re portraying them @castanea . Maybe weird fruits are for weird people?

[a_Vivaldi]

Your description of that hybrid reminds me of sea buckthorn. While I’ve not had them fresh, the times I’ve had the juice… well, let’s just say it’s a very acquired taste, and mouth feel, and is kinda oily? It’s weird man, weird.

In hindsight, sea buckthorn is probably what I should have used as an example rather than the other ones.

[hobilus]

Looking closer at the hybrid Sorbus, it appears Burbank had a better start than I imagined in Sorbus domestica. I’m not sure how they are traditionally eaten in Central Europe, but I was instructed to eat the bletted drops from the Burbank trees and they had something of a gritty chocolate pudding flavor and consistency. I wouldn’t call them unpleasant, but they’re definitely an acquired taste

[Robert]

@hobilus

Sorbus domestica

I thought about buying one of those and wound up getting medlar instead. Your description makes them sound not so good. Glad I picked right. Hardly anyone carries Sorbus domestica anyways.

True service tree (Sorbus Domestica)

I noticed this might be the last fruit that’s missing in this forum so I am adding few pictures from local small festival in Czech Rep., Europe. Service tree is considered to be native in Central Europe (but could be brought by Romans). It used to grow in abundance in the middle ages but now it’s very rare. It can grow well over 100ft and is considered the largest fruit tree in Europe and it can live up to 600 years. This small festival takes place close to a small village of Tvarozna Lhota. T…

[Orange120OD]

I’ve got both now. One of my medlars is blooming profusely, so heres to hopping i get to try some this year. So far they have been easier to manage than stone fruit for me here.

[randyks]

Sounds like it would make a good vinaigrette.

[a_Vivaldi]

You can try it for yourself fairly easily. Most big cities have at least one eastern European (ie Russian/Ukrainian) grocery store, often marketed as a ‘Euro mart’ or something like that. Look for juice containers labeled облепиха.

[Caesar]

@randyks

I never had any off-putting texture or noticeable membrane’s in my che.

That gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, I might end up liking it. I think Luis also mentioned good flavor.

@hobilus

I did have some REALLY strange hybrid Sorbus bred by Luther Burbank once

Burbank bred Sorbus hybrids? I gotta read through his stuff again. I thought most of the Sorbus hybrids were bred by Michurin. I’ve been wanting to obtain Desertnaja for a long time, but it seems no one has it in the US. Apparently sweet and good.

@hobilus

And an excerpt: … “the fruits from that hybrid were certainly not edible when I tried them (in fact they looked and tasted a lot like regular Osage orange fruit). …”

There’s some comments on the Osage Orange post of Green Deane’s blog (Eat The Weeds). Amidst the myriad comments recommending it for medicine, there’s a couple of comments mentioning that it turns edible out of hand after going through multiple freeze & thaw cycles, and that it can be processed into jams or baked into pies.

[Caesar]

Green Dean’s post:

Osage Orange - Eat The Weeds and other things, too

The comments regarding Osage Orange’s edibility are anecdotal, so take it with a grain of salt. I myself wouldn’t mind sampling the fruit. There’s also issues with latex sensitivity to watch out for. One commenter noted differences in ripeness, with less ripe fruit bleeding latex, and riper fruit smelling sweeter and tasting citrusy (no bleeding). Screenshots:

[hobilus]

Hmmm, I may have to try that. Boy, if Che is “unwholesome”, what adjective would be appropriate for Osage?

[Mtncj]

Do we happen to know how they feel about juglans, and if it makes any difference if they are on Che or Osage rootstock?

[lordkiwi]

An Old Osage Orange tree in my neighborhood in Washington DC.

4049 Benning Rd NE - Google Maps

[randyks]

WOW Had no idea, and they are all around here, old, mature hedgerows!

[hobilus]

@Mtncj

Do we happen to know how they feel about juglans, and if it makes any difference if they are on Che or Osage rootstock?

I’d be surprised if they were sensitive to Juglone. They seem like a cousin of Robinia almost, though they’re not related. Black Locust grows well with walnuts.

Che on che is a bad idea is the consensus. Crazy vigorous suckering with brutal thorns is the word on the streets. Stick to Osage

[SMC_zone6]

I keep wanting to like this fruit, but it’s mildly unpleasant.

[TNHunter]

In year 4 (this year) my california dreaming seedless CHE from englands orchard… held about half of its fruit to ripen.

Last year it dropped all… this year dropped about half but ripened the rest.

I was so ready to be disappointed by CHE fruit… from all the talk here… but was pleasantly suprised to find it very nice to eat.

Juicy, sweet, with a nice very ripe watermelon flavor with hints of berry. I ate several this fall and liked them all. My wife agreed… good eats.

They look in pictures like they might be chewy but were not… texture similar to a ripe strawberry and more juicy than i was expecting.

Not really any tartness… but still good flavor, sweetness and quite refreshing.

If you like a good ripe watermelon with some extra berry flavor… you will like CHE… cant speak for all of them… but this one I got from Cliff was suprisingly good this year … in its first year to hold fruit. If it gets any better with maturity… which most fruit trees do… cant wait to have more.

TNHunter

[swincher]

@TNHunter

california dreaming seedless CHE from englands orchard…

I reached out to them to ask about che scionwood availability this winter, and it looks like they have a lot more than are listed in their online tree catalog or even the online scionwood list. Here’s what they sent me, which they organized by rows in their orchard (so some duplicates), but I’m curious if anyone has a good opinion of any of these other than the California Dreaming, which I’ll definitely be ordering based on @TNHunter’s review:

First/main che row:

1. California Dreaming CHE 2022 Maclura tricuspidata.
2. Oregon Exotic’s CHE 2022 Maclura tricuspidata
3. Hwang Kum #2 2018 Maclura tricuspidata
4. Adam Barr Che 2020 Maclura tricuspidata
5. Darren Bender Che 2020 Maclura tricuspidata
6. Hwang Kum # 3 2020 Maclura tricuspidata
7. David’s low bush Che & 2 Seedless CHE same tree 2018 Maclura tricuspidata
8. Oregon Exotic’s CHE 2022 Maclura tricuspidata
9. California Dreaming CHE 2021 Maclura tricuspidata. Chinese Melon Berry
10. Chul Ri Korean 2020 Maclura tricuspidata
11. Darrow CHE 2020 Maclura tricuspidata
12. Turkey’s Best CHE 2022 Maclura tricuspidata
13. Chinese Best Che 2022 Maclura tricuspidata
14. Chinese Best Che 2022 Maclura tricuspidata
15. California Dreaming 2022 Maclura tricuspidata.
16. Seedless Che 2022 Maclura tricuspidata
17. Chinese Che 2022 Maclura tricuspidata
18. California Dreaming 2022 Maclura tricuspidata.
19. CT. Seedless 2022 Maclura tricuspidata
20. CT. Seedless 2022 Maclura tricuspidata
21. California Dreaming 2022 Maclura tricuspidata.
22. CT. Early ripening Che 2022 Maclura tricuspidata

Another row (first two were mulberries):

3. Hwang Kum # 3 CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
4. Hwang Kum # 2 CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
5. Stevenson Che Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
6. Hwang Kum # 4 CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
7. Hwang Kum # 1 CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
8. Hwang Kum # 1 CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
9. Hwang Kum # 4 CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
10. Darrow CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
11. Hwang Kum # 3 CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
12. Chul Ri Che Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry

And a third row:

4. Hwang Kum # 2 CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
5. Chul Ri Che Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
6. Hwang Kum CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
7. Hwang Kum # 1 CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
8. Hwang Kum # 4 CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
9. Chul Ri Che Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
10. Hwang Kum # 1 CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry
11. Darrow CHE Maclura tricuspidata 2017 Chinese Melon Berry

[swincher]

@SMC_zone6

I keep wanting to like this fruit, but it’s mildly unpleasant

Do you know what cultivar that is? I just want to avoid it based on your negative review.