Name These Fruits (or Vegetables)
Feeling adventurous, Julie bought these at the vegetable souk today. We have no idea what they are. Do you (click for bigger legume action)?
I’ve included the iPod for scale.
UPDATE: Julie provides these additional notes: they have a hard, thick skin and a beet-red juice.
UPDATE #2: I stand corrected. Julie assured me that they weren’t prickly or ‘cactus pears’, but she cut one open and tasted it. Indeed, they’re very small cactus pears with very intensely-coloured juice.
February 13th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I’m not sure what they are but they look a little like figs…
February 13th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I think they are cactus pears.
February 13th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Marina: That’s what Julie originally thought they were, but she assures me that they’re not.
Jill: Are you thinking of ‘prickly pears’? If so, they’re different than the prickly pears I’ve seen (these are much smaller, and don’t have any needles).
February 13th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Well, colour, shape and size suggest they’re figs. I don’t know about the wart-like things on their skins though …
Have you tried them? If they’re ripe, they should have a soft, slightly leathery feel on the outside, and should taste sweet (no need to peel them, usually).
February 13th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Do I win the ipod if I guess correctly, if so I also guess figs..
February 13th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
i vote some kind of turnip or rutabega.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Cactus Pears come in a variety to types, and these sound like them. Check out the insides of one type here, they sound similar.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Also, the one in this photo from Spain is smooth-skinned and more closely resembles your mystery fruit.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Double: I don’t think these are cactus pears. We had them in Malta. Not only are they the wrong colour, but they’re much smaller than the cactus pears I’m familiar with. They’re about the size of apricots.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
I understand that cactus pears are also called “Barbary Figs”, which would be appropriate, given your location and the fig-like appearance.
February 14th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
I’m glad I could point you in the right direction. I hope they tasted great.
February 19th, 2008 at 5:29 am
[…] Monique points me to Picanswers (dudes, capitalize that ‘a’), a site that might have helped with last week’s fruit quandary. […]