I bought this fruit called a monstera ( http://www.gaiaguys.net/monstera.htm ) at my local organic market…has anyone else eaten it?? Some of the scales are loose enough to pick off—I did that and tried some of the fruit, but it resulted in this burning sensation in my mouth and throat (according to the site, this means it’s unripe).
If anyone else has tried it, can you please tell me what happens when it’s ripe? Do the scales actually fall off of their own accord, or do they simply loosen?
Found this here
Yes, I bought one of these last summer. I just stuck it in the microwave (to keep it away from the posibility of bugs) and let it ripen on its own.
Trust me, you will know when it’s ripe. The scales fall off on their own, and the fruit sort of…ejects itself from the core. It didn’t ripen all at once, but started at the stem-end over several days.
A very yummy treat.
Oh, great…the thing is phallic enough as it is…
These things are very good. Place the unripe fruit standing up in a drinking glass. After the scales start to fall off you can usually crumble most of them away. The drinking glass is to catch the scales as they first start to come loose. Hard to describe…rather like a corn-on-the-cob-banana in appearance with a somewhat silly thinish stem-core.
We sell Organic Monstera Deliciosas occasionally at the Natural Foods store that I manage. Ours come from Florida. It seems to me I recall reading that they grow on some kind of Philodendron and that it takes quite a while for the fruit to develop.
Quite yummy, but often costing up to $4.00 per fruit. Well worth the investment at least once.
Monstera deliciosa is the plant that these come from. It’s usually known as “Swiss Cheese Plant” due to the holes in the large leaves. I have one growing outside that i’m testing… it’s not growing very much. I may dig it up and make it a house plant or put it in a warmer spot in the yard (I’m 2 hrs south of SF).
Monstera are related to Philodendron and they share their tree climbing habit. The big roots that Monstera send out from their stems usually attach to the trunks of rainforest trees. They make very impressive vines. It is related to the common calla lilly, being a member of the aroid family. The flowers look something like callas.
If foliage is what you like, a much hardier version. Philodendron selloum has a similar look, but a tree-like habit, although they get these amazing cord like roots that exit the stem and snake along the ground (hardy to zone 7b)
In victorian times, this plant was grown in England and was a fairly common fruit then. The plant actually reached England as early as 1752.
These also go by the name of “Ceriman”.
Fruit harvest:
The rind is always green though it assumes a lighter shade as the fruit matures. The fruit, with at least an inch (2.5 cm) of stem, should be cut from the plant when the tile-like sections of rind separate slightly at the base, making it appear somewhat bulged. At this state, the fruits have been shipped to local or distant markets. If kept at room temperature, the ceriman will ripen progressively toward the apex over a period of 5 or 6 days. The flesh should be eaten only from that portion of the fruit from which the rind segments have so loosened as to be easily flicked off. To ripen the whole fruit at one time, it should be wrapped in paper or plastic, or possibly aluminum foil, as soon as cut from the plant and kept at room temperature until the rind has loosened the entire length of the fruit. At this stage, it will be found that the flesh also falls easily away from the inedible core. Once ripened, the fruit can be kept in the refrigerator in good condition for a week or a little more. Rinsing off the floral remnants improves the appearance of the flesh, but it does cause some loss of juice.
In other words, the fruit segments should be so loose they fall off by themselves. If you have to pull one to get it off, it’s still not ripe enough.
