# What fruit was this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 25, 2012, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-was-this/626221 "2012-06-25T06:55:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-was-this/626221/1 "2012-06-25T06:55:23Z")
This fruit is white, egg-shaped, and about the size of a small apple. It has a tough outer skin that can be peeled with a knife, like a mango’s, but has white flesh and a very juicy, watery interior full of a softer white flesh and small, edible seeds. It’s also mostly bland and lightly bitter; it holds the distinction of being the only distinct kind of fruit I know of so far that I would not like to eat again. It was purchased at a Smith’s in Great Falls that was somewhat lacking when it came to labeling its produce. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-was-this/626221/2 "2012-06-25T07:13:33Z")
The description of the edible part sounds like [Dragon Fruit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitaya), but I’m doubting that ID, because I can’t find an example with a white outer skin - they’re all gaudy pink or yellow. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-was-this/626221/3 "2012-06-25T07:19:29Z")
There’s a variety of cucumber called [Crystal Apple](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=crystal+apple+cucumber&hl=en&safe=active&client=firefox-a&hs=R6j&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=xxDoT9ivJsjS0QXUh6j_CA&ved=0CGoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1060&bih=548) that maybe fits the bill. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-was-this/626221/4 "2012-06-25T07:39:01Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > There’s a variety of cucumber called [Crystal Apple](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=crystal+apple+cucumber&hl=en&safe=active&client=firefox-a&hs=R6j&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=xxDoT9ivJsjS0QXUh6j_CA&ved=0CGoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1060&bih=548) that maybe fits the bill. They looked similar to this, except the seeds were dark and they didn’t taste like cucumbers. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-was-this/626221/5 "2012-06-25T08:17:24Z")
I think it might have been a golden egg fruit, which is a type of eggplant, and is white and bitter when not ripe. The best info I could find is [here](http://www.outsidepride.com/seed/flower-seed/solanum/ornamental-eggplant.html), though there’s no description of the seeds. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-was-this/626221/6 "2012-06-25T12:18:45Z")
A pepino melon perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-was-this/626221/7 "2012-06-25T14:16:07Z")
I was going to say [pepino melon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_muricatum) as well. They don’t always have pronounced stripes, and they do show up in US supermarkets from time to time. And the flavour, as you noted, is mostly watery. However, you didn’t mention the hollow interior. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-was-this/626221/8 "2012-06-25T23:55:01Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > I was going to say [pepino melon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_muricatum) as well. They don’t always have pronounced stripes, and they do show up in US supermarkets from time to time. And the flavour, as you noted, is mostly watery. However, you didn’t mention the hollow interior. No, it did not have a hollow interior, but the watery flavor is certainly similar. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-was-this/626221/9 "2012-06-26T07:14:23Z")
Could it have been a [pawpaw](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimina_triloba)? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-was-this/626221/10 "2012-06-26T19:23:20Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Could it have been a [pawpaw](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimina_triloba)? No. Both the seeds and the skin are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-was-this/626221/11 "2012-06-26T19:48:37Z")
White guayaba (Eng: guava) Latin American fruit. Not too common in white but it exists. [http://www.whiteshellgirl.com/2011/08/gilding-guayaba.html](http://www.whiteshellgirl.com/2011/08/gilding-guayaba.html) [http://nohaybronca.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/img\_8745.jpg](http://nohaybronca.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/img_8745.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-was-this/626221/12 "2012-06-26T21:14:48Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Could it have been a [pawpaw](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimina_triloba)? > [@Derleth](#): > > No. Both the seeds and the skin are wrong. Also the season is wrong - they’re a fall fruit and they don’t keep well past ripening. You just can’t get them this time of year. August is the earliest month for them in the northern hemisphere.