Sapodillas (Manilkara zapote) are in season again and this year we have a bumper harvest. The fruit has a very sweet caramel-honey taste. We have been picking them every morning. For an inexperienced picker, the ripe fruit forms a taut and shiny appearance. At first it is difficult to spot but after picking hundreds of them you can get the hang of it. Here is a picture of Gnome ready for action on the farm!
Gnome Armed With Fruit Picker.Picking Sapodilla.Picking Sapodilla!
This year, we are going to sun-dry some of them. We like to eat them with beef jerky!
Dried Sapodilla.
Some more sapodilla melomel would go down nicely!
Sapodilla Melomel.
Oooooh, so many to pick and so much to make!! We will of course eat some of them too…
All the details, with extra step by step pictures are in the specific page but I will attempt to tantilise you with some highlights in this post!
This part is Gnome’s job.
Basically, you have to use a machete to cut into the culm and then you bang the machete with a sturdy stick to cut into it.
Harvesting Bamboo Shoot.
Once you have the bamboo shoot, you carry it off to a Munchkin to prepare:
Preparation of Bamboo Shoot.
The shoot is chopped into sections, peeled and then cut into chunk sizes.
Cut into Sections.Bamboo Shoot Layers.Bamboo Shoot Chunks.
Next, the chunks are boiled to remove the bitter components.
Once cooked, they are soaked in cold water for a few hours and then they are ready for eating or preservation. This time round, I layered slices of bamboo shoots with salt to dry brine.
Jar of Bamboo Shoots.
What fun!! I hope I have inspired some of you to go bamboo shoot hunting this season!!
And of course, we are eating fresh bamboo shoots everyday. Once you have tasted the fresh stuff, you will never want to go back to the canned shoots. Fresh shoots are velvety in texture with very little fibre. They are sweet and totally delicious. Here is a snapshot of what we had for lunch today: Sausage with exotic fruits and fresh bamboo shoots. What a treat…will post the recipe up tomorrow.
Sausage with Exotic Fruits and Fresh Bamboo Shoots.
