meatfruit
| Rutaceae carnum | |
|---|---|
| |
| an old illustration of a meatfruit tree | |
| common names | meatfruit, meatrus, blood orange |
| lifespan | ~50 years (tree), 2-4 weeks (fruit) |
| full-grown size | ~25' (tree), 5"-7" across (fruit) |
| habitat | grown globally |
| can you eat it? | yes; great taste, nice texture |
meatfruit is indeed very curious to non-teresi people like you or i. its appearance is comparable to a grapefruit or a large orange, with a deeper red skin. the inside however is more closely compared to a persimmon in texture, though much juicier. the juice and flesh of the fruit are a deep red as well, though more saturated and reflective in colour. it stains most fabrics something awful. the meat of the fruit is often dried or cut into small chunks for mixing into dishes, while the rind is kept seperate and used to make soup stocks or broths.
i. culture
- meatfruit is a symbol of hospitality and community in most regions around teres, in no small part due to it being a worldwide staple food.
ii. trivia
- the rind is tough and challenging to bite through, but the fruit inside is juicy and usually quite soft if ripe. has a salty, distinctly meaty flavour.
- in colder regions, it has a tougher skin as a natural defense measure against the harsh temperatures. on the other hand, variants from hotter regions tend to be a little saltier for a similar reason.
- relatedly, coastally grown meatfruit have an even saltier taste due to the sea water getting soaked up by the tree. it's said that a meatfruit from the southern coastal regions of teres will last for years off the tree just from the salt content alone!
iii. gallery
click the images to open them in a new tab!
