The Incredible Edible 🌳 Suriname Cherry 🍒
The Suriname Cherry 🍒 is ubiquitous here in Suriname, which perhaps explains how it got its name.
The Suriname Cherry
The Suriname Cherry (Eugenia Uniflora) ⁽¹⁾ is common in the northeast coast of South America, but can be found throughout the Caribbean, reaching all the way to southern Florida in the USA, and even as far south as Uruguay.
This fruit has many names: pitanga, Brazilian cherry, Cayenne cherry and Cerisier Carré ⁽²⁾. Suriname is an overlooked corner of the world, with Brazil, Aruba and Curacao stealing all potential Suriname tourism. I think it's best to call this fruit the "Suriname Cherry" to increase international awareness of Suriname, even though it's an invasive species ⁽¹⁾.
To say these trees are easy to grow would be an understatement: they tolerant of just about any soil type, as long as it is not salty³. The tree at our house grows in the sandy mix between our fence and the road, and it produces fruit almost every 2-3 weeks as long as there's rain.
The fruits are small: about 1.4–2.5 cm in diameter¹, and very tart, even when ripe. The fruit is more seed than flesh, but still worth the effort.
🔬 The Health Benefits 💪
Suriname Cherry trees are not too tall, and can be found growing along roadsides all over Paramaribo. Because of this, it makes a quick and easy snack we can pick and eat as we walk around town running our daily errands.
On a trip to and from the store, we can easily nibble our way to our daily Vitamin C & A dosage. The @KidSisters don't enjoy this fruit much because it is very sour and not that sweet. But when juiced it becomes a little more appealing to kiddos.
|
---|
Amount per serving | % DV |
---|---|
Total Fat 13 g | |
Cholesterol 0.0 mg | |
Sodium 5.2 mg | |
Total Carbohydrates 0.5 mg | |
Protein 1.4 mg | |
Vitamin C 45.5 mg | |
Vitamin A 2596 IU | |
Potassium 178 mg | |
Magnesium 20.8 mg | |
Riboflavin 0.1 mg | |
Phosphorus 19.0 mg | |
Calcium 15.6 mg | |
Niacin 0.5 mg |
👩🌾 Permaculture Potential 👨🌾
The Suriname Cherry Tree is very suitable for use in permaculture farming. It's adapted to tropical and subtropical regions ⁽⁵⁾ but well-established plants have suffered only superficial injury at 22º F (-5.56º C) ⁽⁵⁾. That is an extremely wide temperature tolerance for a tropical fruit tree.
This humble tree grows in almost any type of soil–sand, sandy loam, stiff clay, soft limestone–and can even stand waterlogging for a time, but it is intolerant of salt ⁽⁵⁾. A low-hanging-fruit producer that can thrive in terrible soil and tolerate a wide temperature range sounds like a win-win to me.
The hits don't stop, there is much more. This tree is deep-rooted ⁽⁵⁾ and can stand a long dry season ⁽⁵⁾. The small tree in front of our house produces more fruit that we can eat, and it is completely neglected. A study in India revealed that pruned bushes yield an average of 2.7-3.6 kg (6 to 8 lbs) per plant ⁽⁵⁾.
Our neglected tree seems to produce fruit every 2-3 weeks whether rain or shine. It's amazing one can neglect something so often and yet it still produce so much regardless, a very selfless act.
🍒 Some Cold-Pressed Juice 🥤
We heard a big rain approaching recently, and knowing it would knock many ripened fruits off the tree, we raced to pick what we could before the rest were violently knocked to the ground.
cherries in a bowl
cherries ready for juicing
I estimate we picked around ½ kilo before the storm arrived. We gave the fruits a quick wash, let them dry and began juicing. The cherries are mostly seed, but nothing that will harm your cold-pressed juicer.
Only 5 seconds into juicing the whole began to smell like a flower shop. My Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer processed the soft seeds quite easily, and the result was a very thick and tart juice. The Khmerican Family Abroad was eager to try this neon orange concoction.
massive amount of pulp and seeds per fruit
so orange it hurts the eyes
After the taste test was over, the @KidSisters needed some water and sugar to make their glass palatable, but @Sreypov and I found it to be extremely tart, but still pleasant to sip without any added sugar. Vitamin C Ninja Kick 🐱👤 MEOW!!
SOURCES
¹ KEW Science - Royal Botanic Gardens - Eugenia Uniflora L.
² Belem, Brazil Government - Pitanga
³ Tasty Landscape Nursery - Suriname Cherry
⁴ NutritionData.com - Pitanga
⁵ Purdue University Horticulture - Suriname Cherry
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I love cherries, so this would be fun to try sometime! Thanks for sharing the information about the trees and their fruit! 😊
Thanks for stopping in @thekittygirl! North American cherries are certainly sweeter and more palatable, but these things have a lot of citric acid, even the ripe ones will pucker your mouth a bit.
It seems delicious... I want to try It🤩🤩
They are delicious, but too soft for transport, so you won't find them being internationally shipped fresh. You just have to live in a part of the world where a tree grows.
That's just so cool! thanks for sharing.
It's an amazing fruit. I love discovering new fruits in new places. There are so many fruits that don't get international appreciation because they don't ship well.
Absolutely! I love Hive for this reason - seeing what is normal and everyday to someone else which I might never have heard of otherwise! (It's also why I love international grocery stores.)
The finished product really has glory :)
Yes it does, it is a truly beautiful color.
I have never been a fan of cherries, but this was such an interesting read
Thanks @tattoodjay. I sometimes begin writing a post, then I think of all the ways it could be relevant to my favorite Communities and Hive Frontends, and it just starts to grow. I kind of wanted to know the science of the fruit for my own benefit, and just wrote down what I was learning in real time.
I love posts like yours where you learn something from visiting it, that said mine are not that I am not a good writer LOL
Oh, you nailed it on those beautiful cherries! I planted two in my yard! Divine!
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Thanks for the tip @dswigle! Wow! I've heard of the Suriname Cherry Tree growing in south Florida, but I didn't think it could much further north. Where are you based in the USA? How does this plant do in the winter there?
Oh, mine is the sakura cherries from Japan. I was just saying I have cherries also! :)
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This juice is so good
Thank you @mirianmg, it is delicious, but only for those that like to pucker.
Oh, woukd have loved to see the girl's faces pucker!!!!
Vitamin C Immunity boost... TICK!!!!
Xxx
Monkey B doesn't like sour stuff much; she's not a puckerer! Srey Yuu likes sour stuff but Monkey B likes spicier food.
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I have a tree here in my house, it's a really cool and delicious fruit! :D
Wow! Are you in the Caribbean or South America?
In the south of Brazil! :D
I think you call them pitanga there, correct?
Yes, that's the name hahah! :D
This is something new to me, looks so delicious.
They are a treat but too soft for shipping any kind of great distance. It's just not a durable fruit.
That's a lot of vitamin C for sure... I wonder why I've never seen these in Thailand. Send me some seeds over here hehe. Nothing beats the satisfaction of picking fruits off of trees in the neighborhood for free. When I lived in Poland the cherries would come in the summer all at the same time and were very cheap sold on the street. They were super sweet and juicy. Sometimes the strawberry season would overlap and I was in fruit bliss.
Hey @chrisinphuket. Yes, a ton of Vitamin C in these small fruits. Unfortunately here in Suriname, the fruits are pretty limited. Dragonfruit is so expensive, we haven't even purchased one yet.
Do they grow dragonfruit there? Its also relatively expensive here. I saw rather large farms with lights on at night in Vietnam. The ones I've had here don't have too much taste compared to other fruits.