Re: Monstera Fruit
- To: lindsey@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: Monstera Fruit
- From: D* M* <l*@execpc.com>
- Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 11:38:29 -0500 (CDT)
>Today, I was in the food co-op on the east side of Olympia, Washington. It
>was the last place I ever expected to see Mostera deliciosa fruits, but there
>they were--the name translated to "Delicious Monster Fruit." Does anyone
>else have experience with this
>fruit, to tell me if there is anything else I need to do? At that price, I
>cannot afford to let it go to waste.
>
>Jason Hernandez
>Naturalist-at-Large
Hi Jason,
My experience with Monstera was from when I was in graduate school and one
of the large plants flowered in the Marquette University greenhouse.
The instructions were correct regarding waiting for the green "scales" (I'm
sure there's a horticultural term for these) to begin falling off to
indicate the fruit is ripe. The pulp underneath will be quite soft - very
much like a ripe bananna in texture ( and taste, too).
I can't give you much help on how long it will take the fruit to ripen,
since I don't know how "green" these were when picked. I'm wondering if
placing it in a bag with a ripe apple (which produces ethylene gas) might
hasten the ripening process. By my recollection, the ripening on the plant
took some time.
Good Luck and bon appétit!
Don Martinson
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin (Milwaukee suburb)
USDA Zone 5 (-10 to -20F)
AHS Heat Zone #4, Map at:
( http://www.suite101.com/userfiles/79/hz1024.jpg )
l*@execpc.com
