Out Fruited

I was at Berkeley Bowl yesterday and decided to pick up some pluots (a fruit that is a cross between a plum and an apricot) for the ladies at the factory. The ladies love fruit. Really love it. Forget sweets, they want fruit. So I thought that they would really appreciate these unusual pluots. Happy to find them, I bagged and delivered them.

The ladies were grateful, of course. But eager to share their fruit of the week with me. I have no idea what it's called, language is a huge barrier. It looks like a huge alien egg. Bumpy and hard on the outside and filled on the inside with odd little pods that are entwined by leggy, fleshy strands. Inside each pod is a pit, somewhat like an avocado pit but more alienish. The fruit weighs about 50 pounds, and costs $1.50 per pound. Have you ever paid $75 for a piece of fruit??? I haven't.

Susan (the factory owner) separated the pods from the leggy fruity arms, pitted them, and put them in a bowl. If you didn't know better, you'd think each piece was just a peeled piece of some odd fruit, but never imagine it came as a pod in the mother load! The texture is firm, a cross between an unripe melon and a mango. And the taste...delicious? Still uncertain and feeling like it came from another planet. It's taking me a bit of time to warm up to it. And I thought my pluot was special.