benefits of tamarillo fruits

They are indeed very good source of electrolyte, potassium. 100 g fresh fruit has 321 mg or 7% of this mineral. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure; thus, counters the bad influences of sodium. In addition, the fruit contains a small amount of minerals such as copper, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and iron.

Tamarillo season begins in New Zealand from May until October. Choose welldeveloped, bright, uniform colored, ripe and ready to eat fruits. Tamarillos available in several attractive colors of orange, goldenyellow, deep red, maroon, etc. Look for healthy stalk. Avoid small, shriveled, damaged and bruised fruits.

Ripe fruits stay well for up to 57 days and inside the refrigerator for up to 10 days. tamarillo offer excellent antioxidant activity and reduces risk of degenerative diseases like cataracts, cancer, heart diseases, Parkinsons diseases, Alzheimers, diabetes and others. Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and other phytonutrients have been attributed for antioxidant property of tree tomatoes.

Raw ripe fruits can be eaten with peel. However, its skin is bitter in taste (largely because of cyanidin anthocyanin pigments), and many may want to avoid eating it. At home, wash in cold water and mop dry using soft cloth. Remove the stalk. In general, the fruit is cut in halfway, and its sweet, juicy flesh scooped out using a teaspoon. Its skin may be peeled and discarded in the similar fashion as in tomatoes. Rinse the fruit in hotwater for 23 minutes and cool it immediately by immersing in cold water. Then using a knife, make a small nick on the surface and gently peel with fingers.

Tamarillo fruit intolerance is a rare event and may occur because ofcross allergic situations to other Solanaceae commoners like eggplant, tomato, tomatillo etc. Phytonutrients in tamarillo are mainly Phenolics, Anthocyanin, Carotenoid and Flavonoid. Together they make tamarillo high in antioxidant activity. The color of the fruit differs according to phytochemicals present. Red variety offer more anthocyanins while yellow variety is rich in carotenoid. Apart from these, tree tomato contains citric acid and malic acid which enhance its acidic tangy flavor. Various other bioactive chemicals have been isolated from tree tomatos that are of nutritional and industrial importance.

Tamarillos were referred to as tree tomatoes. However, on 31 January 1967, after almost unanimous agreement amongst growers and with the consent of what was then the New Zealand Department of Agriculture, the fruits commercial name was officially changed from tree tomato to tamarillo.

The tamarillo is an extremely nutritious fruit, containing good quantities of several important vitamins

The tamarillo is a subtropical shrub and is extremely frost intolerant so its growth is restricted to areas where frosts are infrequent and only slight.The plant prefers a light, welldrained soil. It is highly intolerant of excess soil moisture and rapidly succumbs when the soil is waterlogged. On the other hand, its large soft leaves and shallow rooting system causes it to react unfavourably to drought conditions

Pruning can commence in early spring (August onwards) once the danger of frosts has passed and the majority of the previous crop has been harvested. This will vary from district to district, and from site to site within a district. It may continue through November and even into December. However, most blocks are pruned by the end of October.

Tamarillos produce their fruit on the current seasons growth. If trees are left unpruned, the new fruiting wood gradually extends from the ends of the branches and the laterals, leaving the centre of the tree more or less barren. Frequently the weight of the fruit produced on the ends of long, weak, spindly branches or laterals causes them to break. Pruning in early spring or not pruning at all normally results in early maturity. Pruning that is delayed until November results in a later crop because of the enforced delay in spring shoot growth upon which new flowers will be born. Light pruning (up to half of the old canopy) produces weak regrowth that branches and sets flowers quickly, resulting in a heavy, early maturing crop of small to medium sized fruit.