As soon as they call pepino - and melon pear, and sweet cucumber. An unusual fruit, multifaceted, or rather multifaceted, because it is not a fruit at all, but a berry.
Wherever pepino grows - in Chile, and in Peru, and in New Zealand. Everywhere they are amazed at its sweet, downright melon taste. The size of the fruit can vary, as well as its weight (50-750 grams). A ripe pear with its appearance even more resembles a melon, since it acquires a bright yellow or cream hue, and the sides that have poured into juice are covered with darkish longitudinal stripes.
How is pepino eaten? It is different in different countries. For example, in Japan, sweet cucumber is eaten raw as a dessert, and in New Zealand, these berries are added to soups and various other hot dishes. You can make blanks out of them, save for the winter, dry, freeze, make compotes and jams. Here, as they say, a flight of fantasy.
Melon pear is 92% water and can perfectly quench thirst, which makes it indispensable in the summer heat. There are also many vitamins in it, such as vitamin A, C, K and PP. Want to lower your blood pressure? Improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract? To carry out the prevention of heart and vascular diseases? Eat pepino is what the doctor ordered. Those who want to lose a few pounds will be pleased to know that 100 grams of sweet cucumber pulp contains only 80 kilocalories.
Melon pear can also decorate your windowsill. By planting a seed in a flower pot, you can grow pepino at home. Just imagine what beauty you can get - it's frosty and snowy outside, and a pear is blooming on your windowsill.