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  • From: John S <swim_at_svc@yahoo.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Cornus mas
  • Date: Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:22:41 -0800 (PST)

I find that C. mas fruit must soften up before it is ready to eat, often nearly like bletting.  Typically, I will pick the fruit up after it has fallen to the ground and let it sit covered in the kitchen (keeps any fruit flies off of it that may be in the area) for at least several days to as long as a week or so before eating.  After some experimentation, you will be able to easily judge readiness.  I would never try eating a crunchy C. mas fruit myself.  Of the varieties I have experience with:

Pioneer - perhaps the most complex and very good flavor, but must be very soft.  Productivity has so far been very limited, but was my first to start fruiting.  I only ripen a few fruits each year on my 10+ year old tree.

Elegant - Very good tasting and ripens on tree for me.  However, I have lost two trees over the years and this one seems to be less hardy than other selections for that reason.  This would be the variety I would recommend for just starting out if your climate is mild enough to grow it (zone 6?)

Yellow - Very prolific and good tasting fruit.  Taste reminds me of plums, which is different from the previous two mentioned.  Fruits are about half the size of Pioneer and Elegant and are plum shaped where as the others above are pear shaped.

Golden Glory - A selection for landscaping rather then fruit.  Very prolific blossoms that make it a good pollinator for other C. mas.  I stumbled across a good deal and picked this one up.  Fruits are significantly smaller than Yellow but in large numbers.  Taste is good when allowed to soften but not much there due to C. mas's relatively large seed.

Of the 4, Elegant is the one that seems to be most similar to the traditional fruit that you harvest without special handling before eating and has given me the most consistent experience.

John




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