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[Lee Reich <leeareich@gmail.com>]

From the Elaeagnus chapter in my book Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden:

More soothing to the taste buds are Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) 
fruits, which are silvery yellow, mealy, sweet, and about half an inch long. 
They ripen in late summer. A botanical variety with a red skin, E. 
angustifolia var. orientalis, is familiar in the markets of Turkey and 
surrounding countries. Fruits are eaten fresh, dried, stewed in milk, or 
boiled with sugar. When dry, the loose skin of iğde, as the fruit is called 
in Turkey, peels away easily to reveal a cream-colored, almost dusty, sweet 
pulp that practically dissolves in your mouth. (This red-fruited form has 
sometimes been referred to erroneously as the Trebizond date, which is in 
fact the date plum, Diospyros lotus, another small, dark, sweet, dried fruit 
eaten in that part of the world.)

Lee Reich, PhD
Come visit my farmden at  http://www.leereich.com/blog 
<http://www.leereich.com/blog>
http://leereich.com/ <http://leereich.com/>

Books by Lee Reich:
A Northeast Gardener's Year
The Pruning Book
Weedless Gardening
Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden
Landscaping with Fruit
Grow Fruit Naturally

> On Sep 11, 2016, at 7:34 PM, Chris Garriss <cgarriss@garriss.net> wrote:
> 
> The info I found called it Trebizond Date, and said it was e. orientalis,
> which would be a different species.  One review compared the two, with
> Trebizond being preferred.  Apparently known in Iran and other countries by
> various names, and available by mail order suppliers of Middle Eastern food
> and seasoning suppliers.
> 
> However, I am not personally acquainted,  but sounds quite interesting.
> 
> Chris Garriss
> Sent via Android Phone
> 
> On Sep 11, 2016 18:29, "Henry" <treehugger53ah@yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
>> There does not seem to be much information about this plant.
>> 
>> The internet suggests it is the same species as Russian olive. The fruit
>> is much larger and sweet.
>> 
>> A friend from Turkey claims it was a favored fruit among the children when
>> he was growing up. He brought me a bag of the fruit.
>> 
>> They look like dates with a light brown dry skin. I broke one open with my
>> fingernail and found a dry almost white mealiness inside. It did not look
>> appetizing. It was sweet but not at all like a date.
>> 
>> I tried manually cleaning the seed and it was way too difficult. But I
>> could clean them well with my teeth. The taste grew on me and I found
>> myself happily cleaning the rest of them.
>> 
>> Does anyone know if I can expect good quality fruit from seed?
>> 
>> Does anyone have experience growing it in North America?
>> 
>> --Henry Fieldseth
>> Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, zone 4
>> 
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