| Hank, Alan, Hector and all, Please let's get a few things clear. I thought NAFEX was about fruit exploration. There was a comment about an undesirable feature of many Autumn Olives that suggested this feature was caused by the seed. Having become interested in AO's a few years ago, I set out to explore what might be causing this unpleasantness in an otherwise desirable fruit. I did this with what was available to me at the time, three wild trees I had found with differing tastes and maturities and "quality". One is pretty good, one mediocre and one significantly unpleasant. So I set out to check out the components of the fruit, for my own curiosity and benefit. I tried to remove the speckling on the fruit, thinking this might be the cause. Granted this was no easy task, but I accomplished with a few fruits. This did not see to matter much or be the cause of the "bitterness". So my next step was to try to separate the skin from the fruit and see if I could isolate a source. An noted, this is not perfect nor easy to do. The results I obtained suggested to me that the skin was the major source of the "bitterness". I did this before I ever joined NAFEX or even heard of it. I tried to share that information thinking that NAFEX members might appreciate the insight from someone who made the effort to figure this out instead of guess. I did not recommend that people peel the fruit. I do not routinely attempt to peel the fruit myself (no, it's not easy or fun). I was trying to better understand the fruit and how I might process it. And yes, I have been consuming AO for years now and I can tell the difference between a good cultivar and a poor one, as well as the difference between a ripe and unripe fruit. So if you are curious about the cause of the "bitterness" be it alum, tannin or something else, and don't want to take my word for it, by all means make the effort to see for yourself. I thought that's what this organization was about. We explore fruit and share what we learn (or think we learn) with others. Regarding AO flowers and smell, for me it is neither overwhelming nor missing. It is subtle and pleasant, much the same effect for me as corn pollen. Excuse me while I go peel my aronia harvest from today... --- On Sun, 9/7/08, Hank Burchard <hank@burchard.org> wrote: From: Hank Burchard <hank@burchard.org> |
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