One of the reasons we were attracted to our new house here in SC was that it had pretty palms in the front yard. We're lifelong CT yankees, so palms are pretty exotic to us!! But then we discovered they produce an edible fruit!! So now that I know I can make jelly from the fruit, I'm trying to figure out how to determine when the fruit is ripe enough to pick. My pindos are loaded! Does anybody have experience with making pindo palm jelly?
I have 3 of these and was told you can use a plum jelly recipe...and they look like an apricot when ripe. will be my first year making jelly too. We moved here last Oct.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/31867/
Thea, all the neighborhood kids will show up to snitch fruit when they are ripe. LOL
Actually, like Devil Dog says, they are sort of apricot colored when ripe and they will start to fall off the tree. The ones in the photo look a bit underripe to me.
here you go, d-mail Happenstance, she took pictures of her jelly :-)
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/59090/
Yeah, that's the right color. Doesn't that look yummy?
Hey DevilDogs, we moved here in September!! I'm loving all my new experiences!! Ardesia, thanks for the warning, I think I will NOT talk up my pindo fruit too much! I was wondering if the birds might snitch them, I hadn't even thought about the kids! Boy, these photos of the finished jelly and the bright little fruits make me really excited about trying out the jelly, can't wait!!!!!
Don't mean to alarm you thea, but kids will snatch them...birds, squirrels, possums, raccoons also like them, and can be a problem. Even saw a Bobcat up there one night chowing down! Never made the jelly, but those little furry creatures do have a way of identifying good edible stuff...
I may have to station my ferocious little cockapoo Lucy out there to guard them, if I can get her out of bed!!!!
What a cutie she is.
Mean, evil, disgusting, horrible, nasty raccoons ate every one of my figs last night. I am so bummed!
Oh Ardesia, that's terrible! I never thought of them as fig eaters, back in CT they were known for invading corn patches. Have they gotten your figs other years? You must have been so looking forward to having figs, I would be awfully disappointed too!!!! Now I AM getting worried about my pindo fruit.
LOL, they have gotten them in the past but this year they left them alone for a couple of weeks and I thought I was home free. I had been enjoying my Italian Honey Figs with Greek yogurt on homemade whole grain toast each morning. I was getting so spoiled and yesterday every last fig was gone. :-(((((
That sounds SO delicious!!!! I'd have breakfast for every meal! I remember the first time I ever had fresh figs (as opposed to the dried ones which I'd only known prior to that), they were served in cream, and they were heavenly. Now I doubly understand your fury over your marauding raccons!!!!
Hey Devildogs, how is your pindo tree fruit looking? I've got just one branch on one tree that's turning orange and starting to fall off, the other fruit laden branches are still unripe! I need to figure out if I can somehow process the fruit from the one branch and hold it until I get more from the others, I don't think I'll have enough til then to make a batch of jelly....
I have some starting to turn! Also, my mom was just visiting me this last week and she brought some stuff to make jelly with my daughter with the blackberries I have frozen. I noticed on the package that it had recipes for many different fruit and plum jelly was one of them. I hope she didn't throw it away as I forgot to mention that I wanted to keep it (and she's sleeping now). If she did, I'll just find out what the brand was and go get some and see if it's the same type of packaging with recipes inside. I'll let you know what I find out.
I forgot to mention, I have a thousand jelly palm babies too if anyone is close to me and wants some. not sure anything would make shipping in this heat.
Hey Devildogs, here's a recipe I found:
http://www.palmsnc.org/pages/article.php?id=19
Some of the fruit is falling off onto the ground; I'm going to try keeping them in the fridge til more matures. I probably can get enough off this one branch for a full recipe. Now I've got to find a pan big enough to cook it in! Can't wait to try it!!!
Ardesia, are you there? Devildogs? Anyone else with pindo palm experience?
How do these look? They're still pretty firm, not soft. The wasps have taken a great interest in them, so far I don't think any other critters have noticed them.
Think I'm getting close to jelly making time?
Oh yeah, you are close. :-)))
I have noticed they are starting to ripen here too. When they get to that orangy color (see the fourth post from the top) you'll know they are ready.
You will soon be serving tea and scones with homemade jam.
Woo hoo, thanks Alice!! I'd forgotten that the fruit was in that picture of the jelly. I can't wait to make it!!!!! It's so neat making something of what you grow (I'm making more pesto this year than I ever did up north; my basil is doing GREAT!), especially something so new and different! I hope the jelly comes out wonderful so I can send it to friends up north....
Do me a favor and Dmail me the recipe sometime. A friend is making jams, etc. for a fund raiser and her theme is "from the garden". This would be very different and a big hit
I am sure.
Talking about basil; downscale_babe took me to a neat herb nursery in Murrells Inlet and I picked up a new basil called 'Seratta'. I had never heard of that one but I needed a gift for a neighbor and thought this would be fine and of course I got one for myself too. This is the most prolific basil I have ever grown and it always looks full and it is very flavorful too. I hope I can remember the name for next year.
I'll have to look up Seratta, Alice. Have you tried making pesto with it?
The Pindo recipe is in the link I put in my message just five messages up, to Devildogs. I can't vouch for it because I haven't tried it yet! Looks pretty simple though (so simple even an old Yankee can do it), I HOPE it will come out good!!
I tasted one this morning. it reminded me of pineapple but I understand now the being "too fibrous to eat" part. I sucked on it and spit it out. The skin was very sharp, almost cut your mouth sharp. I'm wondering if they soften up at all as they ripen more.
Thanks for the recipe Thea! my mom did throw the other one away so now I don't have to worry about finding that exact brand of pectin. One question. In the recipe, it says to remove sepals. What are those???
Sepals are the little leaf like (?) parts that cradle the fruit where it attaches to the stem. Now that sounds weird, I am terrible at explaining things, I'll attach a diagram.
http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/qca/flowerparts.html
Thea, thanks, I forgot the recipe was up there. Will print it out for my buddy.
Never heard of this palm before. Can some one share some seeds with me?
Lavina
Thank you Ardesia! There were none on the one I pulled off yesterday. I may have been able to figure out what they were talking about if there were.
Lavina, if your ever down my way, I have thousands of babies growing. We had an underground water line break right by two of my palms and I think they watered the seeds enough to sprout.
Devildogs, I am going to Moms the 2nd week in Oct. I can come back up 85 and see you. I am going down 20 and stop at Lugoff and see one of our gardners.
Lavina
I'll be gone the 5th thru 8th but here other than that! Just d-mail me. I pulled up a bunch and any that came up with roots and seed intact went into pots. I'll send them all with you and if they don't survive this heat, there are tons more still growing under the palms!
I'll be headed back to NC the 12th. So will see you then.
If they grow where you are they will survive in Pamlico County in the yard there.
Lavina
I may be way off base here but I thought Tony was growing them at PDN.
Tony does but if they are free and I can save a plant it is more satisfying. And getting to meet a Dave's Garden friend is even more delightful.
His also are not cheap, they are pricey.
Lavina
Oh, I wasn't clear was I? What I meant to say was they would grow in Raleligh as well as the beach.
The little Pindos (AKA Butia capitata) transplant well and I find they grow much faster thant he Palmettos.
LOL thats OK.
I hare palmettos they are snake pits. I found 3 copper heads inside the bark of one.
Lavina
YIKES, I have about 3 dozen Palmettos but fortunately have never seen a poisonous snake in one. I live in a neighborhood where most folks have landscapers to maintain their properties. The landscaper guys kill every snake they see and it really shows. I don't even see many non poisonous snakes - maybe one a year.
......and people wonder why we have so many cotton rats.
I thought Pindos WERE Palmettos. In fact, I thought Palmetto was the South Carolinian word for Palm, any Palm. Please explain, Southerners.......
Pindos are palms as are Palmettos; they are just two different kinds of palms. The Palmetto is the state tree for SC, it is the one you see on the flags and license plates. Somebody, quick come up with some pictures.
.......and just to muddy the waters, palms are really grasses, not trees.
palmetto is simply an italian (i think) word meaning little palm
palmetto applies to all species under the sabal genera ( ex sabal palmetto, sabal minor, etc) "palmetto" also applies for all palms native to SC other than the needle palm.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/137380/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/150651/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/147225/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/159939/
on our flag
