Passion Poppers

Remember when I said that I might not be able to do better this month than simply show you a different piece of produce from my kitchen every day?  While I have striven so far to keep my worthless and possibly nonsensical entries fairly diverse in topic, today is going to be a fruit day.

"Passion Poppers" are a type of fuzz-free, miniature, kiwi fruit to which I was recently introduced at Debra's.  These are organically grown in Pennsylvania at a place called "Kiwi Korners Farms."

In case you can't read it for yourself, the box says that these are "[b]est to eat when soft & slightly wrinkled."  I think the particular ones I'm about to show you are ever so slightly past perfection, because we are unable to follow the instruction on the box advising us to ripen the berries at room temperature, because if we did that the immediate presence of many many mice would obviate our goal.  So I just put 'em in the fridge when I get home, and this is how they look a few days later.  (Click to enlarge.)

Each one is about the size of a kumquat.  I imagine they are called "poppers" because you eat them by popping them in your mouth whole.  There is a stem and sometimes something that resembles a seed to spit out, but for personal delectation, it's not worth the effort to go through and cut them off/out before eating.

As I've mentioned, I am suffering from a great deal of digestive agitation.  I can comfortably digest almost no raw produce anymore at all.  Since raw produce has been for a long time one of my greatest pleasures in life, I continue to search for varieties in season or frozen that I can keep down or push through without excessive drama.  So far, small amounts of these little kiwi berries have worked very well for me.  They are not particularly acidic, their skins are as tender as your average commercial grape skin, and because they can be eaten whole, beyond washing them there is no intrinsic labor or fuss involved in preparation.

I must confess that I think the marketing name is kind of a disaster.  I snicker like Beavis and Butthead every time I see it. This is probably because my development was permanently arrested around age 14, but also because of where, when, and with whom I spent a certain amount of my youth after that.  Regardless, I cannot now read the words "passion" and "poppers" together without thinking of substances and behaviors which tend not to be anywhere near as wholesome as these completely innocent little fruits -- which taste like kiwi, by the way, not passion fruit.

The name certainly doesn't put me off of them, of course, and they are delicious, so I will keep eating them as long and as often as I can.  When they have reached my preferred level of ripeness, the flavor and the small gush of cool juice when I pop one with my teeth or tongue makes me think of that song by Peter, Paul and Mary with the lyric "kisses sweeter than wine."

So of course I recommend them with my whole mouth and many parts of my ill-favored digestive tract, and hope you enjoy them, too.

_____

Don't forget!  You only have three more days to enter my Third Annual NaBloPoMo Midway Contest!

Comments

[Leslee]

I was wondering if "eat when soft & slightly wrinkled" applied to the fruit or the person consuming the fruit. Which works in an elderly way or, well, in way that passion poppers might be able to assist in. So that's the way my mind works (yes, similar to Beavis & Butthead). I've never seen these before, but will, erm, keep my eyes peeled.

[Ron Sullivan]

Our four box turtles are fond of regular ol' kiwi fruit. Blanche du Box, the only female, led the way and the boys eventually caught on.

I await the first coming of these wrinkly bald guys to the Berkeley Bowl.

[Sara]

hee hee

They really are delicious. I would never say so if it were not true. Great produce is not a trifling matter.

Plus, like all kiwis, they are super nutritious. And Ron, if you don't like yours, I know it will only mean happiness for Blanche. :)