Pepino

Pepino, or pepino dulce (sweet pepino), is an edible fruit grown on an evergreen shrub, solanum muricatum, in the Andean regions of Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Chile. It is sometimes called a "tree melon" or "melon pear." The picture below is courtesy of Wikipedia "Solanum muricatum."

The ripe fruit is yellowish with purple stripes.

The stem end.

A side without any purple.

The texture is like soft cantalope. The taste is very delicate and is predominantly like cucumber. Rachael also felt it had a pear taste and Judy felt it had more of a water melon taste.

It is not real large, much smaller than an apple or orange. Because the taste is so delicate and more vegetable than fruit, I wouldn't go out of my way to get it and I would never eat much of it. As a sidelight, I purchased it at Albertsons because it was something I'd never seen before. It was not labeled and the cashiers could not identify it. However, by typing in the description on the internet, I was quickly able to find a picture and determine what it was. The internet is an amazing tool. The pepino is a fun diversion. However, I suspect it will not occupy much space at Albertsons.