So this is the day you have all been waiting for! The big reveal…
What is that strange thing she is eating in China???
First, I have to tell you that I loved all your guesses. The meatball smuggling Sicilian definitely wins for creativity!! And the food is not nearly as strange as others give me credit for. Although I do have to confess that I never, ever would have tried it if a friend hadn’t explained it to me and assured me that it was good and safe to eat. Your guesses even taught me something. One guess was about a Mexican fruit called a ‘granada’. I wasn’t sure if this entry was just a joke but I decided to check it out. It turns out that there is a fruit called a granada and a close relative called a China granada which are both related to the pomegranate and both related to this mystery food.
Granada china: golden passion fruit or granadilla (Passiflora ligularis)
Sometimes incorrectly translated as “passion fruit” because it is related, the granada china does not taste much like a true passion fruit, although its unique flavor and consistency are much prized by aficionados, who call it “the caviar of fruits.” An egg-shaped fruit with a hard yellow-orange “shell” is cut open to reveal a soft, grayish pulp, which is eaten right out of the shell with a spoon. Despite the hard outer skin, it is more perishable than most other tropical fruit, and is generally not used in ice cream and other confections. Granada china can be tested for ripeness by shaking it for the sound of the ripe flesh moving inside.
This mystery food is the PASSION FRUIT.
Yes, really. It is a flavor that is widely used in western food but I had never seen it in it’s natural state before. The flavor is really good but super intense and sour like a sour patch kid. The best way to eat it is to cut it open, dip a spoon in a little honey and use that spoon to scoop out the fruit and eat it up.
I guess it just goes to show that you never know what you will run into, and taking risks can have quite delicious rewards 😀
Ni hao Shanghai! 