This unusual plant native to China bears a fruit quite popular within traditional Italian fare. An English translation of the Italian delicacy proves somewhat difficult, yet there seems to be one, however obscure. The flowers appear in autumn, and the fruit ripens in winter under normal cultivation. What are these tart tasting fruit, the English equivalent, and can you provide a picture?

MyAlias

Jujube; Chinese Date (Ziziphus jujuba) http://www.efn.org/~bsharvy/edible6.html Jun 18 06, 12:20 AM

peasypod

Er...no. If you read your site it says "The jujube must have very hot summers to fruit, and in fact there seems to be no such thing as too much heat for a jujube." The question clearly states that the fruit ripens in winter. Jun 18 06, 6:01 AM

googurl

Mandarin http://www.couriermail.news.com.au/story/0,20797,19216637-23272,00.html Jun 18 06, 6:18 AM

peasypod

Um.....no. Are we all forgetting to read the rest of the question? Popular in Italian fare, unusual, and an obscure English equivalent. Jun 18 06, 6:29 AM

peasypod

.....although I do like those recipes with the mandarins. Jun 18 06, 6:31 AM

beaniegirl61

could it be a kumquat? Jun 18 06, 7:08 AM

peasypod

Nope. Jun 18 06, 7:17 AM

zbeckabee

How about a secret u.s. government project that pertains to a cat that smokes teabags? Jun 18 06, 8:38 AM

peasypod

Well, zbee, you work on that other feline question, and meanwhile it looks like I'll have to give a clue here. This one needs to be thought of away from China and directed to the Italian dinner table in order to get on the right track. Jun 18 06, 3:51 PM

peasypod

....and it starts with n. Well, it starts with n for me. Jun 18 06, 10:26 PM

MyAlias

It does not exist! It can not. Nothing points to this mystery. As per "fruits by country" website. CHINA Calamondin Citrus mitis Jujube Zizyphus jujuba Longan Dimocarpus longana Loquat Eriobotrya japonica Wampee Clausena lansium Yuzu Citrus junos http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/fruits_region_frameset.htm Jun 19 06, 2:17 AM

peasypod

It does exist, and you have the answer right there. Investigate those above a little further and you will come up with the Italian name for it (n) and the English name for it (m). Jun 19 06, 6:20 AM

MyAlias

I am going to pull out my hair over this one. Jun 19 06, 8:23 AM

lanfranco

How did I miss this one? O.K., this has to be the loquat -- and MyAlias gets all the credit for coming up with the first mention. In Italian, it is the nespola and in English the medlar. Nespole can mean "goodness!" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loquat Jun 19 06, 8:30 AM

peasypod

Hallelujah, yes, dear Frankie, yes. Ok, MyAlias, you can sniff the banana, since it was under your nose the whole time. Nespole are always on my dinner table, usually baked with caramel. Jun 19 06, 8:45 AM

zbeckabee

Okay, now I am REALLY confused. I don't see "nespole" at all on the link...just Loquat, so, what am I missing? Jun 19 06, 2:56 PM

lanfranco

The fact that I speak Italian, and so does peasy. To get this question right, a non-Italian speaker first needed to decide that "loquat" was probably the right answer and then look for the Italian word on another site. For example, this one: http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/souptonuts/farmstand_loquats.html Jun 19 06, 4:13 PM

peasypod

Or this one... http://rubbahslippahsinitaly.blogspot.com/2005/05/nespola.html Now, people *must* know by now my questions aren't the straight forward type. Jun 19 06, 5:23 PM

Baloo55th

For accuracy, it's the Japanese medlar. The real European medlar is only edible when it starts to decay. http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0014990.html The loquat is eaten fresh http://www.bartleby.com/65/lo/loquat.html Jun 19 06, 5:35 PM

zbeckabee

Thanks lanfranco--I was getting confused over Wiki's Medlar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medlar and Wiki's Loquat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loquat Jun 19 06, 5:36 PM

MyAlias

You can call me "The Banana Sniffer". If you do......... Jun 19 06, 9:04 PM