Day 345: It's official: Akebi fruit has absolutely no redeeming merit unless you simply enjoy the challenge of cross-pollinating. The male flowers on the purple vine failed to produce pollen, but seven pods formed on it and developed to maturity. I harvested one early, before the seeds had a chance to harden, but the pith (purportedly edible) was quite bitter at that point. I tried a second pod a few days ago. The pith was mildly sweet, but otherwise relatively tasteless and riddled with hard black seeds so numerous that sucking the pith from them was far more work that it was worth. Still trying to find a use for the fruit, I sliced the pod and stir-fried it as suggested in some recipes I'd seen on line, but even cooked, the flesh was unappetizing. Perhaps a taste for Akebi is based in genetics, i.e., its flavour appeals to those individuals who carry a certain gene. Will I break out my little paintbrush again next year? Probably, if for no other reason than to say, "Look! I cross-pollinated these myself!"
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