Weird Fruits

Day 349: It's weird fruit season again! I have been so preoccupied with Merry's recovery that I neglected to check on the Akebia pods to see if they were ripening. A couple of them had gone a bit too far already, and some critter had been at them, but I salvaged more than half a dozen for my personal enjoyment. There are a few more yet to come. Now when I say "personal enjoyment," I have to qualify it by explaining that Akebias are a difficult taste to acquire. For one thing, the edible portion is only a thin layer of...for want of a better word...sliminess which adheres closely to hundreds of fat, hard seeds. To eat an Akebia, you put a spoonful in your mouth, roll it around on your tongue for a bit, then spit the seeds out before swallowing. At first, I found them tasteless. Now that my palate is more educated, the slight sweetness is more apparent. The closest thing I can compare it to is unflavoured rice candy. I actually look forward to the Akebia harvest now, but I have learned not to go overboard when hand-pollinating the vines. A dozen or a dozen and a half is plenty for a season. Forty is definitely overkill.