The tamarillo owes its name tree tomato to its tomato-like, red, egg-sized fruits. In terms of taste, however, they have little in common with tomatoes: the jelly-like flesh of the tamarillo is yellow-reddish, tastes sweet and sour, and is spooned out or cooked down to make jam. Tree tomatoes are therefore not an exotic variety of tomato, but a separate genus. The small trees are grown in South America, California, and especially New Zealand, so there are now numerous hybrids and breeds of them. The exotic plant, which is popular not only for its fruit but also for its attractive ornamental foliage, can also be cultivated in our latitudes. However, it is recommended that you grow it in a pot, as the tree tomato needs to be kept frost-free over the winter.
