UC ANR South Coast REC - Irvine, CA - January 24, 2014   

The South Coast Research and Extension Center opened up it gates to invited guests, the California Rare Fruit Growers Association, and the UCCE Master Gardeners on Friday, January 24, 2014. Attendees were treated to the third annual cherimoya taste testing held at the Center here in Irvine.

A crowd of almost 200 people were lined up out the door to evaluate this tropical treat grown at the Center. Through a blind tasting, evaluators were asked to rate the 19 varieties using a basic one to five scale for texture, flavor, and overall performance.

The cherimoya collection at the South Coast REC contains various cultivars that are not widely available, and sought after by avid fans of this fruit. The varieties that were evaluated included ‘Big Sister', ‘Booth', ‘Bradley', ‘Chaffey', ‘Deliciosa', ‘El Bumpo', ‘Fino de Jete', ‘Lucida', ‘Nata', ‘Orton', ‘Ott', ‘Oxhart', ‘Pierce', ‘Sabor', ‘Salmon', ‘Santa Rosa', ‘Selma', ‘Whaley', ‘White', and ‘40/10'. The harvest at the time of the tasting was fairly good thanks to a mild winter.

Unlike the previous open tastings where ‘El Bumpo' reigned as the winner in all three categories, results were not as clear cut this year (although it did rank within the top three of each category).

 

South Coast REC 2014 Cherimoya Tasting Top Three Varieties

	Texture	Flavor	Overall
1	Lucida	El Bumpo	Lucida
2	Deliciosa	Selma	El Bumpo
3	Selma	Lucida	Selma

 

On hand to answer questions were the knowledgeable volunteers led by Isabel Barkman and Greg Rager.

Attendees making a donation received a reusable bag that was filled with various varieties of this late winter fruit. Donations will benefit the Urban Horticulture Extension Program at the South Coast REC providing the general public with educational opportunities related to edible and ornamental landscaping.