Tamarillos — season, tips, and recipes in New Zealand
Tamarillos is a fruit available in New Zealand during April, May, June, July, August, September, peaking in June, July. This page is a practical guide for home cooks: when to buy tamarillos, how to pick a good one, how to store it, what it goes well with, three original recipes, and detailed nutrition information.
Also called 'tree tomatoes'. NZ is one of the few countries growing them commercially. Scoop the flesh out, the skin is too bitter to eat.
How to pick a good one
Firm, smooth unblemished skin. Red varieties are tangier, gold ones sweeter. Stem should be intact.
How to store it
Ripen at room temperature until slightly soft. Fridge when ripe, use within a week.
Goes well with
ginger: Tamarillo is tart, slightly bitter, and intensely flavoured. Ginger's warmth and heat complement its complexity without overwhelming it. Used together in chutneys, the combination is genuinely interesting.
cinnamon: Cinnamon's warmth softens tamarillo's astringency and makes the fruit more approachable. Used in poached tamarillos, it's one of the better simple preparations.
yoghurt: Yoghurt's mild acidity and creaminess moderates tamarillo's intense flavour. The contrast between the fruit's sharpness and yoghurt's cool creaminess is one of the better breakfasts in season.
goat cheese: Tamarillo's acidity and goat cheese's tang complement each other. Both are assertive flavours that don't cancel each other out.
Recipes
Roasted Tamarillos on Toast
Breakfast. Sweet, tart, surprising.
Ingredients: 4 tamarillos, 2 tbsp brown sugar, knob butter, toast, yoghurt
Method: Halve tamarillos. Place cut-side up. Dot with butter and sugar. Roast 200C for 12 min. Serve on toast with yoghurt.
Tamarillo Chutney
With cheese, cold meats, everything.
Ingredients: 6 tamarillos (peeled diced), 1 onion, 1 apple, 150ml vinegar, 100g brown sugar, 1 tsp ginger, pinch chilli
Method: Simmer everything 30 minutes until thick. Jar while hot.
Tamarillo & Ginger Crumble
Tart fruit, warm spice.
Ingredients: 6 tamarillos (peeled sliced), 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp ground ginger, 80g oats, 60g flour, 60g brown sugar, 50g butter
Method: Toss tamarillos with sugar and half the ginger. Put in dish. Rub oats, flour, sugar, remaining ginger, butter until crumbly. Top. Bake 180C for 25 min.
Nutrition
One tamarillo provides 33% of your daily vitamin C, 10% of your vitamin A, and 10% of your vitamin E. That combination of all three major antioxidant vitamins in one fruit is unusual. Good source of iron for a fruit. Only 31 calories per 100g.