AU: First water apples of the season
Also known as love fruit, wax apple, bell fruit and rose apple, water apples are from the myrtaceae family, which includes myrtle, guava, clove and eucalyptus.
Roughly palm sized and shaped like a small pear, there are white and red water apple varieties.
Karen works at her family's produce stall and says the taste is subtle but crisp.
"They're kind of like a nashi but they have a different flavour. People love them because they're very refreshing."
"Some Asian people like to eat them with rock salt and chilli, they cut them up and dip them in."
Karen's mother has a 30 acre farm at Lambells Lagoon and her single tree has produced several boxes of fruit already.
Further North in Indonesia and Malaysia, water apple fruit ripens in August and again in November but in the Top End the fruit season tends to peak around September and April.
And Karen's tip for picking a good water apple?
"Look for the fat ones and the very bright red ones."
Source: www.abc.net.au
