Tamarillo's super powers

Most people who grew up in New Zealand will be familiar with the trusty tamarillo, people from foreign shores may know it as 'tree tomato'.  This lovely fruit originally hails from the Andes in South America but has been keenly adopted by our little island nation.  With a strange taste one could describe being somewhere between tangy and tart, a hint of sweet, with kind of umami savoury, it is rather unique to say the least.

So what's so special about this little red fruit that places it on the podium of a star ingredient in our Tamarillo Hemp Cleanser?  Studies have proven certain varieties of tamarillo contain high antioxidant activity - notably in phenolic and anthocyanin compounds.

There was even a recent study done on tamarillos from Whangarei, showing that tamarillos grown in New Zealand have higher antioxidant levels than tamarillos grown elsewhere, such as Malaysia, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador.  This is common for most plants and fruits grown in New Zealand, and can be attributed to our extremely harsh sun.  Plants and fruits produce higher levels of antioxidants to protect themselves from the sun, where in other parts of the world the sun is not so harsh, so plants do not need to produce the same strength of protection.

 

The antioxidant activity present in the tamarillo are believed to contribute to health promoting effects such as antioxidative stress, and antimicrobial activity amongst others. It's great for putting ON your skin, but also great for putting IN to your body - and by that we mean eating it, as it contains anti-obesity and anticancer properties also.  Higher levels of the polyphenolic compounds are found in the skin as opposed to the pulp.  Most people tend to scoop the flesh out with a spoon, as the skin can be a bit tricky to eat, though this means you're missing out on the most powerful goodness.  One way we like to eat tamarillos is sliced and dehydrated - tamarillo chips! 

Somehow the drying process transforms the flavour and they become much more tangy and sweet.  Delicious. 

Plus the skins become crunchy and are easy to eat that way.

One of the main polyphenolic groups found in tamarillos is hydroxycinnamic acids.  These acids display anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and UV protective effects - which means tamarillo is great for combatting inflammation and doesn't hurt adding some extra UV protection to your skin.  Hydroxycinnamic acids are found in many foods, including fruit, tea, cocoa and wine.  Dietary intake of foods high in these polyphenols has been associated with prevention of cardiovascualr disease, cancer, type-2 diabetes.

 In New Zealand tamarillos are in season from June to August, but you might be able to find some early and late bloomers March to December.  Ways we love to use tamarillos are;

Tandem in an apple crumble

Served fresh on top of a hot bowl of cooked oats with other fruit, little bit of dark chocolate and yoghurt

As a vinaigrette (out of this world) 

OF COURSE on our face in the lovely Tamarillo Hemp Cleanser

Also great to use a few pumps of this cleanser with your own desired ingredients for an indulgent face mask - we love cacao powder and mānuka honey

If you're not already partial to a bit of 'tree tomato', perhaps now the next time you see them at a market or in a store, you might pick up some trusty tamarillos and rediscover the wonderousness that is this little red fruit.