Bitter tomato
Name Variations[]
- betabore
- Sodom apple
- jaxato ji
About bitter tomato[]
The bitter tomato is an African Fruit that's used as a vegetable, particularly in the preparation of West African 'soups' (i.e. stews). It is available in just about every African market from North to South but is essentially unknown in the West.
The fruit (one per inflorescence) are globular and can grow up to 6cm in diameter and have green or pale yellow skins with a thin waxy exocarp. The flesh is white, moist but not juicy and contains many seeds that are pale yellow, or brown to black; 2–2.6 mm long. The cross-section of the fruit looks vaguely like a tomato (hence the common name of bitter tomato) and the flesh is markedly bitter but sweetens upon boiling. It also exudes a glutinous substance when boiled and this thickens-up stews and soups. As a result the fruit is much used in West African stews as a thickener.