Preserving Che (e.g., melon berry, Chinese Mulberry, Cudrang)

We have 2 che trees (on Osage Orange rootstock), whose output is now well beyond our ability to eat them fresh. We tried dehydrating them, but the end product was very bland, not at all like the delicious dried apples, jujube, asian pears, asian persimmons, etc.

Does anyone have any techniques for preserving che in any form?

Che Fruit Facts

I have a tiny tree. It's going to be a few years before I get fruit. Do you like them fresh? How many years before they produce?

Mine is at seedless Chi from Edible Landscaping.

I hope you get some good preservation techniques

Ken W Wilson wrote:I have a tiny tree. It's going to be a few years before I get fruit. Do you like them fresh? How many years before they produce?

Mine is at seedless Chi from Edible Landscaping.

Yes, they are quite delicious fresh IF one waits until they are fully ripe. I have found the California Rare Fruit Growers information on this to be essential: "It is important that the fruits be thoroughly ripe to be at their best. A darker shade of red with some blackening of the skin is a good indication of full ripeness."

Ours took about 3-4 years to bear, and the first year fruits (like many other fruit trees/shrubs) were not quite fully mature, and dropped early. I also found that while they are drought resistant, long periods of insufficient rainfall will result in immature and/or dropped fruit unless periodically watered.

What state are you in? Are yours ripe now? The link said November. We get frost before then.

Ken W Wilson wrote:What state are you in? Are yours ripe now? The link said November. We get frost before then.

We are in northern Virginia and our fruit ripens around Halloween, though some before that.

I think most years mine may not ripen. I have many species of fruit, so I don't need them all to produce every year. Sure hope they ripen some years. Do they bloom early? Late frosts are our biggest problem here.