Edible garden: The tasty tamarillo

Part of my garden looks like a Christmas tree at the moment, all red lanterns against green leaves. That's the corner where the tamarillo grows. Each year this sub-tropical plant's leaves are battered by winds and cold temperatures. But each year it produces beautiful egg-shaped decorative fruit. When wind or frost kill the leaves, I just prune the tree back. Tamarillo prune well so you can shape them. Fruit forms on new spring growth so the pruning results in more fruit.

And those fruit are delicious. I grew my tree from a school fair seedling when they were called tree tomatoes, but the variety I'd go for now would be Tango. This New Zealand-bred strain has sweeter fruit than mine.

My favourite way to eat tamarillos is to put the fruit in boiling water and the skins slip off. Slice into a glass jar, sprinkle sugar on top and leave overnight. The next day they are heavenly - for breakfast or dessert.

Why was this egg-shaped fruit called a tree tomato? Presumably because it is a member of the same family of plants as the potato and tomato. Not that you'd know by looking at it. Cacti and spinach are related to each other as well and I wouldn't have guessed that one either.