Fruit of lulo (naranjilla)

Lulo botanical name: Solanum quitoense Lam. Lulo also known as Quito orange or naranjilla. It has been an immensely popular fruit of Colombia and Ecuador. Most people prefer lulo fruit in juice, ice creams and other mixtures that contain a good amount of sugar.

The fruit grows in a thorny perennial shrub which reaches a height of 1-3 m and has very large leaves. Orange yellow on the outside, the fruits look somewhat like tomatoes on the inside, but their pulp is green. 

The pulp is juicy, green and acid somewhat resembles that of pineapples and guava in flavor and has numerous small seeds embedded in it.

Lulo contain proteins, phosphorus, niacin, ascorbic acid, calcium and iron. The ideal fruit should be hard and free of holes, black spots or other damages.

Lulo can be eaten raw or cooked or used to make juice. It is also cooked in fruit pies of confections and is used to make jellies and other preserves.
Fruit of lulo (naranjilla)