A follow-up to the previous entry on the bittergourd, here’s a new food that I came across at the local grocery today but have yet to purchase or taste. It’s the あけび Akebi fruit, from another vine plant usually referred to as the Fiveleaf Akebia.

Akebi at Red Cabbage (grocery)

Akebi is an autumn-season fruit native to Honshu (main island on which Tokyo lies) and Kyushu (nearby main island where Nagasaki lies) as well as China and the Korean peninsula. It has a light purple colour and thus is reminiscent of the dark purple Japanese eggplant, but shorter and fatter in size. The vine’s flowers give off a chocolate-like aroma, clearly making it a must-have for any addict.

Akebi interior

Although the skin and seeds are edible, one is supposed to wait for the fruit to split open in what has been described as “Pac Man style” to eat the then-ripened gooey interior. It’s supposed to have a sweet flavour that is otherwise nondescript, less like fruit and more like a sugar cane sweet.

I’ve yet to try akebi but I will be picking one up soon to give it a go. It’ll be interesting to see whether it splits open on its own and what the gooey texture will be like. It’s supposed to be somewhat pulpy with watermelon seed-like seeds that by comparison are a bit smaller and easier to swallow.

Check back for later adventures with akebi…

Update: See part two for the big reveal.