These high-value, high-priced "IQ fruits" are out to deceive people again. What are they? Don't buy them anymore!

During the May Day holiday, when you happily go to some tourist attractions and are attracted by the charming natural scenery, you often come across some fruit stalls, which display many fruits you have never seen before . Some of them are golden, some are very shiny, and look very tempting. In the hot summer or on a tiring journey, you try to get a cool and full stomach redemption from them.

However, behind these seemingly fresh and healthy fruits lies a shocking scam...

Artificial fruit

You must have seen this kind of high-value "fruit" - golden plum or crystal fruit in scenic spots or on the roadside. The price ranges from 30 to more than 60 yuan per kilogram. The golden plum is the size of a red date, with a crystal clear surface and a golden yellow appearance that gradually turns red, as if nature is extremely partial to it and gave it such a beautiful appearance. Not only that, its status is also very "noble". Almost every seller will pat his chest and say: "This is a fresh fruit of the season, a new variety shipped from the United States."

Many people bought some without having tried them before, only to find that a few small pieces cost more than ten yuan. On average, the price of one piece is more expensive than a cherry. However, after tasting it, they found that its beautiful appearance is deceptive, and a strong taste of industrial saccharin lingers in their mouths.

Golden plums and shoulder poles are standard｜@月月月梦

In fact, golden plums are not prunes at all, not even fresh fruits, but a kind of candied fruit. Generally, they are made by pickling small peaches or rotten plums that are discarded after the peach trees are thinned, adding some sugar and pigments. This scam has been around for many years. Sometimes, when the routine is played too many times and people are more vigilant, it will change its vest and transform itself into "golden fruit", "champagne fruit" or "golden fragrant fruit" to continue to deceive people. However, no matter what the name is, it cannot escape its fake nature.

With so many additives, does anyone really like to eat it?｜Self-screenshot‍‍

False Fruit

Often sold together with golden plums, there is another shiny-looking "fruit" - jaboticaba. Some sellers call it dragon fruit, black plum or tree grape . When you successfully escape the golden plum trap and learn to be smart, you search online before buying it, and find that jaboticaba is a real fruit. You think you will not be fooled. But in fact, most stalls selling jaboticaba sell fake jaboticaba , which is mainly to make the fake look real!

This fake jaboticaba is disguised as an ordinary grape by the seller. In order to highlight its nobility, the seller cuts the grapes from the branches and waxes them, and then sells them one by one, giving it a temperament that most people cannot afford to eat.

In order to pretend that it is fresh, the seller will also put a few leaves picked from somewhere.

So, what does the real jaboticaba look like? Why has it fallen to the point where someone impersonates it?

Jabuticaba (scientific name: Plinia cauliflora), also known as Pseudo-love tree, wood grape, and tree grape, is an evergreen shrub of the Myrtaceae family, which can grow to 10 to 12 meters high . The Jabuticaba tree has lush green leaves and branches all year round, and can bloom and bear fruit all year round. When it blooms, small pale yellow flowers will appear on the branches of the Jabuticaba tree, and after the flowers fall, small fruits will appear.

Flowers and fruits on the branches of the Jaboticobium tree｜wiki

The Jabuticaba is green at first, but turns red when it grows to a certain point, and turns dark purple when it matures. The flesh is white and slightly transparent. The flesh tastes sweet and the peel tastes sour. It contains rich nutrients such as vitamin C and trace elements such as phosphorus and magnesium, and is described by people as a "black diamond growing on a tree."

This is what the mature Jabuticaba looks like | wiki

As can be seen from the nickname of Jabuticaba, "tree grape", people often confuse it with grapes, but in fact , Jabuticaba and grapes are weakly related in taxonomy and belong to different orders under the Rosaceae family. Jabuticaba is closer to guava and wax apple, which also belong to the Myrtaceae family. Secondly, grapes are vines with small fruits in clusters, while Jabuticaba is an evergreen shrub with larger fruits that grow independently one by one from the branches of the tree.

Image source: @Fruit Hunter Yang Xiaoyang

Finally, if you really want to try Jabuticaba but are worried about being deceived by fake grapes, you can distinguish them by carefully observing the stalks and flesh of grapes and Jabuticaba: the stalks of grapes are thicker, covered with pits, and the flesh is transparent green (everyone who eats grapes often knows this, right?). The stalks of real Jabuticaba are thinner, the inside is white when cut open, and there is a "butt" on the other side of the stalk.

The flesh is white, and the one on the lower left has a "butt"｜wiki‍‍‍‍‍‍

Changing your name is a good idea

I don't know if the sellers think that fake fruits with "gold" added to them will be particularly popular. This "Jinsha fruit" that is said to be produced by the Jinsha River was once sold at a high price in a certain ancient city. It is said that this brown-red Jinsha fruit is rich in juice and has rich nutritious flesh. It looks a bit like a coconut, but its taste and beauty-enhancing effect are several times greater than that of a coconut.

But in fact, this fruit is coconut . Coconut has three layers of skin. The outer skin is thin and smooth, with colors such as green and yellow; the middle skin is composed of thick brown fibers, white when immature and high in water content; the endocarp is very thin but also very hard. Some vendors have taken a fancy to coconuts that have been stripped of the two outer layers of "clothes", waxing them and selling them as exotic fruits.

Image source: @Fruit Hunter Yang Xiaoyang

Forward this to your loving family so they won’t make any complaints during the holidays.

References

[1]https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1717113041541871265&wfr=spider&for=pc

[2]https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/%E6%8B%9F%E7%88%B1%E7%A5%9E%E6%9C%A8

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/12/learning/hearing-colors-and-tasting-sounds-what-is-synesthesia.html

[3]https://www.sohu.com/a/533779907_100117593

Planning and production

Source: Bring Science Home (ID: steamforkids)

Author: Ah Xian

Editor: Wang Mengru

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin