Taste of Fuchsia splendens?.

I'm curious if anyone has an opinion on the taste of Fuchsia splendens. I have a small plant with a few young fruits. I've never tasted a Fuchsia fruit, but F. splendens is claimed to be one of the best. Previous posts about other species that I found have not been enthusiastic, but not really negative either. The word that has been used is "bland".

Great plant, though--assuming it will take our summers (Sz 15, South Bay).

Not the best picture:

http://s333.photobucket.com/albums/m393/mark43210/fuchsia%20splendens/?action=view¤t=fuchsia_splen_4_2_09.jpg

Plant from Annie's Annuals and Perrenials:

http://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=1856&account=none

The following thread was started by randy on April 16, 2009 at 5:32 pm PST

I'm sure that touting fuchsia fruits as the next "superfood" is something that lies just around the corner. It is true that they are somewhat bland. Waiting until they are slightly shriveled sometimes gives them a hint of sweetness. Sometimes sharp flavors in a fruit are the result of unusual compounds that have potential medicinal implications.

I haven't tried Fuchsia splendens yet. I, too, have heard that it may have the best eating potential and the fruit can be unusually large as well (not sure if that is a benefit in this case). The best-tasting fuchsia I've tried so far is Fuchsia regia. It has a marked peppery taste layered over a slightly sweeter-than-normal fruit. It's more interesting than delicious. As with so many offbeat fruit, I find that my appetite for them is self-limiting. I enjoy browsing a few off the vine while working in the front yard and then I've had enough. They also combine very well with chopped pecans on top of granola. No doubt someone will soon discover that the peppery taste is the result of a compound that causes liver cysts or potentiates strokes or something. Either that or it will cure Alzheimers.

Unfortunately, I think my Fuchsia regia will have to go as it is becoming almost as invasive as Himalayan blackberry in my yard. Need to pull it before it escapes into the wild.

The above followup was added by Steve in Brookings on April 16, 2009 at 5:45 pm PST.