I love fruits who wouldn't? I feel so lucky that I live in a country where fruits are fresh, abundant and affordable. One of my favorite month here is August because every 3rd week of August our city celebrates Kadayawan Festival. It is a celebration of Good Harvest of fruits and orchids. During that month until October there are lots of fruits not just in the market but everywhere. You can even see people selling fruits on their 4x4 truck on the street. There are just too much fruits during those months and fruits become very cheap.
In this blog I will be posting list of my favorite fruits (in no particular order) that can be found here in my country especially in my city.
Caimito/Star Apple - When I was a kid I really enjoyed climbing my grandmother's caimito tree just to have a taste of this fruit which led me to a leg injury but it is alright the taste of this fruit is worth the pain. There are 2 kinds of caimito the purple one and the green one. What we had was the purple but I like green more.
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Sugar Apple - My neighbor had a sugar apple on their front yard before and when it bears fruits we enjoyed eating it though I find it difficult to separate the seed in the mouth and spit it out.
Durian - Known as the King of Fruits. Because of its strong smell it is banned in hotels, restaurants and public transportation. I really hate this fruit before. It smells like a rotten fruit or trash and I can't stand the taste but everything changed during Nutrition Month in my 3rd year Highschool our class were named Durian Team since then like a magic I fell inlove with Durian and it became my number 1 favorite fruit. Good thing my city (Davao) produce at least 16 varieties of Durian.
Lanzones - I am always excited before whenever we will visit grandma's house in the province especially during the peak season of Lanzones. She had a lanzones tree near her house and it was a sweet one. Buying Lanzones in the market is a gamble sometimes you pick a sour type sometimes sweet. They said if it has black ants roaming around the Lanzones it means it is a sweet type so far I find it true.
Wild Mangosteen - I really really love this whether it's sour or sweet I'll eat its flesh and seeds. After I peel it I dip its flesh in salt and vinegar. For the seed I just spit it out after I suck all its flavor if the seed is small I swallow it but I don't do that anymore because I read somewhere it can be bad.
Melon - It might taste dull if you eat it raw but taste like heaven if you turn it into a melon milk shake or just squash it put some powdered milk and sugar yummyy!
Water Apple - If you have a tree of water apple in your house, everyday, every hour and every minute there will be someone especially kids knocking on your door asking if they can get some of your Water Apple. When I was young I and my friends always climbed our neighbor's water apple tree. We ate it raw or dip in salt.
Avocado - Ahhh just thinking about it makes me crave haha.. My top favorite fruit next to Durian. I love it with all my heart but I really find it weird seeing western people treat it like a vegetable. I prefer turning it to milk shake or just eat it with powdered/condensed milk and sugar just like melon. Believe me it is better than turning it into salad!
Mangoes - Everybody knows mangoes and everybody love it! I love both green/unripe mangoes and ripe mangoes but if I have to choose one I will choose green mangoes dip it in vinegar and salt, soy sauce and salt, soy sauce and sugar (I find it weird first but it is a good combination of salty, sweet and sour) and my favorite of all shrimp paste.
Calamansi - We call this Lemonsito in our dialect meaning small lemon. Some people including me eat it raw dipping it in salt but mostly we used this to make Calamansi Juice, a substitute for vinegar to add flavor to the dishes, It can heal insect bites, acne or pimples, and an deodorize underarm. My grandma use this for heavy stain removal. A fruit which is rich in Vitamin C with lots of uses simply amazing!
Mangosteen - A very healthy and nutritious fruit with a sweet taste. It has lots of Vitamins and Minerals therefore many supplements are made from mangosteen and they are really top seller because many people claimed that their health has improved. During peak season of this fruit my mother usually buy bunch of this, we will eat the white edible inside then my mother will boil the rind and drink it as if it is a tea. I can see that it always improve my mother's health.
Papaya - Papaya is good for skin but I don't eat it because of that I eat it because I like it! Tinola soup taste better with unripe papaya. I also buy half-ripe papaya from the street vendor yup fruits like mango, papaya, pine apple, jicama (singkamas) are one of the street foods here hmmm taste great with chili powder, salt and vinegar. It seems I am addicted to salt and vinegar lol.
Pomelo - Taste like grapefruit but a bigger version of it. Enjoy this juicy citrus fruit sprinkled or dipped in salt.
Sineguelas / Spanish Plum - So much memories with this fruit dipping it in salt while watching tv, reading books or talking with someone. I like it when it is unripe because the flesh is firm and the skin is taut and shiny. I am not fond of the ripe one even though it is sweet and mushy.
Soursop - I only want to eat this raw and nothing else. I don't like Soursop juice or whatever that has Soursop flavor. To eat this without condiments is enough.
Star Fruit - When you cut this crosswise, the shape you see is that of a star I guess that is why it is called Star Fruit. In our dialect we call this Balimbing which is also a slang word for traitor or turncoat I don't have an idea why haha.
Rambutan - A very sweet and refreshing fruit having a juicy white edible flesh surrounding the seed. Lanzones and Rambutan have the same peak season so we usually buy them together, just like Lazones if there are black ants roaming around it means they are a sweet and juicy type. Well I haven't tried a sour one.
Well I guess that's all! There are still other fruit which are abundant here in my country and city such as banana, pineapple, jicama, watermelon, sunkist and etc but I did not include them because they are not my favorite but I eat a lot of them like always haha! What is your favorite fruit?
By: Doris Jamoner
