Fruit is all the more sweet in the summer — it’s such a refreshing foil to hot, sunny days. (Although I must admit that today is pleasantly overcast and not so hot. I can hear my garden sighing in relief.) And bright-colored fruit makes summer days even more festive. In fact, doesn’t this golden kiwi [...]
North America may have the world’s crunchiest apples and crispiest pears — not to mention the sole market for tapping maples and selling their syrup — but there are some amazing fruits south of the border that we just don’t have up here. At least, we don’t commonly have access to them. More and more [...]
Continue reading about The Delights & Charms of Exotic Fruit
When you think of a banana, chances are you think of a Cavendish banana: yellow, curved and long, typically eaten when sweet and soft. But there are hundreds of varieties of bananas — albeit from one genetic source that has been replanted from cuttings for thousands of years — that range from small to large [...]
Doesn’t it feel great to stumble across an undiscovered corner of a place you thought you knew inside out? (Like when you find a hidden closet in the basement storage room or attic.) It’s such a “wow — neat!” moment. I had one of those unexpected moments when I recently thought to troll through the [...]
Okay, I’ll admit it — I’ve been shallow. For years, I’ve avoided the ugli fruit because it was called an ugli fruit. (And because it didn’t look weird enough. I get so curious about strange foods I’ve never seen before that I would happily try something called “ugly” as long as it looked weird enough.) [...]
Tapas, flamenco, red wine, olive oil, ham, Manchego cheese…and snake fruit. Those are my overriding impressions from a recent trip to Spain. I hadn’t expected to find rambutans and snake fruit in the mercado central, but I was overjoyed when I spotted the bins of frutas exóticas — ever since I’d gotten my first glimpse [...]
An intriguing sweet flavor, sturdy packaging, and sheer weirdness–those attributes describe my idea of an appealing fruit. Rambutans and lychees (and longans, a.k.a. “dragon eyes”) get outstanding marks in all three categories. If you can find fresh ones, snap them up–they’re worth the high price. Besides, just having two or three is a fun gastronomic [...]
When I was an exchange student living in Germany, my favorite gelato flavor was maracuja. It had a tangy, sweet-but-tart character that made it refreshing and intriguing at the same time. Imagine my ecstatic happiness when I discovered maracuja juice at the local grocery store! “I’ve got to figure out what this is so that [...]
When the weather gets chilly, the chilled make drinks with umbrellas in them so that we can pretend we’re lounging on a Caribbean beach…or at least imagine ourselves on a cruise ship heading towards the islands. The beauty of this drink is that you can make it as an exotic wake-me-up or add rum for [...]
Persimmons are an exotic and versatile fall/winter fruit. Their bright-orange flesh and mildly-sweet flavor means they’re equally at home adorning a salad or sliced and served plain. They’re also sturdy enough to be sauteéd and are a particularly good match for chicken. Try adding a peeled and cored persimmon to your fruit smoothies to add [...]
