Fruit

[rotuts]

Ive done the tomato test w top of the line

 

garden perfectly ripe tomatoes from my own garden

 

and done them double blind.

 

red , of various strains , has more tomato taste

 

over all non-red cultivars Ive tried.

 

and I have not tried yellow and red watermelon at the same time.

 

seedless has less flavor than seeded

 

Supermarket water melons , in california , not NE.

 

no fruit is very good in new england , except local apples 

 

in the late fall.

[KennethT]

I just ordered a 10# box of these from a grower in Florida:

 

These are brahm kai meu mangoes (that's the Vietnamese name, it has a different name in Thai).  The grower picks them green (I can't wait to make a green mango salad... I miss them!!!  It will also be good with a salty/sweet/chili dip) but if I let them sit, they will ripen.  If it is close to what I've had in Vietnam and Thailand, I will be one happy guy.

Edited May 20, 2021 by KennethT (log)

[ElsieD]

I love mangoes.

[liuzhou]

34 minutes ago, KennethT said:

These are brahm kai meu mangoes (that's the Vietnamese name, it has a different name in Thai)

 

Not so different. The common Thai name is Phram Khai Mia in the official transliteration system. Vietnamese took the name from the Thai, slightly altering it.

[KennethT]

BTW - can I store some of them in the refrigerator so they don't ripen as quickly?

[liuzhou]

Just now, KennethT said:

BTW - can I store some of them in the refrigerator so they don't ripen as quickly?

 

I usually do that with mangoes, but never have done with that variety. I don't see why they would be any different.

[TicTac]

15 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

I usually do that with mangoes, but never have done with that variety. I don't see why they would be any different.

Mangoes ripen in the fridge???

 

Nice score, @KennethT.  What did the 10lbs cost you?

 

Mango season is upon us here thanks to our friends in India/Pakistan.  But at $50/box ($5/mango!?), they can go fly a kite. 

[KennethT]

26 minutes ago, TicTac said:

Mangoes ripen in the fridge???

 

Nice score, @KennethT.  What did the 10lbs cost you?

 

Mango season is upon us here thanks to our friends in India/Pakistan.  But at $50/box ($5/mango!?), they can go fly a kite. 

No - keeping them in the fridge delays ripening.  The price is $95 including air shipping (which I imagine is most of the cost) - but I don't know how many mangoes that is.

[TicTac]

18 hours ago, KennethT said:

No - keeping them in the fridge delays ripening.  The price is $95 including air shipping (which I imagine is most of the cost) - but I don't know how many mangoes that is.

Clearly I read the above post after a long day and nothing to calm the proverbial nerves!  Curious how many mangoes make it in that.  Decent price with shipping...my guess is you will get around 12-18?

 

 

[KennethT]

I got my box of mangoes today.  I was a little nervous all day in anticipation (it's a lot of money for mangoes!) but I needn't have worried - I had one this evening and it was amazing... it brought me right back to being in Saigon and Thailand.

 

Here's my box (minus a couple mangoes):

 

And a crude cutting job with some homemade nam pla waan (palm sugar dip with fish sauce, dried shrimp, shrimp paste, chillies and shallots).  One might say "fish and shrimp with fruit, yuck" but oh no... it's sooo good.

 

 

And now a little trip down memory lane....

 

Saigon at my first O'c (snail restaurant) experience

 

And this was bought from a sidewalk vendor and was eaten poolside in the hotel:

[KennethT]

BTW - for anyone with green mango eating experience ( @liuzhou )... I want to keep some green and would like to try to ripen some.  Is that a good idea?  Will they ripen well if picked green?  Also, where's the best place to keep the ones I want to ripen, on the countertop?  It's about 75degF in my kitchen at all times.  Thank you!

[liuzhou]

32 minutes ago, KennethT said:

BTW - for anyone with green mango eating experience ( @liuzhou )... I want to keep some green and would like to try to ripen some. 

 

While I've eaten more than my fair share of green mangoes, it has always been in restaurants as far as I remember. Never tried to ripen one, but aren't all mangoes picked green before being shipped to mango-less countries? I don't know.

 

By the way, we get 青芒 (qīng máng), literally green mangoes here which are ripe. They are just a varierty that don't fully colour up when ripe.

 

[heidih]

@KennethT Oh no your dip for the mango is exactly my memory and preference. I live in the land of salt & spice given with street vendor fruits 

[FeChef]

2 hours ago, KennethT said:

I got my box of mangoes today.  I was a little nervous all day in anticipation (it's a lot of money for mangoes!) but I needn't have worried - I had one this evening and it was amazing... it brought me right back to being in Saigon and Thailand.

 

Here's my box (minus a couple mangoes):

 

And a crude cutting job with some homemade nam pla waan (palm sugar dip with fish sauce, dried shrimp, shrimp paste, chillies and shallots).  One might say "fish and shrimp with fruit, yuck" but oh no... it's sooo good.

 

 

And now a little trip down memory lane....

 

Saigon at my first O'c (snail restaurant) experience

 

And this was bought from a sidewalk vendor and was eaten poolside in the hotel:

Love me some Sapporo.

[KennethT]

10 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

While I've eaten more than my fair share of green mangoes, it has always been in restaurants as far as I remember. Never tried to ripen one, but aren't all mangoes picked green before being shipped to mango-less countries? I don't know.

 

By the way, we get 青芒 (qīng máng), literally green mangoes here which are ripe. They are just a varierty that don't fully colour up when ripe.

 

Killing me with those prices!!!!  A little over a dollar per pound!

[liuzhou]

On 5/22/2021 at 8:26 PM, KennethT said:

Killing me with those prices!!!!  A little over a dollar per pound!

 

Yeah well, when they are literally growing on the streets you pass through to get to the supermarket, it's kind of hard to attract top dollar!

Edited May 6 by liuzhou (log)

[MokaPot]

15 hours ago, KennethT said:

BTW - for anyone with green mango eating experience ( @liuzhou )... I want to keep some green and would like to try to ripen some.  Is that a good idea?  Will they ripen well if picked green?  Also, where's the best place to keep the ones I want to ripen, on the countertop?  It's about 75degF in my kitchen at all times.  Thank you!

 

IME, some types of mangoes are just better for eating green. Other types are better for eating ripe.

 

Even if that mango were to ripen on your counter, not sure it would be very sweet and delicious. But, might be worth it to experiment with a couple of them.

 

I would just put them on the countertop to ripen. (That has worked for me, but not with mangoes super-under-ripe like what you have.)

 

Looks delicious with those seasonings, BTW.

 

[heidih]

3 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

Yeah well, whenthey are literally growing on the streets you pass through to get to the supermarket, it's kind of hard to attract top dollar!

People are funny here. There are loquats espaliered against a long wall at the local little mall. Full of fruit. I think people here have no clue to what they are.

[kayb]

On 4/23/2021 at 9:59 AM, Katie Meadow said:

I adore a good yellow watermelon. Don't you think it has a slightly vegetal quality? Hard to describe. I'm convinced the ones with seeds are better than seedless. But I think that's true of all watermelon. Looking forward to the season here in northern CA. I will be in Atlanta in June and I wonder if yellow watermelon is popular there. I'm looking forward to everything but the flight, that dreadful airport and the weather. 

 

You should be able to find yellow watermelon in Atlanta in June, or at least after mid-June, pretty easily. 

 

I encourage you, depending on what part of town you're in, to eat at Murphy's Wine Bar in Virginia Highland. Probably my very favorite Atlanta restaurant.

 

On 4/23/2021 at 10:30 AM, rotuts said:

red is more water-melon-ey

 

then yellow.

 

as red tomatoes ( even bad one from the Super )

 

have more tomato flavor than , say yellow etc

 

its p0ssible the yellow is sweeter

 

but might be a field-ripeness issue.

In the world of tomatoes, yellow ones are lower in acid than are red. So many people who can't eat the red ones because of reflux, etc., can eat yellow ones. My personal favorite is Carolina Gold, which I like to pair with Arkansas Travelers (red) and fried green tomatoes on a BLT.

 

I do think red watermelons are more "watermelony" than the yellow ones. But I'd take either one!

[Katie Meadow]

@kaybThanks for the recommendation. It's unlikely we will stray that far from the Decatur/ Avondale area. My daughter is about to give birth to twins and I expect leisurely destination restaurants are not part of this visit! They live a few minutes from that fabulous gigantic multi cultural emporium known as the Dekalb Farmers Market, so I'm expecting that to be our major source of supplies. Any suggestion for coffee shops, breakfast, bakery and good take out in the Decatur. area is welcome! Looking forward to watermelon of all colors, which have a later season here in the Bay Area, and green tomatoes, which are not available here at all in any season unless you grow them yourself. One of my very favorite treats is a fried green tomato BLT. I am assuming that my daughter and her husband will be needing a lot of calories.

[kayb]

No, I'd venture you'll be busy tending to babies and mom and dad. Enjoy! Murphy's is also a bakery, and does not appear to be very far from Decatur (just the other side of Druid Hills). Some good bakery things might be just the ticket for the new mother!

 

Safe travels.

 

 

[KennethT]

On 5/21/2021 at 9:37 PM, KennethT said:

I got my box of mangoes today.  I was a little nervous all day in anticipation (it's a lot of money for mangoes!) but I needn't have worried - I had one this evening and it was amazing... it brought me right back to being in Saigon and Thailand.

 

Here's my box (minus a couple mangoes):

 

And a crude cutting job with some homemade nam pla waan (palm sugar dip with fish sauce, dried shrimp, shrimp paste, chillies and shallots).  One might say "fish and shrimp with fruit, yuck" but oh no... it's sooo good.

 

 

And now a little trip down memory lane....

 

Saigon at my first O'c (snail restaurant) experience

 

And this was bought from a sidewalk vendor and was eaten poolside in the hotel:

We had our 2nd mango of the box this evening.  It was even better than the one from yesterday!  Tart, a little sweet and really crunchy - like the best Granny Smith apple ever.  I could have never imagined I'd be saying that I'm so happy that I paid about $7 for a fruit (other than durian which can be a LOT more expensive, even in the area where it's grown).

[Smithy]

8 hours ago, heidih said:

People are funny here. There are loquats espaliered against a long wall at the local little mall. Full of fruit. I think people here have no clue to what they are.

 

You're probably right. When I was growing up in the San Joaquin Valley a neighbor or two had loquats as backyard trees but they were considered odd, and not cultivated commercially. I'd be surprised if any of those trees still survive. The only place I've seen loquats for sale is at a Middle Eastern market in Tucson.

[heidih]

11 hours ago, Smithy said:

The only place I've seen loquats for sale is at a Middle Eastern market in Tucson.

I've only seen them sold by the sidewalk grannies in little bags in Chinatown (L.A.)   They also sold kumquats which really punch up the fresh sugar cane juice also from street vendor. They make my favorite marmalade.

[liuzhou]

11 hours ago, Smithy said:

The only place I've seen loquats for sale is at a Middle Eastern market in Tucson.

 

Every supermarket and market has them here, when in season. But then they are from China, originally. In Mandarin, they are 枇杷 (pí pa, pronounced like 'pea pah'). 'Loquat' is from the Cantonese luh kwat, literally ‘rush orange’.

I like them, but they are fiddly.