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Fruit

liuzhou

By liuzhou
in Cooking

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Margaret Pilgrim

Margaret Pilgrim

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, heidih said:

Further to loquats thhis popped up. I enjoyed the perspective  https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/los-angeles-loquat-fruit-trees

Very interesting.    We had a loquat tree in the backyard of our first (San Francisco)

house.   And, no, we never used the fruit except as a rare novelty bite.
 

eGullet member #80.

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blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted
22 minutes ago, heidih said:

Further to loquats thhis popped up. I enjoyed the perspective  https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/los-angeles-loquat-fruit-trees

I used to pick a few from neighbors trees as I walked home from work everyday while they were in season. I'd often see people drive up in their cars and take away bags of fruit.  They are a treat!

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
23 minutes ago, heidih said:

Further to loquats thhis popped up. I enjoyed the perspective  https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/los-angeles-loquat-fruit-trees

 

Thanks for this. I especially liked this line near the end:

Quote

There’s only one commercial loquat operation anywhere near Los Angeles, in Malibu, and it seems like the farmer grows them mostly out of stubbornness.

 

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted
On 5/22/2021 at 9:41 PM, KennethT said:

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).

We let 2 of these mangoes sit on the counter to ripen - we had one of them last night.  It was really good, and you could tell that it would be amazing if it was left to ripen more on the tree, but being picked as green as it was really hindered the development.  If I had never had one of its kind in SE Asia, I would say that this was an amazing mango, but I know its potential of dripping down your chin with a distinctive flavor, so it was a bit disappointing.  I'm glad we only left 2 to ripen as we really enjoy them more when they're green.

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heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted
39 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

The article doesn't mention it, but loquats are also used here in southern China to make a kind of tisane / "tea".

 

998643275_loquatteaandloquats.thumb.jpg.30e2ebbd15f915e4cb997f2e168556f5.jpg

 

Good to know. I like tisanes. It is almost exclusively Asian grannies picking big bags of them at the local closed landfill - or the occasional horseperson who just reaches out for one as the trees are pretty big - no need to dismount.

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Katie Meadow

Katie Meadow

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Very interesting.    We had a loquat tree in the backyard of our first (San Francisco)

house.   And, no, we never used the fruit except as a rare novelty bite.
 

There are plenty of loquat trees in back yards and front yards in the Bay Area. Every once in a while there's one that produces large juicy fruit. Maybe most of the trees get ignored and so they seem to have smaller mediocre fruit. When you come across a good one it is indeed a treat.

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blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted

Just came back from the farmers market and there were three growers offering loquats. I passed.  Could go back. Or try foraging the neighborhood first. Drove by the trees I'm most familiar with and they've been picked pretty clean already.  

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TicTac

TicTac

Posted
Posted
On 5/22/2021 at 9:41 PM, KennethT said:

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).

If it's good, pay for it!

 

I recall our honeymoon in Kauai - all over the island, the very best mangoes were the Hayden (totally different than what we see here) - size of a football, unreal flavour - but also $5-7 a piece!

 

And they were local!! (this was both from a fruit side road stand, a farmers market and from a local selling from their house)

 

Thankfully the passion fruit at $0.25 a piece, balanced things out.

 

 

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted

Tonight we had yet another of the green mangoes (we're having 1 each night... it's like the Chanukah mango box) but we also had the other one that I left out to ripen.  It was amazing! So much better than the other ripe one.  It had a similar flavor to some of the best ones I've had in Thailand, but it wasn't quite as juicy.  But the flavors were like flowers and honey.  I think I need to get another box when it's on offer again... temptation...

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted
Just now, TicTac said:

Have you tried ripening them in a paper bag?  The increased ethylene might also help with quality.... along with increased ripening speeds.

 

 

I haven't tried it but it's a good idea.  I've always heard of other fruits being ripened that way - I didn't think of it for the mango though.  I think we have maybe 4 or 5 left, which we're going to keep green in the refrigerator. I'm almost out of the palm sugar/chilli/shallot/fish sauce/shrimp paste dip I made - maybe I'll make a chilli/salt/sugar dip tonight - that's always tasty too!

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TicTac

TicTac

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, KennethT said:

I haven't tried it but it's a good idea.  I've always heard of other fruits being ripened that way - I didn't think of it for the mango though.  I think we have maybe 4 or 5 left, which we're going to keep green in the refrigerator. I'm almost out of the palm sugar/chilli/shallot/fish sauce/shrimp paste dip I made - maybe I'll make a chilli/salt/sugar dip tonight - that's always tasty too!

I use the paper bag method every week for Avocados - works like an absolute charm, 4-5 days and they are perfect.

 

Curious if the same can be said for mangoes.

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BeeZee

BeeZee

Posted
Posted

Enormous blueberries, penny for size ref and I may have eaten the largest ones when I got home from the market on Saturday

 

 

53747236-5512-4229-ADF0-1CF5D8DB2BFD.jpeg

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"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast" - Oscar Wilde

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ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, BeeZee said:

Enormous blueberries, penny for size ref and I may have eaten the largest ones when I got home from the market on Saturday

 

 

53747236-5512-4229-ADF0-1CF5D8DB2BFD.jpeg

 

Those are huge.  I'm guessing they're cultivated?

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BeeZee

BeeZee

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

 

Those are huge.  I'm guessing they're cultivated?

Driscoll’s, product of Mexico. I thought they would be watery and totally tasteless, but not bad. Not like local NJ berries in July, but OK.

Edited by BeeZee
Clarification (log)
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"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast" - Oscar Wilde

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

Do cherries ripen after they are picked?  I ask because the Rainier Cherries I recently got from amazon are somewhat astringent and not sweet.  In the previous couple years the Rainier cherries I have had from amazon have been great.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

No

 

Thanks.  I'll try some more of the cherries tonight and if no better I'm sure amazon will make good.  They really were a disappointment.  They look pretty though.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted
46 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Some people like durian! (

 

Also, posting in the food funnies topic).

 

 

I would really enjoy durian if I could get it out of my head in a reasonable amount of time after eating it. The fact that it stuck with me for hours afterwards really put me off of having it again in the future.

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weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Thanks.  I'll try some more of the cherries tonight and if no better I'm sure amazon will make good.  They really were a disappointment.  They look pretty though.

 

 

They might work okay in a clafouti, with a fair amount of sugar.

 

I miss the Bings I used to get in Sunnyvale, from Olson's.

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liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)

This was delivered to my door about 15 minutes ago. Durian! Just over 2 kg worth. A friend decided to send it to me!

The apartment is smelling of durian - not a bad thing in my book, but there are nay-sayers!

 

durian.thumb.jpg.a9c071d67293512a4c40927bb390b913.jpg

Edited by liuzhou (log)
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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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