Fruits to satisfy your soul

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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Nice to see no serious new arguments erupting in this lovely Wednesday morning. Since everyone is calm or recuperating from the earlier ?battle of the sexes?, I will dare to post something pleasing to everyone.
Fruits of DR.

DR is not only famous for its white sandy beaches and warm people but the fertile land also produces some of the sweetest fruits one can find all year round. This is the tropical zone and the fruits seem to always have the upper hand in the produce dept. of a grocery store.
I will tell you a bit about what is available in Santiago, as I have been living here for the past 2 years. When I think of Santiago, I think of mangos. Santiago, to me, is the mango capital of DR. Almost every house has a mango tree and sometimes they have 2 or 3.
I have a huge mango tree which shades my entire back yard. I also have an orange tree (juicing oranges?what they call here to this particular orange), 3 banana trees and 2 plantian trees. Oh, did I forget 2 aguacate trees? One tree produces aguacates as large as a cantaloupe.
I am not an expert on fruits but I do know which are the best to eat. Let me start with mangos.
Mangos are my favorite fruit. I can eat mangos everyday for the rest of my life. I just can?t get enough of them. They grow all over Santiago and one can pick them up for next to nothing. Often times we go to have lunch / dinner in open air restaurants and simply pick mangos from the tree when we head back home (all free). Most people won?t mind if you ask them to pick a few mangos from their tree. They will certainly welcome you to their back yard to help yourself.
I have mainly categorized mangos in 3 major types. There are endless types of mangos but I will only talk about the 3 most visible types of mangos that you will see being sold everywhere.
1. The most common type is a green and then turns yellow elongated big mango. It is very common type and can be seen hanging off the trees all over Santiago. It is sweet but I don?t like it as it has a lot of hairy fibers and the pit seems to be just as big as the mango itself. So in essence, you get ripped off. You get a big mango but full of fiber and very little pulp. The seed is just too big inside.
2. This is the small tiny mango, not too sweet and not worth buying. This is the wild type and grows on most wild countryside trees. They grow in bunches (like grapes but big). They become totally yellow, even on the trees and grow in really large quantities. Most people sell them on the side street by the tin full. Tin full= a large 2 gallon tin can full of mangos. I have found some of these mangos to be sweet but mostly not so good tasting. The seed in also big inside.
3. This is the best so I have saved it for last. It?s the round red/yellow mango. It sometimes turns all red (like a Mexican mango) and tastes the best. Its extremely sweet and full of pulp. The hairy fiber is almost non-existent and the seed inside is very tiny. This is the best natural combination to making the best mango. I am fortunate enough to have this huge tree of just that type of mango in my house. The mangos grow green then turn to bright red at the top, then they get a shade of yellow when they ripe. I leave my mangos on the tree so they ripen from the natural sunshine. Once they ripe on the tree, believe me, they turn out to be the sweetest in taste and meaty in texture. When people come to my house to eat my mangos they say ? wow, that?s the best tasting mango I have ever had in my whole life?.? One European friend came to stay in my house (for 3 weeks) just to eat my mangos. I am afraid to guess how many mangos he ate at a time. May have set a new world?s record in eating mangos.
This type of mango is not so common and sells for a better price than the wild ones. My mangos are not only sweet but they have a very distinct satisfying taste that you don?t find in many other types. You must try one to know the difference. I always give away bags full of mangos to anyone, just for asking. If anyone would to visit me after 2 months, please bring a strong sack to take back dozens of (pesticide free) mangos from my back yard.
Another place you can always find these types of mangos (even bigger than mine) is on the scenic road to Puerto plata from Santiago. There comes a point where a family has a stand setup along side of the road, selling only bright yellow / red mangos. The prices are reasonable for the quality that you get in return.

My other favorite fruit is called ?lechosa? or papaya (called in other countries). It?s a melon type fruit which seems to be available all year around in DR. It?s a typical tropical fruit. Slice it open and throw away the seed from the inside. Now you may eat it straight from the slices or cut it up in smaller pieces to eat with a fork. Make sure the fruit is all yellow and no soft spots felt anywhere on the fruit. This is the sweetest tasting fruit that you would find in the melon family. Is it the melon family?

Cocos (coconuts) are sold on many streets corners in their green form. They are mainly used for the water inside. The fruit, inside, can also be extracted for eating but most people just cut it open and pour the juice in a plastic cup with ice and drink it straight away. This is the best cure for sadistic sun thirst in a hot summer day. It will bring instant relief to your summer thirst.

Bananas are grown all year round. You can find them cheap and in abundance almost anywhere. The best tasting bananas are also found on the scenic road towards Puerto plata from Santiago. Just stop over at any fruit stand and try the tiny bananas hanging in a bunch. These bananas are extremely tiny but sugar sweet.

Now it seems the tangerine season is not far. These tangerines are very sweet and juicy. They sell them along side of the highways from Puerto plata to navarette and from navarette to Santiago. You can get them in dozen or in 20 plus string (a bunch of tangerines tied up in a string). I could eat a dozen of when I am driving. I almost always finish them before I reach home. You just can?t eat one.

This is all I am going to write for now. Others can contribute your favorites if you prefer.
Cheers.
 
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sjh

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Jan 1, 2002
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nice article... lets hear more

I have all sorts of fruits there that no one seemed to know the translation for...

tree grown gourds with soft meaty flesh around strings of seeds...

weird large gourds growing at the top of tall skinny trees..

vine gourds grown on raised supports

mini bananas

giant grapefruits, lemons sweet like oranges, sour limes, how many different types of oranges?

and lets not forget all the exotic veggies and root plants...
 

El Jefe

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Jan 1, 2002
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I remember the #3 mangos the best, they are also good just as they start to rot and are real soft for mango fights...when hit you first get the soft goo then WHACK, the pit...We built a fort on the US Embassy grounds under a big mango tree right by the fence to Trujillo's house.

Bananas Bananas Bananas Bananas Bananas Bananas Can you guess my favourite fruit. When we first moved there, we stayed at the then, La Paz, now the Hispaniola, and every morning in the restaourant the waiters would bring me a plate with three sliced bananas before even taking our orders. I also had banana kitchen privaledges.

An other favourite were the large grapefruit size limones tha grew near Cabo Rojo. They were sweet and refreshing.
 

jjsk

"Going for Gold"
Jan 1, 2002
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My mango story

I used to think I knew what mangoes tasted like, and I loved them then. I would sometimes sacrifice the necessary $2.99 and buy one at the grocery store...
Then I went to Jamaica; was walking past the kitchen one morning... "Miss Sarah, can you please tell what that fruit on the counter is?", "Why that's a mango, child, what did you think it was?" (me walking away feeling stupid) "I never saw one that big before..."
I swear to God I thought mangoes were the sad little fruits I had seen in the grocery store in Canada, I've never paid $2.99 again, I just wait 'till I travel... :)
 

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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JJSK, i have seen mangos as big as (almost) the size of a football (american, not soccer ball). One mango can satisfy 3 persons. Alot of meat and a tiny tiny little seed inside. This mango is hard to find; i have only found it on the scenic highway from santiago tp puerto plata.
If you come in a couple of months do visit me in santiago; by that time my mangos will be ready to go. All the mangos you want to eat and juice them too.
cheers
 

jjsk

"Going for Gold"
Jan 1, 2002
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Yes, this one was about as big as the cantelopes in the stores here; I couldn't believe it when I saw it. And I had been going around telling people I liked mangoes for all those years, and I'd never seen or tasted what a "real" mango could be like! They're still my favourite fruit.

Mangoes in a couple of months in Santiago... sounds like a fabulous idea! :) I'll start saving my pennies for a flight... shall I bring some roti?
 

Pib

Goddess
Jan 1, 2002
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Mangoes.... hmmmmmm..... maaaaannnngoooesssss. <IMG src="http://www.sassiessite.f2s.com/images/Smilies/a_njam.gif">

The best mangoes I've tried come from D.D.'s farm. They are medium size, and sweet, very very sweet. And juicy... and soft... and sweeeeeeet.

Obviously the best way to eat mangoes is sitting by a river, getting your face all dirty and then take a plunge into the chilly water. Loma de Cabrera (south of Dajabon) is the perfect place for that. Plenty mangoes, chilly river.

Geez, I am getting all tingly inside....<IMG src="http://www.sassiessite.f2s.com/images/Smilies/spinsmile.gif">
 
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jjsk

"Going for Gold"
Jan 1, 2002
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Pib

you're breaking my heart, "sitting by the river" taking a plunge... it's -15 here today (-30 with windchill)...
<center> <sub>*sigh* </sub></center>
 

AtlantaBob

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Jan 2, 2002
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Good Post AZB!

What I remember most about my youth in the DR many years ago was all the fruit trees and coconut trees we had in our yard and nearby. The fruit I miss is the limonsillo (sp??) and the uvas (sea grapes). BTW, is there a particular season for these fruits or do they grow all year round. I was too young to take note of that.

Full of envy, Bob
 

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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Atlantabob,
I have not seen anyone of these 2 fruits (that you have mentioned) in sometime. I guess its not the season for them right now. I am not sure if they are available all year-round, the truth is that I am not a big fan of lemonsillos or uvas de playa.
sorry :(
 

Tom F.

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Jan 1, 2002
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zapote

A nice ripe, but still a bit firm zapote is the best. Cut it in half and take the seed out (I like to keep them) and eat it with a spoon. Most use it in a batida. I think the big green fruit fruit with stringy meat and a lot of seeds is Guayanaba or something like that. My mouth was watering as I read AZB's post. Chinola, or passion fruit is also good to eat straight up with a spoon. I was also introduced to carambola or star fruit in the DR. I never developed a taste for the guayabana (peach size hard fruit with a big seed) except for in juice. Granadillo and pina is also a good combination for a juice.
 

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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"I never developed a taste for the guayabana (peach size hard fruit with a big seed) except for in juice" tom f

Tom, I think you meant Guajaba (or guava). It comes in green or green/ yellow color on the exterior and can come in white or red from inside. I like that fruit if I can find one without the worms inside.
Dominican are not very big on this fruit but I seem to love it.
Super market nacional seem to have them from time to time in sizes as big as a large sized mango.

Helen / JJsk: try eating pieces of guava with chat masala sprinkled on top. Yummy!!!
 

Pib

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Jan 1, 2002
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[B]AZB[/B] said:
"I never developed a taste for the guayabana (peach size hard fruit with a big seed) except for in juice" tom f

Tom, I think you meant Guajaba (or guava).
What if you guys mixed it all up. We have a fruit we call Guanabana that looks kind of funny. It's about the size of a melon, with rugged green skin, with little thorns. The meat is white and chunky and the seeds are black and about the size and shape of melon seeds. I think that the fruit is original of the island and I have no idea what it's called in English.

That one not to be mistaken with Guayaba (guava).
 

Meredith

LiVe ThE LiFe YoU iMaGiNeD
Jan 24, 2002
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I love limocillas!!! They're my favourite, as well as tamarindos!!!! Mmmmm..... I miss them, just picking them up after they've fallen from the tree and making juice, so good! Chinola and guava are great too. Mangos remind me of when I stayed in batey arroyo indio and the little kids brought mangos to my window every morning! Somehow, I never got sick of them. Pib, you're right about eating them by the river and just getting dirty and sticky, the best way to eat them!
 

Pepe

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Jan 1, 2002
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Ca?a Fistola

I still remember the teas my grandmother used to make for me in Valverde as a kid.
Early in the morning she used to make me drink teas made out of Ca?a Fistola, or is it Fistula? And then my days would turn out really exiting.
Has anybody experienced my unforgettable fruit?
 

Tony C

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Growing up in Miami my parents had 6 mango trees of various types in the back yard. Every year we would feast on as much as we could stand. Even then most would just fall to the ground and rot. The smell was sickening sweet. To this day I can't stand the smell. But the memories are great.
Living in Miami I am able to enjoy many of the same fruits one gets in the DR. Currently we have Bananas, Guava(Large white variety) Avocados, Limonsillos(Mamonsillos to us Cubans) and Sea grapes. We use to have the largest Sea grape tree I had ever seen. Easily 35-40 feet high, but Andrew took care of that one. I love the taste of Sea Grape. Especially Sea grape jelly!
I use to have 2 key Lime trees but the Citrus canker Nazis took those away.
I also have a Small patch where I grow a variety of Hot peppers. Habaneros(Hottest), Scotch bonnets, jalapenos. I harvest them and make Hot Sauce with a special family recipe.

Tony C.
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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AZB: learn the names of the mangos, man.. Banilejos, Yamagu?, Lechoso, Sisac?, Bizca?no, Bombita, Pi?a, Puy?ta, Zuquita, Maracatones, Caco Sum?o.
None of which are very easy to find in the Grocery Stores. What is found is the Mango Enano, a hybred that is huge but never as flaverful as the native varieties.

Mango season in Santiago is about may to July.

Limoncillos. I happen to "own" the best limoncillo tree in the country. I pay a guy $1700 pesos every year for his fruit. It comes at the end of July in that particular location, but the season runs. according to the area, from the end of May until September. In Puerto Rico, they are called Quenepa.

Tony C. For God's sake, man, let's work out a deal on hot sauce!!
E-mail me, pluuueeze!

HB
 

ccarabella

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Feb 5, 2002
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favorite fruit

I would say that my favorite fruit is "chinola" or passion fruit. I've never seen one here in the states.
When I arrive in DR the first thing I look for is un buen jugo de chinola.
I found a a canned one here but it it mixed with other "tropical fruit".
Another one I like is "limonsillo". Does anyone know what that translates to in English?

Gees! you guys have got me craving...
 

Tony C

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Hillbilly said:


Tony C. For God's sake, man, let's work out a deal on hot sauce!!
E-mail me, pluuueeze!

HB

Hillbilly,

I only make a few small bottles every few months or so for my own consumption and for a few select friends. Tell you what I'll save some for you for my next trip to Santo Domingo.

Tony C.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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DEAL!!!

We can do a barter: Hot sauce for Presidente or Hot Sauce for Cigars, or hot Sauce for Organic Coffee. You name what you need...

HB