Mango

This exotic tropical fruit popularly known to be yellow in color obtained its addictive taste through its meticulous harvest procedures. It matures after 3 months and a half from the time of its flower blooms, carefully handpicked while still green and harvested between 9am- 3pm to prevent rapid exudation of the latex. Mature mangoes turned fully ripe from 6-12 days after harvest. Timing is important for transporting this fruit as it is highly perishable.Keeping it refrigerated at 10 degrees Celsius remains green for 2 weeks. It is a wonder fruit of versatile ways to enjoy its taste. Green mango can be served as a salad component, while golden yellow mango has varieties of ways to savor its uniqueness. It can be served as plain, processed, dried or frozen, this delicious fruit is world known for its sweetest character. Ripened by the heat of tropical sun, this wonder fruit is a perfect dessert served in many ways. Considered “Fruit of the Gods”, Philippine Mango is well-known worldwide for its best qualities, which cannot be outshined by any variety of mangoes around the globe.


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The Durian Fruit

Durian is the name of the tree and the fruit. Durian is an expensive and exotic fruit from Asia and is referred to as "The king of all fruits". The name is derived from the Malay word "duri" meaning thorn - due to its thick, tough and thorny husk. The durian fruit is either loved by durian aficionados with an almost cult like fervor or hated by those repelled by it's smell. The rich, buttery smooth and luscious flesh of the durian fruit is delicious and is comparable to no other fruit. However, the disagreeable odor of the durian fruit gave birth to this often repeated phrase: "durian is a fruit that smells like hell but taste like heaven". While almost everyone who has tasted the durian fruit agrees the taste is heavenly, no two ever describes the taste the same.

Durian belongs to the Bombacaceae family and is native of south and east Asia and is grown in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, southern Philippines and other Asian countries. It is believed to have originated in Borneo and Sumatra. The durian tree grows up to 50 meters high with oblong evergreen leaves 10 to 20 centimeters long and bears fruits after 4 to 5 years. The durian tree can live for centuries if not damaged by lightning, disease, soil erosion or other factors.

The fruit can grow from 20 to 40 centimeters (average size is comparable to a soccer ball) and weigh from 1 to 8 kilograms upon maturity which takes about 3 months after pollination of the flowers. There are hundreds of known cultivars of the durian but the Durio zibethinus is the specie most widely cultivated and sold commercially. The fruit bearing season of durian is from May to October.

Harvesting & Eating the Durian Fruit

The most common way to harvest the fruit is to wait until the fruit falls from the tree and waiting 2 to 4 days to fully ripen before eating. This is when the fruit is most tasteful and pungent. The durian fruit looses its eating quality in 5 or more days. An exception is in southern Thailand where many harvest the fruits before falling off the tree. Durian fruit harvested this way results in firmer flesh texture and milder flavor and odor.

When choosing a good quality durian fruit, look for big, fresh and solid stem. And when the fruit is shaken, there is a sound of seeds moving inside the fruit indicating ripeness.

Products Made from Durian

Aside from being eaten fresh, the durian fruit is made into durian flavored candies, cakes, biscuits, shakes, ice cream and (believe it or not) durian flavored condoms - due to it's reputation as an aphrodisiac.

Durian Medicinal & Health Benefits

In folk medicine, the juice of the durian leaves is applied to the head on patients with fever. Boiling the leaves and roots in water (decoction) is also taken to lower the fever.

Eating durian is good for the heath. It is a good source of energy (high calorie), carbohydrates, dietary fiber and protein. The durian fruit has no cholesterol.

whats with tropical fruits?

Strictly speaking the word tropical refers to the tropics, which is the area of earth centered on the equator and limited in the North by the Tropic of Cancer and in the south by the Tropic of Capricorn. This tropical zone stretches from 23.4 º North latitude to 23.4 º South latitude. I have divided my website in a part with ‘tropical fruits’ and a part with ‘other fruits’. Tropical fruits are those that have their origin in the tropics and require a rather tropical or subtropical climate; they don't tolerate frost. Other fruits are the rest, which usually grow in more temperate climates. The distinction is not very accurate. Some tropical fruits are also grown in warmer areas outside the tropics, while many of the temperate fruits can also be found in the tropics, especially in cooler mountain or hill areas.
There are hundreds of edible tropical fruits. Some of these are well-known and are exported all around the world. Others are only known and appreciated locally. For each fruit there is a separate page with an introduction, some basic information, a number of photos, and sometimes one or more recipes (fruit salads and other culinary experiments). Most fruits on my website are culinary fruits, but also some others (e.g. coffee) have been included in the list.
As most of the fruits are not related to each other, they are presented here below in a random order (but in the left margin there is an alphabetical list of fruits). Follow the links or click on the photographs below to learn more about these tropical fruits.
Remember to eat more fruits because they are an important source of vitamins and mineralshttp://www.bijlmakers.com/fruits/tropicalfruits.htm and form part of a healthy diet.

The versatile Filipino fruit called calamansi

Many Filipinos call it calamansi, others call it calamondin, others call it suter. This is citrofortunella microcarpa, a round greenish to yellow in color, 2 cm to 4.5 cm fruit which is normally found in the kitchen of Filipino homes since it does wonders of wonders as a sour flavoring to a variety of dishes from the sautéed rice noodles called bihon to pancit palabok; from the arroz caldo to beefsteak Filipino style.

Calamansi is the secret ingredient to many mouthwatering Filipino delicacies. This writer remembers that the juice of the calamansi leaves are extracted and added to the leche plan to give it an exotic taste. How would the famous Leyte kinilaw taste without the secret ingredient called calamansi? What would dieters do without the calamansi to make the grapelike seeweeds called lato? And what is more refreshing than a glass of calamansi juice or iced tea laced with calamansi on a weather unusually unbearable because of global warming?

The versatile calamansi is even use for personal hygiene as a deodorant and a whitening agent. Others use it as detergents, removing the grease from the hands, and as a cleansing scrub to pans and dirty or stained clothes. This writer even remembers that calamansi leaves are crumbled and are used by people to recover from dizzy spells.

But how many calamansi growers have thought that calamansi can be processed into commercial food products such as ready-to-drink juice, juice concentrate, jelly, and jam, and marmalade to name a few? Indeed, there are many calamansi-based products which are potential sources of sustainable livelihood.

The Department of Science and Technology Industrial Technology Development Institute has developed business concepts involving calamansi processing technologies particularly on Calamansi Concentrate, Calamansi Juice Drink, and Calamansi Jelly.


Source: pia.gov.ph