Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

[mountaingal]

We've done birds, critters and plants, but don't think we've done the Jamaican fruits that we know and love.

i'm going to start with one of my favourites (brown and sweet, just like me [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] ), the naseberry, also known in some places as sapodilla, Achras sapota, or Manilkara zapota.


it's a source of vitamin C, calcium and phosphorus. i read on an website that the skin is not eaten, but me use to eat skin and all, except seed. a delicious and underrated fruit, IMO.

[BND1999]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

((mountaingal)) how did you know i wanted to see a photo of the naseberry?? I always wondered what they looked like.....

what is its taste?? is it just seasonal?? only in Jamaica.. I never heard of it before this board.. and there are others mentioned ..... will wait for more photos....

[mountaingal]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

then there is the sweetsop, called sugar apple in the asian stores. i used to love this fruit so much, my country relatives used to put some aside for me if they knew i was coming...



sweetsopp is said to be ful of vitamin C, B6, and some B2.

[mountaingal]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

Originally posted by BND1999:
[qb] ((mountaingal)) how did you know i wanted to see a photo of the naseberry?? I always wondered what they looked like.....

what is its taste?? is it just seasonal?? only in Jamaica.. I never heard of it before this board.. and there are others mentioned ..... will wait for more photos.... [/qb]

((Nina)), had i known you were curious about naseberry (which from my part of Jamaica we pronounce "neeseberry"}, i'd have started the thread earlier.

let's see, how does it taste? when it is ripe it is intensely sweet, the flesh is soft, with just a hint of graininess. the smell is heavenly. as with all tropical fruits, if you cannot smell their scent, it means they're not ripe.

you may be able to find one in chinatown where you are. they sell them here in toronto's chinatown, though i've never bought them here.

[BND1999]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

((Thanks MG))... first photo of a sweetsopp for me too....

I would love to go to the market or in the country with you and others to see and taste all of these things....

I go to Jamaica over and over again and still miss seeing and tasting so many of jamaicas delectables...

maybe this trip i will make it a point to try some new things... Portland parish is so lush there must be lots growing there.. I remember all these fruit stands last time i was there... will stop.. and do a tasting..

[mountaingal]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

Why did guinep season seem so fleeting to me? one minute nuff nuff a dem, next minute gone?

Famed Jamaican photographer Ray Chen took this pic of guineps:


this pic from the jamaica observer newspaper shows guineps that are a lickle on the old side - the green skin has turned from smooth to bumpy, and the flesh has turned from firm and translucent to soft and slightly opaque.



as kids we learned that babies shouldn't be given whole guinep seed as it could slip down into their throat and choke them. you have to chew it a little first and break up the seed before giving it to baby. i used to love the taste of guinep seed...

[Ochigal]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

Nina...you have to do that. Just find a fruit stand on the road...pull over YOUR RENTAL CAR [img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] and start tasting...I know the fruit stand that I go to usually will let me taste before I buy. If I dont like what i taste...I dont have to buy it. He knows I am going to spend money no matter what so its no loss for him.

MG...I love Naseberry too. I have had some that are so sweet that I feel like I am eating pure honey.

My favorites have got to be June Plum...both green and ripe...soursop...Jack fruit and guinep. Got any pics of those? [img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[BND1999]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

Ochigal.. if i come in july... you gonna do a tasting with me?? Would love to meander with you!!!

[SandiF]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

Rose Apple

Like many other fruits to which the word "apple" has been attached, the rose apple in no way resembles an apple, neither in the tree nor in its fruit. It is a member of the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is technically known as Syzygium jambos Alston (syn. Eugenia jambos L.; Jambosa jambos Millsp.; Jambosa vulgaris DC.; Caryophyllus jambos Stokes).

The term "rose apple" (in French, pomme rose, pommier rose; in Spanish, poma rosa, pomarrosa, manzana rosa, or manzanita de rosa) is so widely employed that the species has few alternate names apart from those in the many local dialects of Africa, India, Malaya, southeastern Asia, the East Indies and Oceania. It is sometimes called jambosier by French-speaking people, plum rose or malabar plum in the English-speaking West Indies, pommeroos or appelroos in Surinam, and jambeiro or jambo amarelo in Brazil; jaman in India, and yambo in the Philippines.


Description

The rose apple tree may be merely a shrub but is generally a tree reaching 25 or even 40 ft (7.5-12 m) in height, and has a dense crown of slender, wide-spreading branches, often the overall width exceeding the height. The evergreen leaves are opposite, lanceolate or narrow-elliptic, tapering to a point; 4 to 9 in (10-22 cm) long, and from 1 to 2 1/2 in (2.5-6.25 cm) wide; somewhat leathery, glossy, dark-green when mature, rosy when young. The flowers are creamy-white or greenish-white, 2 to 4 in (5-10 cm) wide, consisting mostly of about 300 conspicuous stamens to 1 1/2 in (4 cm) long, a 4-lobed calyx, and 4 greenish-white, concave petals. There are usually 4 or 5 flowers together in terminal clusters. Capped with the prominent, green, tough calyx, the fruit is nearly round, oval, or slightly pear-shaped, 1 1/2 to 2 in (4-5 cm) long, with smooth, thin, pale-yellow or whitish skin, sometimes pink-blushed, covering a crisp, mealy, dry to juicy layer of yellowish flesh, sweet and resembling the scent of a rose in flavor. In the hollow center, there are 1 to 4 brown, rough-coated, medium-hard, more or less rounded seeds, 3/8 to 5/8 in (1-1.6 cm) thick, which loosen from the inner wall and rattle when the fruit is shaken. Fragments of the seedcoat may be found in the cavity.

Origin and Distribution

The rose apple is native to the East Indies and Malaya and is cultivated and naturalized in many parts of India, Ceylon and former Indochina and the Pacific Islands. It was introduced into Jamaica in 1762 and became well distributed in Bermuda, the Bahamas, the West Indies and, at low and medium elevations, from southern Mexico to Peru. In Guatemala, the tree may be planted as a living fencepost or in hedgerows around coffee plantations. For this purpose, it is drastically pruned to promote dense growth. It grows wild abundantly, forming solid stands and thickets, in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama

Source http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/m...ose_apple.html

[SandiF]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

Custard Apple


Both in tree and in fruit, the custard apple, Annona reticulata L., is generally rated as the mediocre or "ugly duckling" species among the prominent members of this genus. Its descriptive English name has been widely misapplied to other species and to the hybrid ATEMOYA, and it is sometimes erroneously termed "sugar apple", "sweetsop" and, by Spanish-speaking people, "anon" or "rinon", in India, "ramphal", all properly applied only to Annona squamosa. It has, itself, acquired relatively few appropriate regional names. Most commonly employed as an alternate name in English-speaking areas is bullock's-heart or bull's-heart; in French, coeur de boeuf; Portuguese, coracao de boi; in Spanish, often merely corazon—all alluding to its form and external blush. The skin color is reflected in the Bolivian name, chirimoya roia, the Salvadoran anona rosada, and the Guatemalan anona roja or anona colorada. In the latter country it is also known as anona de seso. Araticum ape or araticum do mato are additional names in Brazil. Some people refer to it as Jamaica apple, or as netted custard apple, which is translated as anona de redecilla in Honduras and Nicaragua. Cachiman, cachiman coeur de boeuf and corossol sauvage may be heard in the French-influenced West Indies.

In the Netherlands Antilles it is kasjoema. This name and boeah nona are used in Surinam. In Cuba, it is mamon or chirimoya. Some Central Americans give it the name anona, or anonillo; Colombians, anon pelon. To the Carib Indians the fruit was known as alacalyoua; to the Aztecs, quaultzapotl, and to the Maya, tsulimay, tsulilpox, tsulipox, pox, oop, or op. It is generally called in the Philippines sarikaya; in India ramphal, nona or luvuni, in Malaya, nona kapri, or lonang; in Thailand, noi nong";; in Cambodia, mo bat or mean bat; in Laos, khan tua lot; in South Vietnam, binh bat; North Vietnam, qua na.

The custard apple tree is not especially attractive. It is erect, with a rounded or spreading crown and trunk 10 to 14 in (25-35 cm) thick. Height ranges from 15 to 35 ft (4.5-10 m). The ill-smelling leaves are deciduous, alternate, oblong or narrow-lanceolate, 4 to 8 in (10-20 cm) long, 3/4 to 2 in (2 5 cm) wide, with conspicuous veins. Flowers, in drooping clusters, are fragrant, slender, with 3 outer fleshy, narrow petals 3/4 to 1 1/4 in (2 3 cm) long; light-green externally and pale-yellow with a dark-red or purple spot on the inside at the base. The flowers never fully open.

The compound fruit, 3 l/4 to 6 1/2 in (8-16 cm) in diameter, may be symmetrically heart-shaped, lopsided, or irregular; or nearly round, or oblate, with a deep or shallow depression at the base. The skin, thin but tough, may be yellow or brownish when ripe, with a pink, reddish or brownish-red blush, and faintly, moderately, or distinctly reticulated. There is a thick, cream-white layer of custardlike, somewhat granular, flesh beneath the skin surrounding the concolorous moderately juicy segments, in many of which there is a single, hard, dark-brown or black, glossy seed, oblong, smooth, less than 1/2 in (1.25 cm) long. Actual seed counts have been 55, 60 and 76. A pointed, fibrous, central core, attached to the thick stem, extends more than halfway through the fruit. The flavor is sweet and agreeable though without the distinct character of the cherimoya, sugar apple, or atemoya.

Origin and Distribution

The custard apple is believed to be a native of the West Indies but it was carried in early times through Central America to southern Mexico. It has long been cultivated and naturalized as far south as Peru and Brazil. It is commonly grown in the Bahamas and occasionally in Bermuda and southern Florida.

Apparently it was introduced into tropical Africa early in the 17th century and it is grown in South Africa as a dooryard fruit tree. In India the tree is cultivated, especially around Calcutta, and runs wild in many areas. It has become fairly common on the east coast of Malaya, and more or less throughout southeast Asia and the Philippines though nowhere particularly esteemed. Eighty years ago it was reported as thoroughly naturalized in Guam. In Hawaii it is not well known.

Source http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/m...ard_apple.html

Hog Apple, Duppy Soursop, Noni

[mountaingal]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

you know Sandi, down in St. Elizabeth where i grew, custard apple was rare. i knew of only one family that had the tree in their yard, and i remember eating it only once. i wonder if the "ill-smelling" leaves mentioned in your post are the reason why more people didn't have custard apple tree in their yard.

[SandiF]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

Pomegranate, commonly called Pananganat[/b]


Mammee Apple



Origin and geographical distribution : West Indies, northern South America, under hot lowland climates.

Status : Cultivated. Marketed locally.

Description : Tree to 25 m, with a very resistant bark, propagated by seeds (most commonly, germination in ca. 60 days) or graft. Male, female and hermaphrodite trees. Slow growth. Fruit large (up to 4 kg), spherical, 8-20 cm in diameter, solitary, light brown, with a thick leathery skin (ca. 2 mm) an orange, non fibrous, juicy but firm pulp, and 1-4 large seeds.

Uses : Fruit salad, jam, marmalade, compote pastries, sherbets, pastes, preserves in syrup jelly from slightly under-ripe fruits, rich in pectin. The leaves are used to prepare a distilled aromatic, refreshing and digestive drink: "l'eau des créoles". The seeds are used to prepare an insecticide, particularly against lice. Leaves are wrapped around young tomato plants to protect them from insects (Puerto Rico). The think and yellow bark gum or the resin from the immature fruit are melted with fat and applied to the feet to combat chiggers and used to rid animals of fleas and ticks (Mexico, Jamaica). The insecticide properties of mamey have been verified experimentally. The most potent appeared to be the seed kernel. Some toxic effect was observed on mammals and fishes too.

The mamey wood is heavy, hard, but not difficult to work, fine-grained, and strong. It has an attractive grain and polishes well. Morton mentions a report of an antibiotic principle in the mamey.

Source http://www.ciat.cgiar.org/ipgri/frui...0americana.htm

Jamaican Cherry

[mountaingal]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

For ochi - june plum, also one of my favourites:


green with salt, or ripe with all their tangy goodness, nothing like a june plum. it takes skill to get to the flesh around the spiny seeds - my gums have been known to bleed, lol!

here's a pic of a june plum tree in Portmore:

[rebelgirl]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

*Clap clap clap* Wonderful thread so far MG. I'm eating it up [img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[DC]

Re: Sweet! Jamaican fruits...

A Mouth watering thread! ..Anything on starapple? Jackfruit? a couple of my top favorites