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I've never tried papaya. I'd hate to buy a large fruit that I wouldn't like. Any recommendations on how to pick a good one?
Just don't touch them until after the first frost. Then leave them for the deer...
I leave for Ja on Monday; it's Mango season, with everybody and their sister offering you freshly-picked fruit. This thread has got me ready for it, man.
if you do buy a papaya, slide a knife vertically on the skin of the papaya. Let it sit with the wounds for a few days. This will help it be sweeter. I don't know the scientific explanation to this, but I am certain it works.
Yes, it works :)
It lets the bitter juices (or milk as they sometimes call it with papaya) flow out of the fruit and make it sweeter. This juice can have a burning or stinging effect on the skin, so don't rub your eyes afterwards ;)
Use to be my favourite fruit until I came across passion fruit, damn expensive where I am from and not much in them but boy they are tasty.
Can't beat the passion fruit...
(Wild) Custard Apple is the "proper" common name (in the Caribbean). Annona reticulata, if you're feeling scientific. Or "Anona del monte" if you speak Spanish, "Gasima" if you speak Garifuna, or colloquially in Belize, "Bullock's Heart."
Stefan, if you like custard apples, I suggest you try soursop. It's closely related to custard apple, though it looks quite dissimilar - sort of like a bright green, American football-sized-and-shaped pin cushion. In a food service setting, such as a restaurant, it is usually only available as a juice...
Speaking of drinks - papaya & milk. Mmmmm...
Welcome to WebmasterWorld, Passiflora!
> Can't beat the passion fruit...
But you're not biased, right? ;)
Yeah, I know soursop well, sweetsop too. I have a lot of friends scattered around the island who are farmers, who all like to share. It's quite funny - Ginneps (unsure of spelling), for instance, are coming into season now and if I were to take all the ones that will be offered, I'd have to eat a bushel a day - every time I stop to say hi to someone, they'll be pushing the things at me. (Ginneps, if you don't know them, are a lot like a lychee.)
You just prepare the pizza as normal? How big should the mango pieces be? Any other tips?
Yes, prepare pizzza as normal, but I half cook the bacon ahead of time to get rid of most of the fat. The mango pieces can be as big as you wish, but I don't like them too big. I prefer just a small amount of mango to give the pizza a little zip. I've seen mango pizza with huge chunks. I make mine with thin slices about 1/2" long by 1/4" wide and just sprinkle on top. I don't want to overpower the bacon!
I usually let the mango sit on some paper towel for about half an hour before assembling the pizza to suck some of the juice out ... otherwise, your crust can become soggy. I like a crispy pizza.
bacon and mango pizza
To choose good ones, smell the stem end.
What should it smell like?
It should smell sweet and fruity indeed. If it smells dull, or you have to look again to see which kind of fruit you are smelling, that is exactly how it will taste. I find it works good for some melons such as Canteloupe, though I can't remember ever getting a dull one of those.
One of life's little pleasures is sucking and all that ripe flesh and juice from the mango stone. Messy and oh-so delicious.
Another incredible fruit ... feijoas. They must be picked ripe from the tree as they don't ripen afterwards (you should really pick them when they fall from the tree). They don't last for long once ripe so you don't see them very often on the market (being green and hard doesn't help either). Extremelly good and elegant.
...being green and hard doesn't help...
I believe the Incredible Hulk has the same problem... ;-)
I guess, you guys in the U.S. have not tasted Indian mangoes yet..
Scrummylicious! Our local Indian restaurant (UK) has them from about now until the end of September. As for the mango ice-cream, absolute heaven.
In Hong Kong I used to get a small Philippine mango every day in the market. Here, these small mangoes are called champagne mangoes, and they're by far the best... smooth, creamy flesh with sublime flavor.
At produce markets in the SF Bay Area, we get most of the other varieties too. Definitely ask when they're good. If you buy them out of season, they'll never get ripe. Forget supermarkets... you'll never get good fruit from them.
Of the big mangoes, Keitts are, I think, the least known and the most interesting. They're not too stringy, and they don't change color when they ripen... they stay green and you've got to feel them. Kents are also good. Tommy Atkins are the most stringy and my least favorite. Looking forward to the Indian variety.
For papayas, the large pink flesh varieties are for me much more interesting than the small yellow Hawaiian papayas. Generally, the crappier they look on the outside, the better they are inside.
In Hong Kong I used to get a small Philippine mango every day in the market.
I thought Hong Kong was returned to China. Was it really Japan?
As I remember, mangoes were extremely cheap in HK.
I just saw the hot dogs in beer comment (a little late, I know). I saw skip the dogs go straight with the beer. That way, if you get hungry later it will matter much less the taste after a few rounds.
For fruit, a general rule I've found is a little "give" and great color. Tough fruit isn't going to cut it and green fruit -- unless that's what it's supposed to be - won't be sweet enough.
