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Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

nytimes.com

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Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#51

Post by 9nGQluzmnq3M »

reedlaw wrote: post #47

Dragon fruit can be grown in California, Florida, and Hawaii and is not "bland mush with tiny seeds that can require floss to dislodge". The author must have had a bad one. They can be extremely sweet. The seeds are so small that they go down without noticing and I've never had to use floss. My favorite is a variety with deep red flesh. Mangosteen is so far from its depiction---"to eat a pile of mangosteens is an exe…

Re: mangosteens, the author isn't saying mangosteens taste disappointing, they're saying that finding lots with the 'mustard blight' is disappointing.

If you can pick your own, though, they're in my experience pretty avoidable: go for ones that are purple, not black, and avoid any that have traces of yellow leaking from the top.

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#52

Post by userbinator »

PakG1 wrote: post #41

And in other news, durian causes an evacuation in Germany and sends people to a hospital... but I love durian! https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/22/europe/durian-germany-evacuat...

Last year, staff at the University of Canberra library were forced to evacuate the building due to a suspected gas leak, but a search revealed the stench was in fact caused by the fruit.

That's what I've always associated the smell of durian with --- not stinking or rotting as others often say, but "gas leak". Not surprisingly, the same compound is responsible for both: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanethiol

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#53

Post by userbinator »

late2part wrote: post #38
exabrial wrote: post #36

Hilariously, in Singapore jackfruit is banned on public transport because it smells so awful. I tried some of this though and it it's not a flavor that I had tasted before. Hard to describe but really good if you could hold your nose for the smell.

Jackfruit or Durian?

That said, extremely ripe jackfruit will also emit a sickly-sweet smell that's "so sweet it stinks", like an overdose of perfume.

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#54

Post by hnick »

reedlaw wrote: post #47

Dragon fruit can be grown in California, Florida, and Hawaii and is not "bland mush with tiny seeds that can require floss to dislodge". The author must have had a bad one. They can be extremely sweet. The seeds are so small that they go down without noticing and I've never had to use floss. My favorite is a variety with deep red flesh. Mangosteen is so far from its depiction---"to eat a pile of mangosteens is an exe…

The other problem is lack of variety due to transportation problems. You're limited by what travels well, and when it's hard enough to get one type overseas without problems, you probably aren't sending multiple varieties.

A lot of people have heard by now that there are many interesting types of bananas overseas, but they don't travel well enough to reach other countries. The same goes for other fruits. I remember once reading about a durian that has nearly none of the repulsive flavours, but they just aren't common enough to send away from local markets (I think it was in Malaysia).

On the other hand though some fruits freeze decently well, durian is one of those. Especially if you're cooking with it the peeled pieces are great.

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#55

Post by Chathamization »

deanCommie wrote: post #5
Nursie wrote: post #3

On a recent trip to Bangkok it was often hard to tell whether one was approaching an actual open sewer or just a durian stall. Sad I missed the fruit market though, I bet they have a massive variety of banana cultivars. I tried a couple I'd never had before when over there.

I'm curious is aversion to durian is at least somewhat genetic, similar to cilantro and broccoli. I spent 6 weeks traveling around Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam), including several days in Bangkok. I ate a metric ton of durian, jackfruit (my favourite), mangostein, lychie, and so forth. I never noted any negative durian odour, and I just assumed that "it must always be fresh in Southeast Asia", an…

I've wondered that as well. I've always liked the smell of durian (as well as its taste), and have met others that do as well. Others seem to really hate it. I've always assumed that the vast majority of people hate the smell, but I'm actually not so sure now that I think about it. It might just be that the people who hate it are very vocal about it.

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#56

Post by mangamadaiyan »

peteretep wrote: post #40
harikb wrote: post #13

As someone who grew up in southern India in a house literally surrounded by at least few dozens of these trees[1], most of them also hosting black pepper creepers, I wonder how this became Thai Fruit? Come on, we even have a western name! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackfruit

Hard to find a fruit stall without it in Thailand, but I’ve not seen if for sale in my (much more limited) time in India. It’s a staple in Thailand, so maybe that’s the reason?

It depends on which part of India you're in, as well as the part of the city you're in. Jackfruit is definitely a staple in the South, and not so popular in the North. If you're in Bangalore, say, you're unlikely to find it in a supermarket; you'd have to go look for it in the right places.

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#57

Post by jelliclesfarm »

legitster wrote: post #33

This isn't exclusive to exotic fruit either. In a trip to central Washington, I bought a flat of Pluots (plum/apricot hybrids), and they were one of the most profound things I have ever eaten. So sweet and juicy, they almost burst like water balloons when you took a bite. Less than four hours away from where they are grown, I have yet to find any varieties with the same magic available in grocery stores. They good on…

Flavor Queen and Flavour king varieties. I grow both at home and at the orchard.

More profound to me are the European gage plums and esp the lovely yellow mirabelles. I also planted medlars and can’t seem to find anyone interested. Medlar Jam is sublime.

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#58

Post by reedlaw »

9nGQluzmnq3M wrote: post #51
reedlaw wrote: post #47

Dragon fruit can be grown in California, Florida, and Hawaii and is not "bland mush with tiny seeds that can require floss to dislodge". The author must have had a bad one. They can be extremely sweet. The seeds are so small that they go down without noticing and I've never had to use floss. My favorite is a variety with deep red flesh. Mangosteen is so far from its depiction---"to eat a pile of mangosteens is an exe…

Re: mangosteens, the author isn't saying mangosteens taste disappointing, they're saying that finding lots with the 'mustard blight' is disappointing. If you can pick your own, though, they're in my experience pretty avoidable: go for ones that are purple, not black, and avoid any that have traces of yellow leaking from the top.

Yes, it's easy to avoid 'mustard blight' if you know how to choose. Also, don't choose rock-hard fruits. The middle should give a little when gently squeezed (squeezing too hard would split open the peel).

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#59

Post by Stratoscope »

jelliclesfarm wrote: post #57
legitster wrote: post #33

This isn't exclusive to exotic fruit either. In a trip to central Washington, I bought a flat of Pluots (plum/apricot hybrids), and they were one of the most profound things I have ever eaten. So sweet and juicy, they almost burst like water balloons when you took a bite. Less than four hours away from where they are grown, I have yet to find any varieties with the same magic available in grocery stores. They good on…

Flavor Queen and Flavour king varieties. I grow both at home and at the orchard. More profound to me are the European gage plums and esp the lovely yellow mirabelles. I also planted medlars and can’t seem to find anyone interested. Medlar Jam is sublime.

Oh my. Can I visit your orchard before we both ascend to the Heaviside layer?

Re: Eating Thai Fruit Demands Serious Effort but Delivers Sublime Reward

#60

Post by markdown »

mjklin wrote: post #42
legitster wrote: post #33

This isn't exclusive to exotic fruit either. In a trip to central Washington, I bought a flat of Pluots (plum/apricot hybrids), and they were one of the most profound things I have ever eaten. So sweet and juicy, they almost burst like water balloons when you took a bite. Less than four hours away from where they are grown, I have yet to find any varieties with the same magic available in grocery stores. They good on…

In Virginia we have pawpaw fruit that taste like custard, but must be eaten soon after picking since they bruise very easily and don’t store or ship well.

> pawpaw fruit that taste like custard

Do you mean pawpaw, or custard apple (aka sugar apple in the US)?

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