Guava (Psidium Guajava) is a tropical fruit native to Mexico, Central America and the northern part of South America and is called guayaba, a Spanish word which the Filipinos used and became “bayabas” in the native dialect. The tree can be grown from seeds, and will start fruiting within 2-4 years. It will produce fruits…
Surinam Cherry – Eugenia uniflora – also called Pitanga is native to South America and made its way to Hawaii and is also considered an invasive plant. It grows easily and is also pest resistant. The birds like to eat them and spread the seeds by their droppings. Surinam Cherry is a small tree that…
Mansanita, means little apple in the Philippines. It is a summer fruit, green in color when young and turning yellow when ripe. It tastes sweet and juicy with a little tartness. The fruit has one seed inside, which is hard and not edible. I can compare it to the omebushi (Japanese plum pickle). It is…
Breadfruit is called ‘rimas’ in the Philippines. It is a fruit and vegetable at the same time. We eat the fruit by boiling or grilling and steaming. My grandma always serve us breakfast of boiled “rimas” and freshly grated coconut with sugar. It’s so tasty and good for your health too. It has a texture…
It must be a tough job to be able to pick the best mango in my hometown of Iba, Zambales. Why, because almost all the mangoes that came from there would be considered the best and the sweetest. Our mangoes are sweet, juicy and the texture is so smooth almost like a custard with no…
Macopa – Syzygium samarangense – is a tropical fruit we enjoy in the Philippines during the summer. The fruit is bell shaped but the name macopa is from the Spanish word copa which means a goblet or wine glass.