Durian

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…

Breadfruit or “Rimas” is a wonderful fruit because it doesn’t taste sweet like most fruits are but instead tastes like potatoes when cooked that’s why to me it is a vegetable. It is called “ulu” in Hawaii. The tree is in the family of mulberry tree that’s why you can use the wood bark as…

Dragon fruit also called Pitaya is a fruit from a cactus plant which I find interesting. This particular cactus called Hylocereus undatus is where you get this dragon fruit from. I tried to grow them in my garden but I never get a fruit, but at least managed to have a yellow flower which only…

Rambutan is one of those exotic fruits that it would take real courage to begin trying and eat it. But once you tried it, you’re hook for life. It is sweet and refreshing. Rambutan is an Indonesian word meaning “hairy” and the fruit is hairy so everyone calls it rambutan even in Philippines. It is…

Starfruit also known as carambola is native to the Philippines, and the botanical name is “Averrhoa carambola. We call it “Balimbing” which is an ambiguation from the botanical name of another fruit we call “kamias” or Averrhoa bilimbi which is sour and used as a souring agent for soups and other dishes. The fruit has…

Star apple (Chrysophyllum cainito) is a fruit that is sweet and juicy but has that latex feel in your mouth.  I remember when I was young, our mouths will be dusty after eating this fruit because the dirt clings into this glue like substance that is in the skin of the fruits.   In the Philippines,…