Mango-
I guess mangoes are considered as the queen of Philippine fruits and
the Philippines boasts to have the best mangoes in the world. Of
course, each mango-growing country in the world boasts that their
mango is the best. Fair enough.
Papaya- I like papaya when it is unripe, or just starting to ripen --
and made into salad with vinagraitte (sp) dressing. The Thais have
also a lovely papaya salad.
Tubo- sugarcane
- I don't know where to classify this - it's basically sugar cane stalk.
It's actually a grass but children love to chew on the sweet pulp of
the stalk - so it's eaten like a fruit snack. I do too, but you have to
have strong teeth to peel the tough bark. You can also extract juice
out of the pulp (use a food processor or something) - sugar cane
juice is a nice drink really.
Star Fruit-
Also known as, carambola (English/Spanish) or five corners; it is a
five-sided fruit that gives a star shape in cross section. The fruit is
usually pale green and turns yellow when ripened. Balimbing is also
a popular term for turncoats or hypocrites.
Balimbing is native to the Malay peninsula and is grown throughout
the Philippines. May be grown as an ornamental tree. The fruit can
be eaten when ripe and can also be made into a refreshing drink. I
like it when it is manibalang (just about ripe), when the fruit is tart
and can be eaten with salt.
It is claimed that the fruit reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics;
the fruit used as a diuretic
Banana- The Philippines' has different varieties of banana - from
the cooking variety named saba, to small sweet latundan, to the
bigger exportable bongolan, to red-skinned morado, to full of seeds
Espanola, to small, finger-like senoritas. There are many uses to the
saging. The saba for example is used as a main ingredient for
pochero, a hearty meat stew, and also for sweets like turon,
minatamis na saging, ginataan, binayo and others. The heart of
banana (puso ng saging) is used as a vegetable. The leaves are used
also for cooking as wraps for ibos, tinumis and others. The pith of
the banana trunk is also considered a delicacy in my province of
Aklan - we have a dish called manok nga inubaran - chicken with
banana pith - considered as the best vegetable dish in Aklan - as
immortalized in a song.
Tamarind-
Sampaloc or sampalok again, is another one of those not really
good-looking fruits. Its outer shell covering is brown and inside the
brown pod are these seeds covered by brown pulp. The pulp is the
one that's eaten, it's very tart and sweet at the same time. They
make the pulp into candy - by rolling it into balls and then covering
it with salt and sugar and wrapping it in yellow cellophane. (This is
also known as tarugo in Mexico, which of course has another
connotation in Tagalog slang.)
Also known as bayawas (Aklanon), guava (English). The fruit can
also be used as a flavoring for stews (i.e. sinigang sa bayabas). There
are many varieties - trees bearing small or large fruits, fruits with
white or red flesh, etc. I am not much of a fan of bayabas - I don't
like its smell when it's ripe - it is very distinctive and to me it smells
like under arm odor. When I do eat guavas, I prefer them under
ripe, with salt.
Scientifically known as Psidum guajava, the guava is indigenous to
tropical America and was introduced to the Philippines during the
early Spanish period. It is a very hardy plant - it even grows in poor
soil conditions.
Guavas can be made into jelly and also is used as a souring agent in
sinigang.
The fruit is high in vitamin C and iron and are mildy laxative. The
leaves and bark are brewed as treatment for diarrhea and
indigestion. Guava twigs are can be used as tooth brush.
Bayabas is one of the most useful trees I know. The fruit is delicious
(unless it's too ripe, like you said). The leaves can be boiled and
drunk as tea. The fruit can be used as flavoring in sinigang. It is
very rich in Vitamin C. The leaves can also be boiled and used to
wash wounds for faster healing. Bayabas will thrive in the warmer
parts of the US.
Chico or tsiko is an ugly looking fruit which has a peculiar nice
smell to it. It's sweet, brown in color, juicy flesh, also brown in color.
Some are round and some are oval with pointed ends. The slightly
granular pulp is sweet when ripe. It's eaten only when completely
ripe because the fruit has a high content of latex.
The scientific name is Achras sapota, a native of Mexico and was
introduced to the Philippines during the Spanish times. It is known
chikoo in India, sawu in Indonesia, chikoo in Malyasia, sapodilla or
rata-mi in Sri Lanka, lamoot in Thailand and nasebery in the West
Indies.
also be used as a flavoring for stews (i.e. sinigang sa bayabas). There
are many varieties - trees bearing small or large fruits, fruits with
white or red flesh, etc. I am not much of a fan of bayabas - I don't
like its smell when it's ripe - it is very distinctive and to me it smells
like under arm odor. When I do eat guavas, I prefer them under
ripe, with salt.
Scientifically known as Psidum guajava, the guava is indigenous to
tropical America and was introduced to the Philippines during the
early Spanish period. It is a very hardy plant - it even grows in poor
soil conditions.
Guavas can be made into jelly and also is used as a souring agent in
sinigang.
The fruit is high in vitamin C and iron and are mildy laxative. The
leaves and bark are brewed as treatment for diarrhea and
indigestion. Guava twigs are can be used as tooth brush.
Bayabas is one of the most useful trees I know. The fruit is delicious
(unless it's too ripe, like you said). The leaves can be boiled and
drunk as tea. The fruit can be used as flavoring in sinigang. It is
very rich in Vitamin C. The leaves can also be boiled and used to
wash wounds for faster healing. Bayabas will thrive in the warmer
parts of the US.
Chico or tsiko is an ugly looking fruit which has a peculiar nice
smell to it. It's sweet, brown in color, juicy flesh, also brown in color.
Some are round and some are oval with pointed ends. The slightly
granular pulp is sweet when ripe. It's eaten only when completely
ripe because the fruit has a high content of latex.
The scientific name is Achras sapota, a native of Mexico and was
introduced to the Philippines during the Spanish times. It is known
chikoo in India, sawu in Indonesia, chikoo in Malyasia, sapodilla or
rata-mi in Sri Lanka, lamoot in Thailand and nasebery in the West
Indies.
Philippine Fruits
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