Our host family has a wonderful selection of fruit trees in their yard. We took a tour of them the other day and would like to share it with you all. Just keep in mind that while you get to learn about them, we enjoy fresh fruit at least twice a day. Huzzah!Ackee: This fruit is poisonous unless allowed to open on the tree. The fruits are yellow in color and quite creamy when cooked. They are not sweet and I don't really agree with the scrambled egg comparison that they often get. But when cooked with saltfish, onions, and spices for breakfast they are quite tasty. The Jamaicans knew what they were doing when choosing their national dish.
June Plum: Next to gneps (there are no gnep trees in the yard), I think June Plums are our favorite new fruit. Tasty both when ripe and when slightly green. Gneps are wonderful, by the way, and remind me of eating a peeled green grape.
Sweet Sop: There is also a sour sop, but we did not show the picture here. Almost everyone who tries this at first taste does not like it, but after a few morsels I think it grows on you. The fruit comes apart in small sections that you can see from the outside of the fruit- those little nubs. Each section has a black pit that must be spit out.
Pimento (aka Allspice): A wonderful tree! The crushed leaves and the berries smell of allspice. The ones in the picture are close to being ripe. When ripened they are harvested, dried and used whole to season a number of Jamaican dishes.
Guava: There are no fruits on this guava tree, but I know some of you will appreciate this kind of guava instead of the one you are most accustomed to working with.
Breadfruit: Our first encounter with breadfruit was not remarkable, but it is often served roasted at our host home. This gives the starchy flesh a nice smokey flavor with some incorporated sweetness and a light, spongy texture. I really like it. It can also be served steamed, boiled or fried.
In addition to learning about the fruit trees in our yards, we are meeting our communities and traveling to some other areas. We went to Negril for a PC meeting last Saturday and part of the meeting was conducted while we were treading water off the coast of the west-end cliffs. Wonderful! But really, we are working and enjoying getting to know the area that we will call home for the next two years.
5 comments:
The fruits I most often miss from my travels (that I can't get here) are the Feijoa from New Zealand (kind of like a cross between a pear and a plum) and the Pomelo which is like a mild grapefruit and is sold by street vendors all over SE Asia.
We've hit up a few fruit markets lately - I do like the peaches and nectarines that are in season right now.
I like how in this blog before you even finish reading one sentence it is absolutely clear whether it is Scott or Carrie writing.
Yes, we have completely different writing (and blogging) styles. After we starting blogging we contemplated whether sharing a blog was a good idea. I think it will work out.
One more fruit note: there have been some crazy good peaches and nectarines around here lately. Especially at the farmers' market.
where's the mango tree!?!?
Okay, this is Brittney. I've linked your blog to mine if you don't mind. I also have a few other PCTs on there as well. Feel free to link up those to yours!
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