I’m visiting Bangkok currently, so: definitely custard apples and mangosteens. Snake fruits and guava and the specific type of tangerines they use as “oranges” over here, too. And the green skinned “sweet oranges” which are also awesome. And like all the various types of mangos you can get in Thailand.
Also, I’m taking “available” to mean “purchasable, and ripened mostly on the vine”, because the stuff that gets shipped internationally is picked SUPER unripe just so it doesn’t spoil before sale.
Basically, I would fucking LOVE it if there was a Thai grocery in my city that flagrantly violated the Washington Treaty.
For real though, if you ever get the chance to try a ripe custard apple, they’re absolutely fucking delicious. Can’t recommend it enough.
I’ve heard rumors that, while we see two kinds of mango in the US, there are many more varietals in India, and they’re all better. I’d like to have access to some of those; mangoes rock.
I suspect this is like our tomatoes. The tomatos you buy in stores were cultivated to be pretty, to get harvested by a machine, and to ship without getting damaged. Meanwhile, heirloom tomatoes will split their skin on a humid day, but they pack a ton more flavor in. The same is true for the vast majority of our fruit and veg. Actually ripened on plant produce doesn’t have a very long shelf life.
Also large tomatoes which split are usually classed as beefsteak tomatoes. There are heirlooms like Brandywine and hybrids like Brandy Boy. And if you don’t grow tomatoes yourself you’ll never know the difference.
And if you don’t grow tomatoes yourself you’ll never know the difference.
What do you mean? Once you have home grown, or even farm stand, produce you realize that the vast majority of grocery store stuff is picked before it’s really ripe.
You’re confused.
That’s not what heirloom tomatoes are. Heirloom means they’re not hybrids. There are loads of heirloom and hybrid varieties with all kinds of properties, flavours, shapes and sizes.
