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Dragon fruit can be grown in California, Florida, and Hawaii and is not "bland mush with tiny seeds that can require floss to dislodge". The author must have ha

Dragon fruit can be grown in California, Florida, and Hawaii and is not "bland mush with tiny seeds that can require floss to dislodge". The author must have had a bad one. They can be extremely sweet. The seeds are so small that they go down without noticing and I've never had to use floss. My favorite is a variety with deep red flesh. Mangosteen is so far from its depiction---"to eat a pile of mangosteens is an exercise in disappointment"---that I wonder what kind of pile the author ate. In the US, imported mangosteens can run $20 a pound, so getting a few bad ones would be a disappointment. I suppose many vendors would issue a refund for the bad ones. But in Thailand a pile of mangosteens is so cheap that you wouldn't bother. They are exquisite, almost the fruit equivalent of ice cream (they taste better chilled). It's no wonder they call it the queen of fruits. Durian likewise deserves its designation as king of fruits. Most people, myself included, are repulsed on the first encounter. But if you can get over the initial shock, you will enjoy the most flavorful fruit with custard-like texture. Its flavor can be described as a combination of many other fruit flavors with a complexity only matched by good coffee and dark chocolate. Jackfruit is cheap and abundant in Mexican and Asian supermarkets in the US. The trouble is peeling and finishing a whole one. Some stores may sell wrapped pieces if you just want a taste. But if you have some guests and time to work with gloves and a knife, eating a whole jackfruit is a memorable experience.

9nGQluzmnq3M 6y ago
Re: mangosteens, the author isn't saying mangosteens taste disappointing, they're saying that finding lots with the 'mustard blight' is disappointing. If you can pick your own, though, they're in my experience pretty avoidable: go for ones that are purple, not black, and avoid any that have traces of yellow leaking from the top.
- reedlaw 6y ago
  Yes, it's easy to avoid 'mustard blight' if you know how to choose. Also, don't choose rock-hard fruits. The middle should give a little when gently squeezed (squeezing too hard would split open the peel).
hnick 6y ago
The other problem is lack of variety due to transportation problems. You're limited by what travels well, and when it's hard enough to get one type overseas without problems, you probably aren't sending multiple varieties. A lot of people have heard by now that there are many interesting types of bananas overseas, but they don't travel well enough to reach other countries. The same goes for other fruits. I remember once reading about a durian that has nearly none of the repulsive flavours, but they just aren't common enough to send away from local markets (I think it was in Malaysia). On the other hand though some fruits freeze decently well, durian is one of those. Especially if you're cooking with it the peeled pieces are great.
fiblye 6y ago
I've heard a lot about dragon fruit over the years and seen plenty of hype about it. I've been on what feels like a lifelong quest to find good dragon fruit, spread over many years and many countries, including throughout SE Asia. Somehow, it's all been just watery in flavor with the texture of soft watermelon.
- jiggunjer 6y ago
  Have you tried the yellow/golden dragon fruit? They cost around 20x more than the normal white/purple type.
greggman3 6y ago
I don't dislike Dragon Fruit but having had 30 or so of them in SE Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan) I've never had one that was "extremely sweet". All of them were relatively on the bland every place I had one. It's good to know they can be sweet but I'm curious why finding a sweet one is so rare. As for the seeds I agree. It's like eating kiwi seeds. Mangosteen is great! No idea why the author had so much hate. Durian though ... well I've tried it about 7-8 times and I get that it "tastes" good but I still don't get it. For example in Singapore there is a chain of cream puff stores that carry durian and vanilla cream puffs. To my "unrefined" palette they taste 95% the same but one stinks so if I was to go again I'd choose the vanilla that doesn't stink vs the durian that does. I'm sure I'll try them again but I suspect my reaction will be the same. Tastes fine (like vanilla custard) but why put up with the stink when I can just have vanilla custard. That said, last summer when I was in Malaysia was the first time the smell started not being so repelling so (a) I'm getting used to it (b) they were in season (c) like the cat virus they've reprogramed my brain :P
- markdown 6y ago
  While my experience with dragonfruit are the same as yours, I've heard they can be sweet if allowed to fully ripen on the stem before harvest. This of course doesn't work for commercial production.
- philliphaydon 6y ago
  > I don't dislike Dragon Fruit but having had 30 or so of them in SE Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan) I've never had one that was "extremely sweet". All of them were relatively on the bland every place I had one. It's good to know they can be sweet but I'm curious why finding a sweet one is so rare. Our experience is vastly different! While not a fan of dragon fruit, I do eat it relatively often as my wife loves it. We usually buy pre-peeled pack at the super market when we visit. For me it is definitely sweet. Not 'extremely' but it's definitely sweeter than a good banana or royal grape. Definitely not bland at all. I don't think I've had a non-sweet version in any of the countries you listed. Edit: I just had a thought. I always eat Purple dragon fruit, not the white one. Maybe that's the difference.
phaus 6y ago
>Dragon fruit can be grown in California, Florida, and Hawaii and is not "bland mush with tiny seeds that can require floss to dislodge". The author must have had a bad one. They can be extremely sweet. The seeds are so small that they go down without noticing and I've never had to use floss. My favorite is a variety with deep red flesh. I've been trying to find a good one in the states, so far no luck. I've only tried ones with the red flesh. The ones I had weren't bad, they were just flavorless. Not sweet at all. Kind of refreshing, but nothing special.
pm90 6y ago
I believe you can find canned jackfruit flesh. It tastes very different from fresh ones unfortunately.
bookofjoe 6y ago
Longtime New York Times international correspondent R.W. Apple, a great epicure, called mangosteen the finest fruit in the world.

9nGQluzmnq3M 6y ago

Re: mangosteens, the author isn't saying mangosteens taste disappointing, they're saying that finding lots with the 'mustard blight' is disappointing. If you can pick your own, though, they're in my experience pretty avoidable: go for ones that are purple, not black, and avoid any that have traces of yellow leaking from the top.

reedlaw 6y ago
Yes, it's easy to avoid 'mustard blight' if you know how to choose. Also, don't choose rock-hard fruits. The middle should give a little when gently squeezed (squeezing too hard would split open the peel).

hnick 6y ago

The other problem is lack of variety due to transportation problems. You're limited by what travels well, and when it's hard enough to get one type overseas without problems, you probably aren't sending multiple varieties. A lot of people have heard by now that there are many interesting types of bananas overseas, but they don't travel well enough to reach other countries. The same goes for other fruits. I remember once reading about a durian that has nearly none of the repulsive flavours, but they just aren't common enough to send away from local markets (I think it was in Malaysia). On the other hand though some fruits freeze decently well, durian is one of those. Especially if you're cooking with it the peeled pieces are great.

fiblye 6y ago

I've heard a lot about dragon fruit over the years and seen plenty of hype about it. I've been on what feels like a lifelong quest to find good dragon fruit, spread over many years and many countries, including throughout SE Asia. Somehow, it's all been just watery in flavor with the texture of soft watermelon.

jiggunjer 6y ago
Have you tried the yellow/golden dragon fruit? They cost around 20x more than the normal white/purple type.

greggman3 6y ago

I don't dislike Dragon Fruit but having had 30 or so of them in SE Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan) I've never had one that was "extremely sweet". All of them were relatively on the bland every place I had one. It's good to know they can be sweet but I'm curious why finding a sweet one is so rare. As for the seeds I agree. It's like eating kiwi seeds. Mangosteen is great! No idea why the author had so much hate. Durian though ... well I've tried it about 7-8 times and I get that it "tastes" good but I still don't get it. For example in Singapore there is a chain of cream puff stores that carry durian and vanilla cream puffs. To my "unrefined" palette they taste 95% the same but one stinks so if I was to go again I'd choose the vanilla that doesn't stink vs the durian that does. I'm sure I'll try them again but I suspect my reaction will be the same. Tastes fine (like vanilla custard) but why put up with the stink when I can just have vanilla custard. That said, last summer when I was in Malaysia was the first time the smell started not being so repelling so (a) I'm getting used to it (b) they were in season (c) like the cat virus they've reprogramed my brain :P

markdown 6y ago
While my experience with dragonfruit are the same as yours, I've heard they can be sweet if allowed to fully ripen on the stem before harvest. This of course doesn't work for commercial production.
philliphaydon 6y ago
> I don't dislike Dragon Fruit but having had 30 or so of them in SE Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan) I've never had one that was "extremely sweet". All of them were relatively on the bland every place I had one. It's good to know they can be sweet but I'm curious why finding a sweet one is so rare. Our experience is vastly different! While not a fan of dragon fruit, I do eat it relatively often as my wife loves it. We usually buy pre-peeled pack at the super market when we visit. For me it is definitely sweet. Not 'extremely' but it's definitely sweeter than a good banana or royal grape. Definitely not bland at all. I don't think I've had a non-sweet version in any of the countries you listed. Edit: I just had a thought. I always eat Purple dragon fruit, not the white one. Maybe that's the difference.

phaus 6y ago

>Dragon fruit can be grown in California, Florida, and Hawaii and is not "bland mush with tiny seeds that can require floss to dislodge". The author must have had a bad one. They can be extremely sweet. The seeds are so small that they go down without noticing and I've never had to use floss. My favorite is a variety with deep red flesh. I've been trying to find a good one in the states, so far no luck. I've only tried ones with the red flesh. The ones I had weren't bad, they were just flavorless. Not sweet at all. Kind of refreshing, but nothing special.

pm90 6y ago

I believe you can find canned jackfruit flesh. It tastes very different from fresh ones unfortunately.

bookofjoe 6y ago

Longtime New York Times international correspondent R.W. Apple, a great epicure, called mangosteen the finest fruit in the world.