3 ms·

These are all pretty easy to find in Los Angeles, New York, and the Bay. How many other things do you see if you actually venture to SE Asia? Central America h

by rcpt 6y ago

These are all pretty easy to find in Los Angeles, New York, and the Bay. How many other things do you see if you actually venture to SE Asia? Central America has all kinds of things that I never see here, eg. canistel or black sapote, as well as variants of mango, corn, and banana that don't sell in the US.

3131s 6y ago
There are many more varieties, as you said. I am literally about 100 meters from maybe 5-6 varieties of bananas and 10-12 varieties of mangoes. There are 4 varieties of dragon fruit here too, all excellent. The cheaper varieties of mangoes are similar to what Americans are familiar with, but much more consistent. Mangoes grow so readily here that in season I can get a kilo for $0.25 and they're always perfectly ripe. There is a more expensive variety that is purely sweet and has a more gelatinous texture, and it feels "decadent" in the same way that a rich chocolate cake does. The bananas are way better, especially some of the smaller varieties that have a thicker consistency. There are cart vendors everywhere here that grill those small bananas and sell them on sticks. And then there are many others in the markets, a lot of which don't have common names in English but all of them are great really. It's so cheap that in my diet I eat fruit instead of rice or bread as a carbohydrate source. Even most imported fruits are pretty reasonably priced, so you can still easily find things like apples, champagne grapes, cherries, etc.
nerdponx 6y ago
Jackfruit is pretty uncommon in NY City outside of specialty Asian markets. Durian even moreso. Dragonfruit exists mostly as a frozen smoothie ingredient, although you can get it seasonally as well. Lychee is somewhat available seasonally, longan never or almost never. And I've never seen a Pomelo outside of SE Asia.
- Nursie 6y ago
  I can buy Pomelo at fruit shops and at least one fruit stall in the middle of a mall here in Southampton, UK. It's strange what travels to some places and not others. I bought one a few years ago and was disappointed at the small amount of grapefruit-ish flesh, not realising how people actually eat them (candied peel and pith) in parts of Asia.
  - nerdponx 6y ago
    Interesting, I never ate the pith, but I haven't traveled Asia extensively. I ate the fruit in Vietnam topped with salt and chili powder.
    - Nursie 6y ago
      Actually one reason we may see Pomelo here is that the universities in this city attract a lot of Chinese students, and there are a number of shops and restaurants that have sprung up to cater for them. How it's eaten does seem to vary by country. I've never tried the pith either, but would like to sometime!

by rcpt 6y ago

3131s 6y ago

There are many more varieties, as you said. I am literally about 100 meters from maybe 5-6 varieties of bananas and 10-12 varieties of mangoes. There are 4 varieties of dragon fruit here too, all excellent. The cheaper varieties of mangoes are similar to what Americans are familiar with, but much more consistent. Mangoes grow so readily here that in season I can get a kilo for $0.25 and they're always perfectly ripe. There is a more expensive variety that is purely sweet and has a more gelatinous texture, and it feels "decadent" in the same way that a rich chocolate cake does. The bananas are way better, especially some of the smaller varieties that have a thicker consistency. There are cart vendors everywhere here that grill those small bananas and sell them on sticks. And then there are many others in the markets, a lot of which don't have common names in English but all of them are great really. It's so cheap that in my diet I eat fruit instead of rice or bread as a carbohydrate source. Even most imported fruits are pretty reasonably priced, so you can still easily find things like apples, champagne grapes, cherries, etc.

nerdponx 6y ago

Jackfruit is pretty uncommon in NY City outside of specialty Asian markets. Durian even moreso. Dragonfruit exists mostly as a frozen smoothie ingredient, although you can get it seasonally as well. Lychee is somewhat available seasonally, longan never or almost never. And I've never seen a Pomelo outside of SE Asia.

Nursie 6y ago
I can buy Pomelo at fruit shops and at least one fruit stall in the middle of a mall here in Southampton, UK. It's strange what travels to some places and not others. I bought one a few years ago and was disappointed at the small amount of grapefruit-ish flesh, not realising how people actually eat them (candied peel and pith) in parts of Asia.
- nerdponx 6y ago
  Interesting, I never ate the pith, but I haven't traveled Asia extensively. I ate the fruit in Vietnam topped with salt and chili powder.
  - Nursie 6y ago
    Actually one reason we may see Pomelo here is that the universities in this city attract a lot of Chinese students, and there are a number of shops and restaurants that have sprung up to cater for them. How it's eaten does seem to vary by country. I've never tried the pith either, but would like to sometime!