The health nut, environmentally conscious, the market vendor, the chef, the foodie or anyone who loves and respects freshness will understand and respect the amazing-ness of awaiting arrival of a fruit in season. In our case, Sour and sweet sop, Jackfruit, Mango, Avocado, Cherry, the Plums and many more; so I feel that I can assume that when companies got into the market of canning the juices of these seasonal/indigenous fruits, immigrant all over joined in on the hallelujah chorus.
I signed up for choir on a visit to DC. We went to the Caribbean store and upon finally dragging my jaw to the other side I found them, haloed in cans and boxes and bottles. Guanabana (Sour sop), preserved jackfruit, pomegranate (Panganaut… I need find out how to spell it in patois), and guava among others. There was a collection of liquids from drawn from the coconut.
Why would I use ‘liquids’? Well, apparently there’s a discrepancy as to whether it is Coconut juice or Coconut water. On laughing at this, all I hear behind me is “stttrreeeuuuppp, juice? Cocnut JUICE? Cho, just pass me two a any a dem weh seh 'water' nuh.”And there's an entire row of laughter. Love it!
Now the coconut water: something were very wrong this one. [I love that word had a problem with that sentence.] It tasted young and tangy, versus sweet and refreshing, ripe. Surprise! It is made in Thailand. I looked it up and apparently Asians prefer the water of young coconuts, while my mind's eye was attempting to envision the chopping of a ripe brown coconut turned upside-down over a cup. Greater heartache came from the label: Grace was using young, un-Jamaican coconut. From a business point of view, I completely understand that choice, but man!
Automatically, my hands reached for the juices and water of the aforementioned fruit, but Gillian was in for a true surprise with regard to the source of the fruits. What didn’t come from Brazil, came from Taiwan, or Thailand, or Venezuela. Nothing against the similarity in Tropical temperature and surroundings, but I hoped against hope that the taste wasn’t affected. Silly me! The sour sop was missing its think, pulpy, milky-ness it tasted like a drink instead of juice.
Sour sop/Guanabana Jackfruit
On to the jackfruit, mum and I could eat an entire jackfruit – the first of the season of course, then itis set in and we can wait til next season. This time before opening it I looked at the label: Asia again; an Asian company so it’s okay. In any case, I am thinking it should taste the same – bananas from Hawai’i and Ecuador taste the same, so wah?! Surprise again! It tasted different. There are a collection of reasons for this, including the preserving syrup, the can and consequential mitosis.
And who was there to console me, mango. I still have a plan to make a jackfruit vinaigrette for a shrimp and arugula salad. I just need to get over the shock - there is just something about the effect of reality on the abstract; initially interpreted in this case as a rude awakening. Til then I’ve been making myself mango-pineapple milkshakes… soothing me back to recovery.
Til the next DC trip, or the salad (with pineapple instead),
Eat/drink well,
Gillian M.
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