The Tropical Fruit Forum

Quote from: bsbullie on July 10, 2021, 09:44:54 PM

Quote from: W. on July 10, 2021, 08:35:20 PM

It looks like freeze drying jaboticaba pulp would be an arduous, time-consuming process. I think getting $30-40 per jar would probably be the only way it would pay off for the time and effort expended. That being said, Adam's freeze dried Pitangatuba looks like it was relatively easy to make. Freeze dried Pitangatuba could be something that ends up in grocery stores (or at least specialty groceries) in the future.

Pitangatuba, in any format, will not be in any store.  Outside of collectors, its not widely known.  Its not a feasible cash crop and too delicate to transport for selling whole or to a processing plant.

With that being said,  both of Adam's freeze dried fruit look delish and worth the money they are fetching.

I think that is an ignorant, narrow-minded statement. At one time, most of the fruit that we all enjoy on this forum was not widely known in the US, outside of collectors. Go ask someone living in the US (outside of Florida) a century ago, "What is a mango?" Go ask someone living in the US fifty years ago, "What is a kiwi?" Go ask someone twenty years ago, "What is a jackfruit," or "what is a mamey sapote," or "what is a rambutan" or about any number of tropical fruits that can now be found in supermarkets throughout the US today?

Pitangatuba has an interesting flavor. It has an interesting shape. Adam Shafran's name for it, starcherry, has a nice ring to it. It is probably too delicate and perishable for fresh fruit sales, though grapes and most berries are not exactly robust fruits. But, freeze drying and other processing methods could open up new possibilities for making Pitangatuba a viable agricultural crop and a presence in groceries stories across the US. Right now, 99.9% of Americans have never heard of Pitangatuba. In ten or twenty years, that could change with the presence of bags of dried starcherries next to dried cranberries and trail mix in grocery stories from coast to coast.

I got this little gem late last summer from truly tropicals. It was a 7 gallon to was about to transfer to a 15 gallon pot. It has not been in the ground for very long and I wasn't going to let it carry fruit but my mother-in-law took a liking to it so I let it carry a few.
Question what happens if you let it ripen on the tree until it is soft to the touch. Will it taste rancid like some of the others

JohnB, my Second-bloom Keitts are very small and green still, a month or two a away for sure.

John that’s awesome man congrats! Alex Salazar and Mr. Sturrock both agree Karen Michelle is just an improved Edward, but me and my wife are crazy about it! We both love Edward too and see the close resemblance but we taste more “tropical” and coconut flavor in KM (although I also taste coco in Edward).

I was disappointed however, when I heard from Alex today that his KM top work has been very disappointing for 3 or 4 years now AND the original tree belonging to Gary Zill is also a shy bearer.
I will hold off on planting until it’s further evaluated in different growing locations.

Rob, are you by chance growing KM?

I can officially say that I have secured a 15 gallon Karen Michelle mango tree from Truly Tropical Chris in Delray Beach. I would like to thank Honest Abe for focusing my attention to this wonderful mango. I was actually sitting in my Resort Room texting about how much I enjoyed coconut cream mango when Abe mentioned on this forum I should try Karen Michelle. I had all the mangoes that I got from Tropical Acre Farms displayed on plates and platters on the kitchen table about to take a photo. When I saw Karen Michelle staring me in the face. I was very impressed with the size and when we tasted it coconut coconut coconut. I have been wanting to get a bigger size mango and this should compliment my Sugarloaf and M4 nicely. As far as large mangoes I now have fruit punch and Karen Michelle. Honest Abe you might want to consider a 7 gallon. Her trees tend to run much larger than most others you will find. I will be visiting her on Thursday I will take a photo of one with a tape measure included for reference. As the Duck Dynasty guy would say I'm happy happy happy

Quote from: weiss613 on July 05, 2021, 07:12:53 PM

For me Orange Sherbet, Kathy stood out so far this season. Many others are great. But so far this season they caused the most emotions.

You are a fan of Lemon Zest. In your opinion how does Orange Sherbert taste compared to Lemon Zest. Any similarities?What are the subtle differences.
I have an orange sherbet that has over a dozen on it. I've never tasted it. I have also never tasted lemon zest.

As of right now Karen Michelle is the one that's on my mind

Quote from: roblack on July 04, 2021, 09:52:16 PM

Do you add anything to mango chips prior to dehydrating, or just straight up mangoes?

What Rob said. I prefer them on the greener side for dehydration. They seem to ripen a more during the process

This Malika mango is showing color change
What should I do now coach

I dehydrate then freeze. After a year they end up as mango chips but I'll take it when I have nothing

I have limited freezer space. No stand alone freezer. But If I had a stand alone I would freeze most mangos whole with the skin on. When you take the whole mango out it is very easy to peel as it defrosts, though you must do this within a few minutes of it being out at room temperature. Then take the "naked" mango(s) and move on to your next steps.