Phet Pakchong Tasting

[Seadation]

So Coconut was again generous enough to give me some of his fruit to sample. I received a huge 2lb 1 ounce Phet Pakchong a Boca Chewy sugar apple, two Taiwan purple sugar apples, and a late Noel F2 big Red sugar apple to sample for his breeding program. Coconut has to be one of the most generous people I know when it comes to sharing fruit and am glad he has chosen me to be one of his guinea pigs (fruit tasters) for his breeding program. In this post I will be reviewing the Phet Pakchong and comparing it to the Boca chewy which was already reviewed in another thread. The other fruits are not ready yet and will be reviewed soon.

Phet Pakchong is an Atemoya that I have heard a lot of great things about and is considered to be one of the best atemoyas around. It definitely did not disappoint in the looks department. What a stunning and beautiful fruit. It weighed in at a whopping 33 ounces by far the largest atemoya/sugar apple/cherimoya I have held. The flavor was mild almost bland semi sweet atemoya with hints of vanilla. The flesh was as smooth as silk with a firm texture similar to that of a cherimoya however flavor wise it was definitely missing the kick in sweetness and complexity that I get from the Boca Chewy.

I don't know if I am becoming an annona snob with all these amazing fruits I have been sampling lately but the Phet Pakchong which would have been at the top of my list two months ago did not compare too the intense sweetness and taste of the Boca Chewy. Not taking anything away from the Pp which I think is great and a must have in every collection and one that I will definitely be getting myself but if I had to choose between the two hands down it would be an easy decision for me the Boca Chewy all the way. The seed count from both fruits was 42 for the Pp and 62 from the Boca Chewy which was half the size of the Pp. So even though the Pp had fewer seeds and was twice the size of the Boca Chewy I still was quick to gravitate to the Boca chewy during my tasting. Coconut has something special with the Boca chewy that I hope you guys will soon get to taste.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

hey that pic with the little guy holding the PPC is classic!!  Fruit looks like it's 15 lbs
thanks for the excellent post!

[Seadation]

Thanks! That's my little guy will be 4 this Friday. He loves fruit just like his dad.

[bangkok]

Yes Petchpakchong is a great fruit and grown in Thailand it is also sweet. They have far less seeds then common sugarapples and also can be big like 1 kg a piece. I remember though when my family came to visit from upcountry and they brought normal sugarapples from 2 kg a piece, they were a little black moulded and overripe but still pretty good. Those ones had more seeds.

Petchpakchong costs more on the markets then the normal ones and can be found all year around if you are lucky. Average size is like a half kilo but they are locally grown in backyards, don't know if they got fertilizers.

Also the srikaya jumbo from Indonesia is a whopper and with very good taste (is what i read). That one is also more then 1 kg i guess.

[bsbullie]

Not sure if you were just making a reference or actually classifying however phet pakchong is an atemoya.

[michsu]

Does anyone have any seeds available?  I'm interested in growing some..

[Coconut]

Call Excalibur or PM BSBullies and get a grafted one; my three trees came from them three years ago.  July 4th of this year I took some folks up there and clean out the little stub just take of graft phet pakchong in 3 gallon for a steal 35.00 buck. All they had was 3 left and my friends, they told me twig trees are flowering & set small fruit in West Boca, of course I told my friend to take the fruits off on a 18 inch twigs. It will fruit heavy the third year & be planted in full sun absolutely; unlike a lot of my bred sugar apple.

You do not want to plant from seeds since its an un stabilized Atemoya; its offspring will
Be more than likely a major disappointment.  The Phet Pakchong winter crop is the sweetest.  The summer crop is quite bland sweet like eating a great camieto.

But as soon as Ron finish spitting them out, you are more than welcome to  try your luck at the selection lottery; base upon my 30 years experience and this old fart aint getting younger.  Call my Friend Richard at Excalibur and see if you can get one of their nicely grafted plant.  They use nice annona rootstock my tree ballistic to a 20 by 20 foot in two years; it is the most aggressive Atemoya I have ever grown. A second crop Can be had; that will be another thread coming soon.

Check with the annona freaks in California; a little crow told me they have them growing successfully out there.  Perhaps someone sell you a grafted one.
 I wont mention that Kampuchean Annona Mafia by name! 

Of all the Atemoya in S. florida this one have done quite well with fruit from my tree averaging a kilo.  Unfortunately they are quite popular with bushy gansters in my hood; but I am sure in California your biggest concern will be homo stupido & adequate irrigation.

[franciscu]

After my wonderful surprise experience with my annona myricata (guanabana) this year I am psyched up now to plant some more annonas. The guanabana bore its fruit (approximately 25 2-3 pounders) thru April-May. Being a noncommercial homeowner I prefer trying to spread the harvest over the longest period possible and avoid getting buried with too much fruit all at once. Sounds like the Phet Pakchong is one I need to find to cover August. What is recommended for June-July and maybe September+ if possible?

[michsu]

Thanks Coconut for the info! I already sent him a message regarding this.. Hopefully I can get a grafted tree from him.. Currently, I have a Honey Hart with Pink's, Lindstrom with Fino and Campas, a Sarteneja custard apple, and a rollinia.. they are all about 3 gallons or so except for the Rollinia (that's about as tall as me).. I got those plants from Ethan.. he is very knowledgable about all the different questions I had.. and I'm still emailing him about any questions I have.. I thank him for his patience in answering them.. hopefully I can get some fruit next year.. all of them have flowers already, but I pulled them off for the plant to grow bigger.. I got them around June and they all have grown bigger already (more leaves too)..

so what do you think of this compared to the other annonas (or the cultivars that I have)? Is this one recommended to have too? 

[HMHausman]

I want to add a word of semi caution on the Phet Pakchong front.  I have two trees from Excalibur.  I have had them in the ground for several years.  In my yard, heavy muck soil over some coral rock and sand, they are not growing vigorously and are barely producing any fruit.  The fruits that are being produced are quite small.  Nothing like the beauty shown in this thread.  The taste of this atemoya is excellent.  It is as good as any that I have had on its best day. I assume in Boca, where this was produced, the soil was much more sand and much less organic muck.  Am I correct?

[bangkok]

I want to add a word of semi caution on the Phet Pakchong front.  I have two trees from Excalibur.  I have had them in the ground for several years.  In my yard, heavy muck soil over some coral rock and sand, they are not growing vigorously and are barely producing any fruit.  The fruits that are being produced are quite small.  Nothing like the beauty shown in this thread.  The taste of this atemoya is excellent.  It is as good as any that I have had on its best day. I assume in Boca, where this was produced, the soil was much more sand and much less organic muck.  Am I correct?

Mine is also grafted but grows like crazy. I wanted to keep it at 2-3 metre and a bushy shape but it produces very long branches all the time and pruning the tips and next leave doesn't help a lot. It makes sidebranches but not as much as i wished.

Mine is in a raised bed of 30 cm high and filled with pure compost. It had some passionfruits growing in the same spot but still grew very fast.
The passionfruits died this wetseason though but the PP still grows fast.

I like the PP but the less seeds the better.

[Coconut]

After my wonderful surprise experience with my annona myricata (guanabana) this year I am psyched up now to plant some more annonas. The guanabana bore its fruit (approximately 25 2-3 pounders) thru April-May. Being a noncommercial homeowner I prefer trying to spread the harvest over the longest period possible and avoid getting buried with too much fruit all at once. Sounds like the Phet Pakchong is one I need to find to cover August. What is recommended for June-July and maybe September+ if possible?

.

If you grow Phet Pakchong like I do, I will rephrase I am sorry; if you grow annonas like I do you will get practically two crops a year out of them.  my Boca Chewy Harvest start in late may and it finish off in February.  While Orlando Chewy a late Boca Chewy I develop for Orlando fruit from October through may.  I bred them so I can have Chewy year round.  With this warm year, I will have Phet Pakchong almost nine month of year.  Tree one fruit from July to October first crop.  Tree two September to December and tree number three it just starting to flower now so fruit some where in december to february.  Than I will induce a second crop from each one. My soil is pure coquina rock. 30 years ago I secretly frack my backyard with mild explosive at night during thunderstorm & hurricane & 4th of july & new year.  When I arrive the ground was like the settlers when they first arrive in Homestead.  Developer just dug a pond & pile it on the solid coquina rock which my house sit on, I am in the highest area of boca raton where my summer water table is 10 feet & 16 feet during winter, state Farm consider us not in the flood zone being highest area of West Palm which explain why the homes here sell at premium & practically never made it till the Ml listing. Even during Wilma we watch every body flood in Miami & south broward. Frack help me get all my seedling deeper into the water table. Like Gene Joyner I mulch my trees three feet deep up to the trunk & do this every six month. I forgotten about going over to see your possible whitman fiberless?? Remind again if I forget maybe this Sunday or Saturday afternoon & I can share some of my thought Frank!

[Coconut]

Thanks Coconut for the info! I already sent him a message regarding this.. Hopefully I can get a grafted tree from him.. Currently, I have a Honey Hart with Pink's, Lindstrom with Fino and Campas, a Sarteneja custard apple, and a rollinia.. they are all about 3 gallons or so except for the Rollinia (that's about as tall as me).. I got those plants from Ethan.. he is very knowledgable about all the different questions I had.. and I'm still emailing him about any questions I have.. I thank him for his patience in answering them.. hopefully I can get some fruit next year.. all of them have flowers already, but I pulled them off for the plant to grow bigger.. I got them around June and they all have grown bigger already (more leaves too)..

so what do you think of this compared to the other annonas (or the cultivars that I have)? Is this one recommended to have too? 

If you cant get anyone sympathy,  I will be air-layering them for a tissue double chromosone hybridizing experiment & might have them available in three to four months.  I have developed the first generation Green Dragon which is a selection from crossing Boca Chewy to Phet Pakchong, to bad you not next door or I would shanghai your backyard as a trial area for it.  Ron is stop by tonite on his way home to Miami, he should have a bunch of floater seeds you can have.  Growing from seeds for this line, they might fruit for you in three to 7 years with a fruit much better or worse. 

[Coconut]

Here is the reason you do not want to plant Phet Pakchong seedling.
Here is the seeds from the 33ounce fruit.


As you can see a lot of floater in a fully mature fruit with most sinker having thin shell.







As you can see the number of floater vs sinker and in the sinker you see a seed that has sprouted.
From my past experiment Atemoya cross like these, the seedling is a mutation favoring the Squamosa side.  I have notice the same thing from last year Phet Pakchong.
So these Petch Pakchong the sinker only are available for those that want to be another Sith breeder; may you have patience in decades like I have. The mutation early sprouting seed has been planted, we will see what interesting trait it will offer in three years; I cross the Burmese Red with this fruit so who know what hybrid gamble we will have.

[Coconut]

Thanks Coconut for the info! I already sent him a message regarding this.. Hopefully I can get a grafted tree from him.. Currently, I have a Honey Hart with Pink's, Lindstrom with Fino and Campas, a Sarteneja custard apple, and a rollinia.. they are all about 3 gallons or so except for the Rollinia (that's about as tall as me).. I got those plants from Ethan.. he is very knowledgable about all the different questions I had.. and I'm still emailing him about any questions I have.. I thank him for his patience in answering them.. hopefully I can get some fruit next year.. all of them have flowers already, but I pulled them off for the plant to grow bigger.. I got them around June and they all have grown bigger already (more leaves too)..

so what do you think of this compared to the other annonas (or the cultivars that I have)? Is this one recommended to have too? 

I am not in California so I can not answer your selection choices nor do I pretend to know all these variety nuances.  The phet Pakchong is bred in Ayathoya which is humid hot similar to the Darien of Panana.  It is the most humid tropic atemoya that have produce 30 plus fruit every year on the tree with two cropping a year.  I had not been able to achieve that with gefner, lisa, bradley, paxton, african pride without hand pollination..  Therefore I try to mimic only two seasons for it which is wet & dry to trigger fruiting; that another thread coming soon.

Do I recommend it, yes it is the most prolific for the tropic & fruit year round practically in the super tropic. I love camieto but by chainsawing down a couple unproductive dozen camito trees in Parkland, I was able to replace it with Phet Pakchong since they taste to me like a giant camieto in flavor the summer crop. I consider it the best of the atemoya in taste & I like my winter crop less water, more sun, colder the fruit is much sweeter.  I am sorry but I am not a fan of Any cherimoya. I wish I can grow papaw in the tropic, it is 10 time better than Cherimoya.  But this thread is about the Phet Pakchong and it is the only Atemoya that I like; I am sure within two breeding cycle, I might have an Atemoya 4 chromosome cross that will bring the annona world to the next playing field.  Grow them all, you can always kill the one you dont like; I do it all the time.

[Coconut]

Wow Got home breaking in wife's new Porsche this evening and startle a few squirrels on my roof.  Dam they are at it again this time on my Phet Pakchong;



I was able to save these gang.  Wife couldn't believe how big, they average close to a kilo.

Still have 15 more small undevelop fruit on same tree I yank these guys from.  My Third tree start to flowers and my first tree are budding after I harvest the earlier fruits feature in this post.

Here are  tonite feature;







They are becoming my favorite replacement for Caimito aka star apple because they are sweet & texture like the best star apple out there.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

that little dog brought out the big guns!

great pic!  great fruit!

[Soren]

Jack - congratulations on those big fruits!

[Coconut]

Jack - congratulations on those big fruits!

Yes I will send you Petch Pakchong seed too.



 
I was playing a joke on Wife's new joy ride.  I finally velcro it to the grill this morning since it did not stay on the hood ornament area. she ran to work this morning to interview a few new employees so was not paying attention. i got my ears chew out when her employees saw it on the security cameras. I think Porsche should make an Annona roaster for fruitlover with a Phet Pakchong Hood ornament.  ! I should give my seedlings a speed test by strapping to the grill & see if they survive. Vzzoom the Annona is coming!;D

[Coconut]

Well folks a lot of newbies to Phet Pakchong were complaining it is bland not sweet.  I happen to like that bland sweet camito taste.  I had a bummer crop could  not finish it fast enough and they sat for a week slowly getting softer so I threw it in the frigerature and forgotten about it over the Labor day weekend.  I open frigerature ate one and was taken back by its deliciousness; it seem to transfer itself into a creamy white sapote banana bread pudding flavor with a hint of soursop; I had to eat another fruit to confirm that I was not dreaming.  I have grown practically all the atemoya in the world and threw them away when its past prime; this not the case with our Phet Pakchong.  Even overripe its super honey sweet and have mellow firm texture! Outstanding...those troublemaker at Excalibur redeem themselves in bringing this great Thai atemoya to our neck of the wood; I will let you know how it taste in a shine--got to check the moon cycle before I fire the pot!





Thank to Thera for sending me my new gator knife to stab alligator in the quarter sweet spot; I used it to open this fruit, nice knife Thankyou!

I took some fruit over to Frank aka Franciscu on the beach and him & his wife were in awl at the deliciousness of the age fruit!







I swear Frank grew a little hair after eating this delicious overripe blacken Phet Pakchong.
So we learn today why some fruit is best left to age like a fine steak!  I am happy when it green ripe I have the best tasting bland sweet camito star apple and when aged black chilled; a magical fruit that transform itself...you have to try it; I am still meditating on the meaning of Annona!

Sleepdoc& Sedeation you guys ate it too early, its bland sweet.  Dont wirry i have more for you to try, I am aging them in frigerature like prime beef to develop the Unami of flavor!

[bangkok]

oh boy.....if the Thai like it it MUST be sweet or they can't be bothered at all. It can never be sweet enough to them.

Yes they do get black and that looks no good but it's the same with some jacks who are left to get black and moulded before they will sell them.
First time i saw that i thought they would throw them away but that's part of the ripening.

My wife waits untill the noina ppc is very soft, then breaks it in parts and scoops the meat out of the skin with a spoon. Sure they are sweet........  

You should taste the Fanta or other lemonade here, far to sweet and no bubbles. You can buy a unchilled bottle of it and a bag of ice and then mix it to get chilled Fanta but they also drink it out of the fridge without ice and that's terrible sweet.

[Coconut]

oh boy.....if the Thai like it it MUST be sweet or they can't be bothered at all. It can never be sweet enough to them.

Yes they do get black and that looks no good but it's the same with some jacks who are left to get black and moulded before they will sell them.
First time i saw that i thought they would throw them away but that's part of the ripening.

My wife waits untill the noina ppc is very soft, then breaks it in parts and scoops the meat out of the skin with a spoon. Sure they are sweet........  

You should taste the Fanta or other lemonade here, far to sweet and no bubbles. You can buy a unchilled bottle of it and a bag of ice and then mix it to get chilled Fanta but they also drink it out of the fridge without ice and that's terrible sweet.

I was shock how sickly sweet it is when age black and chill, you are not kidding about the Thai love everything diabetic sweet! But at lease they are not obese like 70 % of us American I have been told by our Media.

[franciscu]

Jack (Coconut) brought us that beautiful Phet Pak Ching atemoya yesterday. My wife and I are complete annona innocents - first a. muricata (guanabana) this spring from our own tree (maybe Cuban Fibreless?), Boca Chewy from Jack last week, and now Jack's PPK atemoya. That's the total story. So, in the sampling of tasters we represent the unsophisticated newbie segment of the population. Yeah, unsophisticated, but after tasting these things, very happy newbies.

The guanabana was the messiest fruit I have ever eaten. Juicy, syrupy, even slimy in texture. I didn't weigh them but some were approaching the size of a football. Pretty darn ugly fruit I must say - off putting even. Strange misshapen things. I don't see much commercial potential because they ripen from rock hard to pretty squishy soft in just a couple of days. It would be easy to just jab a finger through the skin and right into the center of the fruit. The taste though!! Sweet, complex, sharp, a real taste bud waker-upper...

Jack's Boca Chewy and the PPK were much firmer and would have better shelf life. The flavor of both is excellent. Neither was messy to deal with. No juice running down your arm... The BC came across as more complex and with more 'character'. The PPK was just plain delicious - not bland, but somehow plainer and not as fascinating to the taste buds as the other two.

 There is a hilarious dinner scene in the movie "What About Bob?" where Bill Murray is enjoying a meal in the home of his psychiatrist (Richard Dreyfuss) and verbalizing his pleasure with all manner of oohs, aahs, moans, and groans.  If we had some kind of 'Bob' scale for fruit tasting the guanabana would provoke 'wow', the BC 'yum oh yum', and the PPK 'hmmm hmmm'. 

How's that for unsophisticated?