Author Topic: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)  (Read 174527 times)

FlyingFoxFruits

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #25 on: January 27, 2012, 12:25:49 AM »
voting for canistel ahead of lychees, mangosteen and mangoes is truly blasphemous


these favorites are based upon what i've tasted and can grow lycheeluva.... >:(  sorry I haven't had fresh mangosteen....but I did post it's close relatives high on my limited list of 5 fruit trees....abiu was omitted by mistake as being amazing as sapodilla and others like canistel.  Just my opinion Hass

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Tim

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #26 on: January 27, 2012, 01:46:28 AM »
Way too difficult with just 5.  These are based on taste alone and not its versatility, in no particular order:

mangosteen
rambutan (maybe pulasan someday, when I'm lucky enough)
mango
cherimoya
sapodilla / fig (perfect tree ripened spread over a piece of toast ) :)
Flavor Queen pluots ... wait, is that six or seven?   ;D


Brown Turkey fig = Tommy Atkins mango
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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #27 on: January 27, 2012, 06:01:11 AM »
My favorite fruit is the one i pick off my own trees dead ripe! Just about any fruit will be a blissful experience when done that way!  :P
That said it seems that my favorite fruits are the ones that are hardest to get-- have a very short season:
1) Lychee
2) Pulasan
3) Mango
4) Watermelon
5) Mangosteen, close tie with Royal Ann Cherries
 
Fruit i eat the most of and love, but never make it to my favorites list because they're always around:
1) Avocado
2) Banana
3) Coconut
4) Pineapple
5) Papaya
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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #28 on: January 27, 2012, 06:48:43 AM »
My list is subject to change depending on my fruit mood!

Tropical:
Pulasan
Lychee (Emperor or Haa Kip)
Mango (Florida grown)
Durian
Jakfruit (J-31)

Temperate:
Comice Pears (Oregon Organics)
Peaches(SC or GA)
Figs (fresh)
Pluots
Blueberries













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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #29 on: January 27, 2012, 07:51:09 AM »
Interesting that citrus makes so few appearances, even though they seem to be widely grown. Anyway, here's my boring list, since it repeats the pop hits of the thread so far:

Mango
Mangosteen
Peach (I haven't had a good one since I moved to the tropics... sigh)
Lychee
Tangerine



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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #30 on: January 27, 2012, 10:39:46 AM »
and prickly pear? i really dont get that- ive tried quite a few and while they are ok, they wouldnt make my top 50 list and then add to that,  that ive never managed out of about 20 attempts, to eat a pp without getting spines in my hands and tongue

Ripe and chilled tunas from a good cultivar in a hot summer day is one of the best things in this world! Ok, maybe it's also a little childhood conditioning, but I can tell you, it's one of the fruits I enjoy the most. And I don't get fed up eating them. I can eat pound after pound... of course without skin and spines  ;D

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #31 on: January 27, 2012, 10:44:27 AM »
This thread is a great excuse to try new fruits, or those that we sampled once or twice and didn't appreciate.


murahilin:   Do you grow your own watermelon?  If so, is there a variety that sweetens reliably for you?   I have bad luck with store-bought melons (and apples, and mangos of course.)

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #32 on: January 27, 2012, 11:04:44 AM »
Yeah...only five is tough.  I'm sure there are others that can crash the party at any given time!

1.  mangosteen, pulasan, achachairu.  Hard to decide which comes out on top.
2.  longkong
3.  lychee
4.  mango
5.  sugar apples, cherimoya

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #33 on: January 27, 2012, 11:27:23 AM »
Naval Oranges
Lychees
Apples
Grapes (seedless)
Bananas

Tomatoes arent bad either, they make a good sauce!
« Last Edit: January 27, 2012, 11:29:12 AM by pj1881 »

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #34 on: January 27, 2012, 11:32:57 AM »
1. Flavor king pluot
2. White peaches
3. Honeycrisp apple (best ever)
4. Mango (ataulfo)-I've only had a small variety of mangoes
5. Bartlett Pear (must be perfectly ripened)

Honorable mention would be Moro (blood) oranges, avocados and Galia melons.

I really have had little contact with fresh tropical fruits, only canned/frozen...so obviously if I spent a year in Thailand I would probably have a vastly different list.

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #35 on: January 27, 2012, 11:51:11 AM »
   I must protest that this thread is cruel and unusual punishment. Especially since I can only pick five from both temperate and subtropical/tropical.

1- Lychee, Mango, Sweet cherry, Peach/nectarine (plucked straight from the tree), Blueberries...this is like asking me which body part I want cut off!
2- Alpine strawberries, rambutan/pulasan, longan
3- Raspberries/blackberries, tart cherries, grapes, figs, guava, passion fruit, do nuts count? Pecan/walnut/macadamia/coconut
4- plums, apricots, pears, apples, pineapple, orange/tangerine
5- melons, banana, kiwi

unfortunately, I've never tried some of the more exotic tropicals: mangosteen, long kong, jabs, cherimoya, and others.

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #36 on: January 27, 2012, 11:52:07 AM »
This has to be broken down into tropical and non-tropical.  Too many fruits that are great and that I love to do otherwise. On the tropical list is mango, lychee, pulasan, mangosteen, atemoya and pineapple.  On the non-tropical the best for me are cherries, apples, oranges (page or navel), grapes, cherimoyas, peaches and pluots.  All of these are in no particular order.  Oh and cracking into the line up...although I am not a pear lover are the Roayl Riviera Pears I have had from Harry and David.  These are tough to beat when they are at the peak of perfection. Also, blueberries and strawberries, when they are at their ulitmate best can be just as good as any other fruit IMHO. Sorry...as I said, unfair to ask about 5 fruits.

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #37 on: January 27, 2012, 12:28:23 PM »
I was thinking that 5 was not enough... But I wanted to see everyone's top 5 list which was common. So far it looks like Mangoes and Lychees are in the lead. Apples, Plouts, Cherries, and Watermelons seem to be well liked non tropical fruits.

I hope this thread gives people an idea of fruits to take another look at which made other peoples top 5 list. I am now thinking of maybe trying a good variety of Watermelon this year.

Maybe a better idea is listing each fruit with a score from 1 to 10? Start a new thread? hehe
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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #38 on: January 27, 2012, 02:44:29 PM »
  • ripe cherries....buy them towards end of the harvest
  • concord grapes after cold weather and light frost
  • ripe backyard mango
  • lychee
  • ripe apricot...very hard to find outside California but I find some every other year or so
  • ripe black plums from California... easier to find than apricots
  • but if all access was cut off from "imported" fruits I would be very happy with the mangoes, lychees, tangerines etc native to Florida
« Last Edit: January 27, 2012, 02:56:02 PM by zands »

FlyingFoxFruits

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #39 on: January 27, 2012, 03:18:03 PM »
I was thinking that 5 was not enough... But I wanted to see everyone's top 5 list which was common. So far it looks like Mangoes and Lychees are in the lead. Apples, Plouts, Cherries, and Watermelons seem to be well liked non tropical fruits.

I hope this thread gives people an idea of fruits to take another look at which made other peoples top 5 list. I am now thinking of maybe trying a good variety of Watermelon this year.

Maybe a better idea is listing each fruit with a score from 1 to 10? Start a new thread? hehe

NOT TO SOUND LIKE A RACIST, but if the majority of the group is of a certain ethnic or cultural background, the results of this poll could be biased.... :-\

Certain cultures, value certain flavors and foods more than others, and unfortunately I don't think we have a large presence of these nationalities and backgrounds in our member roster.

I could just be wrong, and stereotyping people...but this is how I felt by reading the top 5's...our roster consists of mainly European and Latin ethnic members....?
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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #40 on: January 27, 2012, 04:28:57 PM »
Interesting that a lot of people are naming pluots. I like them myself but have never had a fresh one off the tree to compare.

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #41 on: January 27, 2012, 04:33:40 PM »
Interesting that a lot of people are naming pluots. I like them myself but have never had a fresh one off the tree to compare.

I would add plouts to the list if I could make a top 10... Yes they are that good, some of them taste just like fresh fruit punch.
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Tim

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #42 on: January 27, 2012, 04:44:31 PM »
Interesting that a lot of people are naming pluots. I like them myself but have never had a fresh one off the tree to compare.

I can't speak for other cultivars because I never cared much for them, a combination of things ranging from tart to too sweet while others with extremely tart skin.  But the Flavor Queen pluots grown locally here are heavenly  ;D
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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #43 on: January 27, 2012, 04:52:59 PM »
Top 5 in no particular order:

Durian
Pulasan
Cherapu
Mango
Watermelon

That said, I'll eat almost any fruit (and there are LOTS of other fantastic fruit - tropical, subtropical and temperate) however two exceptions immediately come to mind:  Surinam-cherry and Noni!

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #44 on: January 27, 2012, 07:38:28 PM »
Here's a few for the fruit hall of shame 

1) Noni (smells like an outhouse)
2) Quince (tastes like soft wood)
3) Kiwano / African Horned melon (why are these even sold?)
4) Pond Apple (Annona glabra) Racoons love them 
 
Also in this group, are those Mangos grown in places like Peru and Mexico that are picked a month before they
are mature, then refrigerated, hot dipped according to USDA requirements and sold here in Florida and elsewhere
in the US for 50cts to $1. The vast majority of these are HORRIBLE     
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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #45 on: January 27, 2012, 07:57:25 PM »
Here's a few for the fruit hall of shame 

1) Noni (smells like an outhouse)
2) Quince (tastes like soft wood)
3) Kiwano / African Horned melon (why are these even sold?)
4) Pond Apple (Annona glabra) Racoons love them 
 
Also in this group, are those Mangos grown in places like Peru and Mexico that are picked a month before they
are mature, then refrigerated, hot dipped according to USDA requirements and sold here in Florida and elsewhere
in the US for 50cts to $1. The vast majority of these are HORRIBLE     

Noni, i think it's more of a medicinal. Don't see anybody claiming it's a pleasure fruit.  :o
Membrillo, a canned paste made from quince is extremely popular in S. America. Guess it's not one of those out of hand fruits.
Kiwano, makes nice salad dressing if you mash them a bit. Can become invasive here, and nasty thorny groundcover.
Pond apple, was used as rootstock here for other annonas, but most nurseries have abandoned that.
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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #46 on: January 27, 2012, 10:00:01 PM »
Top Five;

Mango
Avocado
Guava
Banana
Pineapple

johnb51

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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #47 on: January 27, 2012, 11:01:53 PM »
Here's a few for the fruit hall of shame 

1) Noni (smells like an outhouse)
2) Quince (tastes like soft wood)
3) Kiwano / African Horned melon (why are these even sold?)
4) Pond Apple (Annona glabra) Racoons love them 
 
Also in this group, are those Mangos grown in places like Peru and Mexico that are picked a month before they
are mature, then refrigerated, hot dipped according to USDA requirements and sold here in Florida and elsewhere
in the US for 50cts to $1. The vast majority of these are HORRIBLE     

That would be the infamous Tommy Atkins mango, wouldn't it?  (I'm thinkin' I wanna grow noni for its medicinal value.  Who knows when it might come in handy!)
« Last Edit: January 27, 2012, 11:04:38 PM by johnb51 »
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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #48 on: January 28, 2012, 01:30:08 AM »
@John  Its not so much the variety, its the packing / shipping process,  they pick them way before they are ripe, then the US, requires a special treatment were they dip the mangoes in hot water , then cool water. then they refrigerate them for shipping.  Some mango varieties hold up better under this torture than others, Keitt is becoming more popular for export/import now, because they can be picked green, and still ripen up ok.

Even those lousy mangoes in the stores, from wherever, are probably pretty good, if you were to pick them off the tree ripe in the country they grew in.  in the DR, the varieties i have seen that are used for export are: Keitt ( current favorite replacing others ) Palmer, Tommy Atkins, Haden, and "Banilejo" for the Dominican market up in NY local favorite , a fibrous little mango, very sweet.
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Re: Top 5 favorite fruits (including non tropicals)
« Reply #49 on: January 28, 2012, 07:32:18 AM »
This thread is a great excuse to try new fruits, or those that we sampled once or twice and didn't appreciate.


murahilin:   Do you grow your own watermelon?  If so, is there a variety that sweetens reliably for you?   I have bad luck with store-bought melons (and apples, and mangos of course.)
This isn't really watermelon growing country down here.  You have to go up farther north in the State, and the best are grown out of the state.  During watermelon season (mid summer, drive down 441between Lake Worth Road to just south of Boynton Beach Boulevard.  You will find people selling watermelons on the side of the road.  You must be cautious and ask questions to ensure their origin (some are actually brought directly from the fields but some people do nothing more than pick them up from the packing houses so they are the same, or similar, to what you'd get in Publix).  Find the right person and you will get an excellent melon.  Of course, you must know how to pick them by weight and sound (growing up in Pennsylvania, we had friends who grew watermelons, yellow ones to be precise, and the best damn watermelon you ever had..he taught me how to pick a watermelon).  Its the non-commercial heirloom varieties that will be the best but since they don't do well commercially for various reasons, you will be hard pressed to find them down here.  Go up to North Carolina and search out the right farms and you might.

Don't get me started about apples.  I worked at my friends apple orchard in high school where they grew at least 20 different varieties.  After eating a fresh picked tree ripened apple, you will never grab one of those gas chambered store bought ones again.  Same with pears and plums (now of course as for pears, and stated earlier by Harry, nothing beats a "Cream of the Crop" Royal Riviera from Harry and Davids.  "The Favorites" aren't bad but the "Cream of the Crop" are truly amazing.
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