The Tropical Fruit Forum

I spent 3 months camping, fishing & exploring the Andaman Islands when it first opened to tourism over 15 years ago. It was the greatest adventure of my life... total paradise, total hell at times too.  I am sure a lot has changed and I doubt they will let you camp everywhere like we did.

I didn't do any tropical fruit specific exploring but did find a few gems -- like a luscious pink-tinged pineapple that I couldn't eat in peace because a hungry village cow was utterly determined to eat it right out of my hands - and it followed me around the whole village, salivating and pestering me. I enjoyed visiting the more remote outer islands like North Andaman and Little Andaman. Some favorite spots were Ross Island near Port Blair, hiking the mountain / highest point on North Andaman, Ross and Smith Island and Diglipur town on North Andaman, the mud volcano on Baratang Island, and Whisper Wave waterfall in the jungle of Little Andaman. I think its worth chartering a boat  / fisherman to take you to visit the many beaches and reefs that are inaccesaable by road or public transport.

I would bring my snorkeling gear although I am sure its widely available there to rent now, I would always want to have it on me.

Caution: I was infected with a nasty tropical parasite called Schistosomiasis while wading in fresh water -- where rivers run into oceans / bays. I would personally avoid entering any fresh water or anywhere near snails as I can personally confirm this infection exists in the Andaman ecosystem and you don't want it.

my review of Juliette -- http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=20840.msg256189

I have tasted two and need to try more.

Many of the top natural health gurus - dr. mercola, dr. Perlmutter, Chris kesser, jack kruse, Dave asprey , joseph cohen - argue against heavy carb consumption. some maintain fructose should be consumed sparingly --

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/01/02/highfructose-corn-syrup-alters-human-metabolism.aspx

I was hypoglycemic (low & imbalanced blood sugar) so that sort of advice probably applies to people like me more than the average person.

Maha Chanok is a very complex tasting mango. It is extremely sweet, has an exotic &  subtle tartness, a little spicy ("cola syrup" resin flavor), and a little bit creamy. In my opinion it is one of the most delicious and beautiful of all mangos. It has a distinct odor.

It's far more interesting to me than the Nam Doc Mai, which is good, but is mostly just sweet with subtle afterglow flavor.

Juliette Mango - review by Brett Borders




Juliette is said to be a seedling of the Caribbean St. Julian ("Julie") mango that is better adapted to humid Florida conditions.  This specimen from Tropical Acres Farms was looking ripe and it was still fairly firm but just starting to give to thumb pressure. It was a pretty peach color, speckled with little black dots ringed in hot neon pink. I put it in my bag and set off to meet a friend at the beach. "I've got a surprise," I told her, "close your eyes and see if you can guess what it is by the smell?" She closed her eyes and said it smelled like coconut. I cut into the mango and handed her a brilliant orange slice, as juice dribbled onto our beach towels. I asked if it was any good: she said it was.  I was impressed at how soft and succulent the texture was - almost melting in my mouth like gelato.  It was sweet, it had a faint touch of acidity and a resinous taste near the peel that seemed somewhat medicinal. While the look & texture were great I would rate the flavor of this particular fruit as "good." The Juliette I tasted last season from an older, more established tree was more superlative & tropical tasting. The J-12  (another Julie seedling) I tried this year had bolder, more exciting tart & spicy flavors. For me, the verdict is not in yet on Juliette... I need to try more fruits.

Piña colada - Mango Review by Brett Borders

I picked up this Pina Colada mango from Tropical Acres Farms in West Palm Beach, FL on Monday. The fruit I got was small but the taste was huge. First thing I noticed was a rather sharp acidity for a mango. But this was good acid: on some bites it tasted exactly like I was eating a perfectly ripe pineapple, other bites I got more of a Springfiels mango-pineapple-y flavor, and on others... Sweet Tarts candy.



There is also creamy flavor component that is on par with the suave tropicalness of mangos such as Coconut Cream, ValCarrie, Orange Sherbet & E-4. I found the flavors to be satisfyingly intense and long lasting: it filled my palette with richness that developed & unfolded for a several seconds after consuming each slice, and a pleasant aftertaste lingered for minutes.  The pleasing tartness, stunning sweetness and the smooth creamy finish were all perfectly balanced - making the Pina Colada mango a triumph of flavor that lives up to its name. I consider it to be an "outstanding" mango - one of the very best from Zill's.

For my personal taste this is not necessarily a "must plant" mango,  but it is a "must try" mango. I could imagine someone not liking it at all. has anyone run a public tasting with kesar in it? How'd it go?

Here is a Jumbo Kesar (bottom right) in my recent haul from from Tropical Acres Farms in West Palm Beach. I've picked up some nice, clean fruit there this season: Maha Chanok, Venus, Sweet Tart, Dot, Spirit of '76, Cac, Dupris Saigon, Bombay, J-12, Juliette, Graham, etc. 



The Jumbo Kesar mango was a complex sensory experience, almost "flavor tripping." It gave me flashbacks to the summer fruit markets of India that I visited 15 years ago:



This small, ~12oz mango ripened up to have unremarkable yellow skin and no distinct smell. Cutting it open revealed a deep orange flesh with lighter yellow, translucent - almost "white grapefruit" colored areas around the pit.  After biting into it, there was a intense jackfruit / JuicyFruit gum-like taste.  I suspect this mango is sweet (high brix) but I do not taste the sweetness shining at forefront like I do in a Maha Chanok or Sweet Tart - here the tropical fruity flavors are very dominant, almost overpowering.  After the tropical fruitiness there was a lingering "funky," fetid element. Then a delicious resinous taste that's clean, kind of like spearmint... and also a subtle fruity sourness that reminded me of candy.

I ate half the Jumbo Kesar mango and it confused me and shook me up emotionally. It tasted nothing like the new Zill-style mangos or the Old Florida classics.  Was it weird? Kinda. Was it delicious?  uhh, yeah. Did I want to eat the other half? Hell yes, right now!!! 

I raked my teeth over the light yellow, translucent flesh around the seed. It was subacid & tasted more like I was eating an orange or pineapple... than a mango. It was really interesting.



Eating in the area closer to the stem I tasted an soapy / sandalwood taste taking over the resin element. It tasted like what Indian incense smells like. Very close to the stem I got an astringent, palette-ruining taste that I call the "taste of death" that is found in some mangos.

For 30 minutes after eating it I was unable to think about anything other than Jumbo Kesars. I was inspired, totally captivated by the exoticness of its flavors.  I would rate the Jumbo Kesar as an unusual but "outstanding" mango. It is not a mango for people with timid palettes, but I consider it to be essential tasting for any true mango lover.

Great pictures of the deep orange flesh of the Sweet Tart... what an amazing, delicious fruit! "Astonishment" isn't too a strong of a word for a well-ripe and ready one

You are gonna have a fantastic summer a few years from now!

Durian is probably the most delicious fruit. Makes mango taste average.  Very had to describe... and I've only had frozen ones... but  I taste something like fried garlic or shallots, caramel & cream. 

Yes the is orange, waxy "scale" under the Maha leaves sometimes. I have tried spraying it off with a water hose and wiping the sooty mold off with a wet sponge but it just comes back. Now the tree is getting too large I will try treating it with a pesticide.

I'm pretty sure the ant colony in the rootball is responsible for a lot of SAP sucking. They go after new shoots. Any safe, non systemic way to kill the ant colony that comes with most nursery trees?

If I want to go the Sevin + dishsoap route...how often to spray the whole plant leaves top and bottim.?