You can do an excellent caipirinha with limes:  http://lebloncachaca.com/welcome/
  but not with lemons!
                                                             mangaba

Neem doesn't work well for me. I have the black watery neem called nahm sadao.

There is also oily neem which is clear liquid but can't find it here.

I have lice in my sugarapples/mango's and sprayed with Spruzit today, hope that works better.
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Ah, I didn't realize that there was such variation in neem products. Yes, my neem is oily, and I imagine that makes a big difference.

I haven't had (greenhouse environment) any pest problems nor phytotoxicity since I switched to misting leaf undersides with a mix of neem and sucrashield once every two weeks or so. I'm not sure how important the sucrashield is, but I already had it, so...  (it's probably more effective on egg control than the neem, but I really don't know). And as far as pesticides go, both have relatively little human toxicity, so I feel comfortable using them.
Hi Bangkok
                  Neem Sadao if I am not mistaken means plain neem in hindi. I believe the neem you are looking for, is neem in mineral oil.
                                                             
                                                                                                                         mangaba


[/quote]

 I have pineapples in my garden almost the year round but most in months of december -january.  Do you know your variety ?
                                                           
                                                                                              mangaba
                                                                                          Recife. Brazil

Did not know you had to go for heart surgery. Wish you a good and fast recovery.
                                                                  mangaba

Why spend money  in  buying a fruit juicer ? I have carambola tree in my garden. When I have some ripe fruit, I take off the seeds by sliting the fruit vertically. Then put the sliced fruit in an Osterizer with some water. Pass through a sieve and you have nice juice to quench your thirst. Add sugar to taste.
                                                            mangaba

 I recently came across this site from Goa, India:

            https://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk70/14875880779/in/photostream/

could some member help to identify this fruit ? Locally it is known as mattoli


                                                                                               thanks
                                                                                                                       mangaba

Two additional treats you can make of cashew apple:
     
1. Cashew Apples in sugar syrup:
                                                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkfKlaopZgM

2. Passa de Caju:
                              Ripe cashew apples are pricked with a fork or tooth pick and pressed to remove the juice .The pressed  and drained  fruit is next  cooked  with equal weight of  sugar under slow fire for a long time until the syrup darkens.  The fruit is then  dried in the sun for 4-5 days  and can be stored for months.  Appearance of Passa is that of dried prunes.
                               https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYiiX6LyjCA
                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ0kPhh0gPs

                                                                                                   Bon apetit
                                                                                                                                        mangaba
 .

If you press fresh fruit you get a whitish juice which is tasty and  has quite an amount of sugar. It ferments quite fast. By distilling the fermented juice , there are distilleries in Goa. India which  manufacture Cashew  Urak or Fenil (Dostillate). In Brazil you can buy industrialized  cashew juice concentrate or in tetrapack cartons.

Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY6Qlm7Q3PI
 

Prudent Media Contacto Goa 29 April 12 Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrqllGfGoOw
                                                                                                               mangaba

Any possibility of you sharing your recipe for mango syrup ? What preservative do you use ?
                                 regards
                                                     mangaba

NC
I have papayas (3 varieties) as well as bananas and other tropical fruit trees. My experience says papayas like rocky soil, watering and good drainage. They do not tolerate too much water around .On the contrary bamanas like soft soil and lot of water around the roots. What type of soil do you have ? Have you tried growing bananas?
                                                              mangaba
                                                              Recife. Brazil 

Fred
         I have Garcinia brasilensis and gardneriana in my garden. Both of them bear smaller fruit than G. achachairu. In size and taste (my opinion) I would rate in the following sequence: G. magoatana (best)G. indica, G. achachairu, G. brasilensis and G.gardneriana. The skin of these fruits contain antioxidants and have been used also in dieting regimes. Problem  with all of them is: plants from seeds take 5-7 years to  bear fruit.
                                                           mangaba

Thao
      A friend of mine who likes to cook with  ready made  coconut milk told me that the soapy taste could be corrected by adding  a pinch of soda bicarbonate. He said that this soapy taste could be that the coconut milk was extracted from a too mature coconut.
      In this region where I live there are no big cooconut processing factories nor small scale units. Tender coconuts fetch a better price (for water) than ripe ones sold per kg. Big companies  (like Gessy Lever) buy ripe coconuts to make soap.
                                                                            mangaba 

It all depends how thick a juice you want. Normally of that size coconut, the first blending yields  about 500ml thick juice.  I add some more warm water and blend to get a second wash. You can either mix the two washes, or keep them separate for different purposes. A thick juice is good for fish or chicken curry.In the northeast of Brazil we make couscous out of yellow cornmeal steamed in a basket over boiling water. After it sets, transfer to shallow serving bowl and pour the thin coconut milk over it.
Can send you detailed recipe.
                                                       mangaba