Great information, Paul. Makes me want to go, too!
Great information, Paul. Makes me want to go, too!
Not unsurprisingly the fresh tropical fruit is one of the main draws to Costa Rica for me. Mangoes start coming in in late April and get better-tasting each month until one wonders whether they could possibly get any better —and yet they do!
Pineapples in the States we can get pretty darn close to the same quality that we can get fresh in CR, but cost only a third of the price down there!!
Bananas in the tropics that have been allowed to reach full size (rather than being shipped 2/3s mature and then gassed here) in the tropics are unbelievable great. They put US grocerystore bananas' flavor all to shame.
Other things like soursops, rambutans (mamon chino), maracujá (passionfruit), have all been tasty.
There were even (purple/true) mangosteens, too, but only in July and August and the ones that I got to try were apparently just beyond full ripe and so had lost much of their flavor.
There are many other things, too, like nances and pejibayes to try when in season. All these and the above-mentioned ones, too, are to be found at the weekend feria in Alajuela. What a veritable fruit smörgåsbord!
Before I forget another thing that I dote on in CR that's made with fruit are refrescos, fresh fruit (banana, pineapple, mango, strawberry, or whatever) blended with sugar and with water or with milk and served chilled. Refrescos are very popular with the ticos (costarricans). My favorite among the refrescos is mora en leche (blackberry in milk). it's kinda like drinking a blackberry cobbler without the crust. Yum!
And don't forget to try some sorbet or ice cream before you leave. Many of the tropical fruits are turned into frozen treats. There are many ice cream shops (heladerias) everywhere. POPS is one brand that seems to have shops everywhere. Worth a try. Yum!
OK – ¡Buen Provecho!
Paul M.
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