Philippines / Metro Manila / Dining / Fruits

The Philippines does not only have a Na-tional Anthem and a National Museum as other countries may have, but also a na-tional tree, narra, and a national flower, sampaguita. And if one asks a Filipino what the national fruit of his country is, he will immediately say mango.

But as a matter of fact, even though mangoes are delicious, they are neither the widest available fruit, nor the most affor-dable. On the other hand, who could ever proudly consider the banana a national fruit? There is an abundance of bananas in the Philippines, more than 50 different kinds. In the provinces, bananas are even cheaper than rice. Yet, or because of that, bananas are sometimes looked down on. Aside from bananas another kind of tropical fruit found everywhere is pineapple.

Imported fruits became widely available in the Philippines since 1987 as an effect of the import liberalization policy of the Aquino government. Californian apples, before a symbol of luxury commanding a price of about 40 pesos each are now available everywhere for a price as low as 10 pesos apiece. Imported oranges are also common - like apples at a lower price per kilo than what is paid for mangoes.

Many tropical fruits growing in the Philip-pines are less known to people of the West because they cannot be exported over long distances. Among them are papaya, jackfruit, mangostines, rambutans, star apple, custard apple, rose apple, lanzones and pomello.

A unique tropical fruit also found in the Philippines is the durian. In the Philippines it grows best in the area surrounding Davao City on Mindanao. The most photographed monument of Davao City is a sculpture of a durian. Fruits in detail:

Avocado
SeasonMay to July
Price 8 to 12 pesos per kilo
Taste fleshy, only slightly sweet
Size irregular, basically oval
Color green or red
Grows on trees

Custard apple (Atis)
Season September to November
Price 3 to 5 pesos apiece
Taste soft and fleshy
Color green
Grows on trees

Many seeds, similar to those of melons.

Duhat
Season March
Price around 10 pesos per kg
Taste like black cherries
Size like cherries
Color dark, almost black
Grows on trees

Durian
Season September, October
Price 50 to 100 pesos a piece
Taste like cheese, very creamy
Size like pineapple
Color light brown
Grows on giant trees
Thick hard skin with thorns like nails. The edible part is only found in five sections, where it surrounds very big seed stones.

Guava (Bayabas)
Season July to October
Taste quite sour, hard texture
Price around 5 pesos per kg
Size round, from the size of apricots to the size of grapefruits
Color green or yellow
Grows on trees
Many seeds

Guyabano
Season August to October
Taste sweet, the juice is milky
Size around 300 grams, irregular shape
Color green outside, white inside
Grows on trees

Jackfruit (Langka)
Season April to June
Price 5 to 10 pesos per kg
Taste sweet, chewy
Size oval, 2 to 5 kg
Color yellow when ripe
Grows on trees

Mostly sold portioned in small plastic bags. The sticky fruit has to completely ripen on the tree and will not sweeten after chopping.

Kalamansi
Season all year
Price around 15 pesos per 100
Taste sour, more like orange than lemon
Size like grapes
Color green
Grows on small trees

Lanzones
Season August to November
Price about 10 pesos per kg
Taste sweet, underlying pinch of sour
Size as grapes
Color beige
Grows on trees
Sticky skin; overripe fruit turns dark brown and sour like vinegar.

Mango (Mangga)
Season March to May
Price about 10 pesos each
Taste green: like sour apples, yellow (ripe): similar to peaches
Size oval, 200 to 400 g
Color green (unripe), yellow (ripe)
Grows on giant trees
Filipinos have the practice of eating green mangoes with bagoong (shrimp paste) or salt. Overripe fruit is easily recognized by black spots.

Mangostines
Season September, October
Price 20 to 30 pesos per kg
Taste sweet and sour combination
Size as apricot
Color dark violet
Grows on trees
A thick violet skin makes up about two thirds of the weight and is not edible. It is broken open to get to the white flesh in the center. Mangostines are easily af-fected by fruit mold. It is best to buy them dark and small.

Papaya
Season all year
Price 10 to 15 pesos each
Taste fresh, sweet, texture like a squash
Size oval, 1/2 to 3 kg
Color yellow, orange or green
Grows on shrubs
Aid against constipation. When green, the juice is also used as a meat tenderizer.

Pomello (suha)
Season December, January
Price 12 to 25 pesos apiece
Taste similar to grapefruit, less juicy
Size as grapefruits
Color yellow or green
Grows on trees
Best quality comes from Davao; these can cost double the price of those from other places.

Rambutans
Season September, October
Price 15 to 20 pesos per kg
Taste sweet, underlying pinch of sour
Size as plums
Color red
Grows on trees

Rose apple (Macopa)
Season May
Price 10 cent apiece (in The Country side)
Taste slightly sour, flowery
Color bright red
Grows on trees
Can be eaten whole, has virtually no skin.

Santol
Season April to August
Price 50 centavos to 2 pesos each
Taste sweet and milky
Size round, like apples
Color yellow
Grows on trees

Star apple (Caymito)
Season October to December
Price around 10 pesos per kg
Taste sweet and milky
Size round, like apples
Color green and violet
Grows on trees

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