I'm picky when it comes to fruits, which is a tragedy considering the many varieties in this tropical country where I live. My usual faves are ripe mangoes and pineapple. That's why I'm so glad to discover my love for mangosteen, which now makes it to my top three faves. 🥰
Never leave the Philippines without eating these fruits, and taking a bunch with you when you fly home.
Mangosteen
While popular in Southeast Asia, the Mangosteen in the Philippines is the best variant in the world. Mangosteen is plenty and cheap in the country. You can find it anywhere, from wet markets to supermarkets to street stalls.
There are also many other products made from Mangosteen, from coffee to juice to daily supplements, even a candy and cookies!
Banana (local: saging)
Like Mangosteen, Philippine bananas are the best in the world. There was even a joke how a Philippine banana was exported in the West, and a local restaurant bought banana supplies from those countries and used it, hence, their very simple banana dish (that is ₱20 elsewhere) is worth a Big Mac (₱200). Without them realising the banana they imported originated from their neighbour.
Of course it's a joke. Or maybe not. (We did have an incident like this decades ago, for shoes. Marikina-made shoes were exported. Branded. And then that brand sold it here. 🤣)
Trivia: An endemic banana, "abaca", is also used to produce "Manila Hemp", which is expensive.
Mangoes (local: mangga)
Yes, the best in the world too! Some of our Asian neighbours visit the Philippines just to eat Philippine mangoes, because it's very expensive in their country.
Pineapple (local: pinya)
The best? Well, some of those popular foreign pineapple brands actually have farms here in the Philippines because they found that Philippine-produced pineapples are better.
Trivia: Pineapple was brought here during the colonial era. It's not endemic.
Trivia: Pineapple fibres are used to make clothes, and are usually expensive. It's the most common Philippine linen. Filipinos were the first to create clothes from Pineapple fibres. In fact, like the Coconut, Filipinos found use to everything Pineapple, generally, nothing goes to waste.
Yes, you guessed it right again! The best coconut in the world. It's also exported as well. Ask a Filipino how to properly eat a coconut. Most foreigners only drink the juice. You should eat the "white" part, that's the actual coconut. Never ever throw it!
After eating, you can use the coconut case for various things. One such is what we call "bunot", it helps shine flat wooden floors after putting floor wax on it.
No part of a coconut goes to waste in the Philippines. It is also used in a lot of Filipino foods!
Durian
No comment on this one. Just look for it. 😉 It's sweet, promise.
Jackfruit (local: langka)
A must! It is also part of the famous "halo-halo" summer crushed ice drink/food. A halo-halo without langka is incomplete.
Papaya
If you haven't tried Papaya, you definitely should. Usually included in dishes to give a dish a different taste, but eating Papaya by itself is better because you'll be able to taste it fully.
Special mention: Calamansi
Usually called Philippine lemon. Calamansi is small. This is endemic as well. According to foreigners, it is better than the regular lemon.
You'll often see this in restaurants. We use this in almost every food, either as part of the ingredients, or as a condiment. For example, combine soy sauce + calamansi and you get an exotic dip for your chicken, pork, fish, and so on.
We use it for pansit (Filipino noodles) like in pancit canton and pancit palabok. Also in goto and lugaw (porridge). Once you've tasted calamansi in various ways, you'll replace your regular lemon, and other ingredients, with it.
Yellow watermelons are the best and sweetest. Watermelon is called Pakwan in local Filipino language. Vendors always make a show of making pitik (how does this verb translate to English, can someone help me out, please?) to determine if one is "sweet". I'm not really convinced you can tell just by hearing if the sound is hollow or dense. #philippines#fruits#watermelons#LarawanBlog
The Fruit Gardener's Bible: A Complete Guide to Growing Fruits and Nuts in the Home Garden
Enjoy bushels of crispy apples and baskets of juicy blueberries from your own backyard. Authors Lewis Hill and Leonard Perry provide everything you need to know to successfully grow delicious organic fruit at home, from choosing the best varieties for your area to planting, pruning, and harvesting a bountiful crop.