Yes, it’s just as you suspected… Here’s yet
another blog post about food! Perhaps I should call myself a food blogger instead
of a travel blogger?! I am after all, a big time foodie… and food is what I
think about most of the time! But that’s a thought for another time. This time’s
blog, though very similar to my post in July about the top ten foods to try,
specializes in fruits. This is mostly because I couldn't fit everything I loved
eating into one general food post! Sure enough, there will be more to follow!
As usual, the following is in no particular
order. So here goes:
1) Banana
I
know what you’re thinking, you've had bananas… you get them in your country… it’s no big deal. But it is in fact a HUGE deal for us Sri Lankans! They are so much
tastier here. If you don’t take my word for it, here’s a quote from a fellow
blogger from England, Emily Jenkinson:
“I’ve just got back from a two week holiday
in Sri Lanka and am already missing its bananas, which are out-and-out, no
contest, the best goddamn bananas I have ever eaten, anywhere, ever. Full stop.
Amen. In fact, before visiting Sri Lanka, I don’t think I’d ever really eaten a
proper banana, just mere imitations of them: under-ripe, over-refrigerated,
no-life-left-in-them apologies for bananas which (I realise now) must have
little nutritional value and certainly no taste to speak of”.
You can find over 20 different types of
bananas in Sri Lanka and they all have different colours, sizes and tastes. My
personal favourites [and the most popular and widely available] varieties are
the Ambul and the Kolikuttu.
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| Bananas for bananas! |
2) Mango
Like bananas, there are many different
types of Mangoes in Sri Lanka. Some smaller than the palm of your hand and some
as big as papaya! The star mango that is everyone’s favourite [including mine]
is the sweet and juicy Karthakolamban Mango that is endemic to Jaffna, a city
in the North of Sri Lanka. You should also definitely try raw mango seasoned
with salt and chilli powder. It is a popular street food in Sri Lanka.
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| Each pile is a different variety of Mango |
3) Rambutan
Some of my earliest childhood memories include
the Rambutan tree that we have in our garden. I can still remember very clearly
how my grandmother used to sit out in the balcony holding on to a string that
was attached to a noise maker on the tree that was rung to scare away the squirrels
who came to eat the not-yet-ripened fruits. I also remember my father plucking the
ripe Rambutan from the balcony and from our neighbour’s roof! After we plucked
all of them, we used to sit out on the grass in the garden eating Rambutan’s.
It’s a small red hairy fruit that tastes
similar to lychees, but better! They are found in abundance during the months
of June, July and August.
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| Freshly picked Rambutans |
4) Mangosteen
I know I’m probably losing my credibility
by saying that everything is my favourite, but they really are! Mangosteens are
a wonderful fruit that are in season the same time as Rambutans.
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| Tip: don't get any on you clothes...! It stains! |
5) Papaya
Papaya or Papaw is another ‘everyday’ type
of fruit for Sri Lankans that is in season all year round. This juicy and nutritious
fruit was even dubbed ‘the fruit of the angels’ by Christopher Columbus.
6) Pineapple
Here’s another one that’s delicious. Like
raw mangos, it goes well with salt and chilli… a mixture which only the street
vendors can perfect!
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| Stacked up and waiting to be eaten! |
7) Jambu
Also known as Roseapple, Jambu is also
another home garden type fruit that you don’t find the market very often. It
goes well with salt and chilli too! If you haven’t already noticed, we Sri
Lankans love to put chilli on everything!!
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| A friend of mine with a bowl of freshly picked jambu mixed with salt and chilli! |
8) Woodapple
This hard on the outside, mushy on the
inside fruit is a rare find. People often blend it and make it into a runny pudding
and have it with vanilla ice cream… yum! It’s also something that’s loved by
elephants!
9) Duriyan
Duriyan is one of my least favourite
fruits. It’s like Marmite… either you love it, or you hate it! The skin of the
fruit has a very strong stink that can be smelled from a distance! But the
creamy centre is what is relished by Duriyan lovers like my dad [and my dogs!].
This has around the same seasonality as Rambutan and Mangosteen. I’m not going
to guarantee that you’ll like it, but it’s something that you should definitely
try.
10) Soursop and Custard Apple
Although the two above are different fruits,
they come from the same Graviola [atha] family, so I have grouped them together to
ensure that my list doesn’t go beyond ten like it did the last time! Famed for
its cancer prevention properties, Graviolas have a soft but seedy centre.
Soursop and Custard Apple taste different to each other though, so make sure
you try them both!
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| Soursup Fruit |
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| Custard Apple |
That concludes my top ten. A few fruits
that were close to being a part of this list were avocado, pomegranate, jack fruit,
amberella, passion fruit and Sri Lankan pear. As always, you shouldn’t limit yourself to
this list… venture out and try as many different things as you possibly can!
