Coffee

[ducks4you]

@digitS' ,

Phaedra's Garden 2022

Good weather today; those solar led lights can keep providing more light after it gets dark. It feels comfortable inside. :P The seedlings germinated in the boiler room have to come upstairs for more light; however, so far, the germination speed is quick in the boiler room. I sowed today...

www.theeasygarden.com

Post#26 about lemons

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Good Morning. The chopped up Honey crisp apple nearly melted in the microwave so it went into the bowl of oatmeal with some actual honey. The apple juices deterred me from adding butter. I've come to consider that the addition of milk of any kind is just a dilution of hot cereal. Not such a good attitude re calorie intake.

@Phaedra Geiermann , reading a little about tangelos and now dekopan oranges ... thinking that I should be able to keep them separate when shopping in the produce aisle if/when they show up. I wonder if any of these somewhat uncommon fruits might save the California citrus growers (& their neighbors) some water. I used to enjoy visiting the Central Valley orange groves during the blooming season. Only the honey bees must have enjoyed those visits more. But, Cali needs to conserve H2O.

Steve

It's dekopon, with an "o". And they are actually tangerines, not oranges (even though they are as big as oranges).

As for telling them from tangelos, dekopons are usually a little bigger and their orange is orange as opposed to the reddish orange of tangelos. Also since at the moment, on citrus company more or less has the monopoly on their growth in the US, they will probably have a little sticker on them that says "sumo mandarin" (their trade name).

There is another Japanese citrus whose name I don't quite remember (began with an "m" probably an "mu") which is more or less the same as the dekopon in size, appearance, and taste (really the only difference is the dekopons are TOTALLY seedless, whereas the "m' one has the occasional seed.)

I am VERY familiar with dekopons, as, with my acid stomach, they are one of the few citrus fruits I can still eat out of hand (as opposed to cooking citrus, like lemons and limes).

As for the water things, I do not know. Dekopons are pretty juicy, even by citrus standards, so I imagine they actually take quite a lot of water to grow.

There ARE some people in California who are growing more exotic citruses. I'm fairly sure all of the yuzus I buy in the Japanese supermarket come from California, as did the sudachis when I could get them, and the kabosus (if I ever actually found those). And there is a private grower on Esty who offers shiwukasa fruit in it's season (it's a small citrus native to Okinawa, sometimes called the Japanese lime.)

Over in Florida, there used to be Buck Farms, which supplied fresh minkans to the local organic market (they're the kind of mandarin orange that they use for canned mandarin orange slices.) and mango oranges (a truly bizarre tasting fruit). But I don't think they are doing that anymore (the farm still exists but they have moved to more mainstream citrus).

 

[Zeedman]

There ARE some people in California who are growing more exotic citruses. I'm fairly sure all of the yuzus I buy in the Japanese supermarket come from California, as did the sudachis when I could get them, and the kabosus (if I ever actually found those). And there is a private grower on Esty who offers shiwukasa fruit in it's season (it's a small citrus native to Okinawa, sometimes called the Japanese lime.)

Oh, how I wish there was a real fruit market within a reasonable driving range. The closest one to me is in Chicago, about a 3-hour drive (with tolls ). Before the cost of gas + tolls became prohibitive (and before Covid) DW & I used to drive down there 1-2 times a year with our daughters, to buy fruit by the case. Those trips are unlikely to recur any time soon (if ever) unless we have other business in Chicago. Fortunately a local Oriental market has been making an effort to stock a few of the less-common fruits, such as Thai bananas, jackfruit, longans, and a surprisingly diverse selection of mangoes.

I'm still wondering if the red kiwis - that I read about over a decade ago - will ever make it into the U.S.

 

[ducks4you]

@Zeedman , You know how to use the word, "recur."
English major DD"s would be So Proud!!

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Oh, how I wish there was a real fruit market within a reasonable driving range. The closest one to me is in Chicago, about a 3-hour drive (with tolls ). Before the cost of gas + tolls became prohibitive (and before Covid) DW & I used to drive down there 1-2 times a year with our daughters, to buy fruit by the case. Those trips are unlikely to recur any time soon (if ever) unless we have other business in Chicago. Fortunately a local Oriental market has been making an effort to stock a few of the less-common fruits, such as Thai bananas, jackfruit, longans, and a surprisingly diverse selection of mangoes.

I'm still wondering if the red kiwis - that I read about over a decade ago - will ever make it into the U.S.

I may have a solution to your problem with the kiwis, depending on how desperate you are. I don't know of anybody who sells red kiwi fruit, but the seed people who had the giant limes I posted DO have seed for them. I DID end up biting the bullet and ordering the lime seed, and they DID, in fact, come. (https://www.etsy.com/listing/649310...09:649310452&click_sum=22d32fb8&ref=related-4)
I have no idea if this is a kind of kiwi that you can grow outside in your climate (it's listed as dwarf so you could possibly grow it in a big pot indoors.) But it's the best I can do.

I suppose I am a bit spoiled, in that (in the days before COVID) I had the whole of NYC to get fruit from, and that included TWO Chinatowns rich in fruit stands and markets with their rather casual approach to fruit legality (i.e. lots of smuggled fruit which both widened the selection and kept prices low.) If you knew where to look, you could find some really astonishing things, like bullocks heart (like a cherimoya or custard apple, but red), fresh soursop (including one lucky find I HAD to save the seed of, as it was that rarest of things, a soursop that needed no sugar to be palatable.). wong pei (looks a little like a longan but is actually a citrus relative, with a sort of sweet sour resinous taste. unshelled pine nuts (once) some sort of alternate breed of longan (much smaller and much sweeter) at an organic market (I almost liked it, and I HATE longans [I think they taste moldy] rambutan, lian wu (rose apple) and so on.

There are some I am so used to I don't even consider them as exotic fruit anymore, like key limes.

Even with that, AND now, access to an H-mart (which still surprises me from time to time with a fruit I haven't seen before) there have been elusive ones. There's a different kind of lian wu I found once at my local Chinese market, smaller, narrower, redder, and much stronger flavored (while Lian Wu is pretty and crunchy the actual flavor can be described as heavily watered down fresh strawberry juice.) Alas, unlike the normal ones, none of those had any "seeds" (actually polyembryonic masses) for me to plant. And, despite seeing signs advertising it, I haven't found salak (snakefruit) yet.

You mention you market having Jackfruit. I actually have a tip for buying that. When you buy a chunk (I assume you are only buying chunks, as a whole jackfruit is so enormous I can't imagine ANYONE being able to finish one before it spoiled) try and get a piece where the arils (the fleshy bit you are actually eating) are orange, instead of yellow. Those tend to be the sweetest (they show up more or less randomly).

I can see where you are coming from. If I was in your place, I probably WOULD plan to visit Chicago pretty often, but this has less to do with finding fruit and more to do with the fact that, if I lived anywhere within driving distance of Chicago, I become obsessed with trying to try every Italian Beef sandwich in the city!

Oh and I have some tips on how to pick good blood oranges and ugli fruit, if anyone ever needs that information.

 

[digitS']

Good Morning.

Enjoying a great big Envy® apple with my toast and oolong. "A satisfying crunch," the industry says. This was one of the most difficult apples to peel and chop. Some varieties are not very good for baking. They nearly melt in the oven, which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing if several spoonfuls of hot cereal will just be placed on top of the bowl out of the microwave. Juice adds flavor, too.

This apple is still chewy, even after an extra minute in the microwave. It's very tasty with the raisins.

Braeburn and Gala parents, I read. I'm absolutely no connoisseur but I've been unimpressed by Braeburn and avoid it in the produce aisle. Galas are fine. Now, Envy.

Steve

 

[Zeedman]

@Zeedman , You know how to use the word, "recur."
English major DD"s would be So Proud!!

She would probably cringe at the use of ellipses in my writing style though... it is an affectation that only applies to my conversational correspondence.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

She would probably cringe at the use of ellipses in my writing style though... it is an affectation that only applies to my conversational correspondence.

Ah yes, like my ire when someone uses the word "momentarily" when they mean "presently". Momentarily means FOR a moment, not IN a moment (Thank you, George Carlin).

I also recently realized that the modern term "incel" doesn't actually mean what everyone thinks it means. Once again people have gotten celibacy (not being married) confused with chastity (not having sex). So technically, an incel would be a person who WANTS to get married, but can't find someone to get married to.

And my toes curl when I hear people confuse "cannon" with "canon" (that happens a LOT on some of the forums I go to.)

 

[Zeedman]

I may have a solution to your problem with the kiwis, depending on how desperate you are. I don't know of anybody who sells red kiwi fruit, but the seed people who had the giant limes I posted DO have seed for them. I DID end up biting the bullet and ordering the lime seed, and they DID, in fact, come. (https://www.etsy.com/listing/649310...09:649310452&click_sum=22d32fb8&ref=related-4)
I have no idea if this is a kind of kiwi that you can grow outside in your climate (it's listed as dwarf so you could possibly grow it in a big pot indoors.) But it's the best I can do.

An interesting link, and something which I would be interested in if it were legit, I would follow up on it, but the few customer reviews (of zero germination) are not encouraging. If you have good results with the seeds you ordered, I might review that assessment.

I suppose I am a bit spoiled, in that (in the days before COVID) I had the whole of NYC to get fruit from, and that included TWO Chinatowns rich in fruit stands and markets with their rather casual approach to fruit legality (i.e. lots of smuggled fruit which both widened the selection and kept prices low.) If you knew where to look, you could find some really astonishing things, like bullocks heart (like a cherimoya or custard apple, but red), fresh soursop (including one lucky find I HAD to save the seed of, as it was that rarest of things, a soursop that needed no sugar to be palatable.). wong pei (looks a little like a longan but is actually a citrus relative, with a sort of sweet sour resinous taste. unshelled pine nuts (once) some sort of alternate breed of longan (much smaller and much sweeter) at an organic market (I almost liked it, and I HATE longans [I think they taste moldy] rambutan, lian wu (rose apple) and so on.

That longan-like fruit may have been the Filipino lanzones, Lansium parasiticum. The fruit of the two species are very similar in appearance, but lanzones tend to be in tighter clusters. During a visit to Toronto many years ago, I had a chance to try both side-by-side; the lonzones were sweeter & very enjoyable. Like you, I find longans to be unpleasant, although DW will eat them (they are being sold now).

The local Oriental market actually does carry a surprising number of tropical fruits... although as to be expected, more expensive than they would be in big-city markets. Besides what I've already mentioned, they've had cherimoya, rambutan, litchi, durian, small breadfruit, persimmons, dragon fruit (both colors), sapodilla, and occasionally something neither DW nor I recognize. I am pleasantly surprised, and fortunate, to find this much in a smaller city.

There is an H-mart in Chicago, which is one of the places we would visit in our biannual excursions. We went there in the Fall, to buy cases of Fuyu persimmons and Korean pears. There are enough of those available now locally that it is no longer necessary to make that drive (although I do miss the huge Korean pears that are big enough for 2-3 people).

You mention you market having Jackfruit. I actually have a tip for buying that. When you buy a chunk (I assume you are only buying chunks, as a whole jackfruit is so enormous I can't imagine ANYONE being able to finish one before it spoiled) try and get a piece where the arils (the fleshy bit you are actually eating) are orange, instead of yellow. Those tend to be the sweetest (they show up more or less randomly).

DW grew up in the tropics, so when selecting jackfruit, her judgement reigns... and I overrule that at my peril.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Ah yes, like my ire when someone uses the word "momentarily" when they mean "presently". Momentarily means FOR a moment, not IN a moment (Thank you, George Carlin).

I also recently realized that the modern term "incel" doesn't actually mean what everyone thinks it means. Once again people have gotten celibacy (not being married) confused with chastity (not having sex). So technically, an incel would be a person who WANTS to get married, but can't find someone to get married to.

And my toes curl when I hear people confuse "cannon" with "canon" (that happens a LOT on some of the forums I go to.)

People mixing up lose vs. loose drives me batty. I know there are several others that drive me similarly crazy but I can’t remember them off the top of my head.
Edited to add: board vs. bored