by: Jonathan Hermann
Wherever you travel in the islands, you will come across a street vendor standing beneath the shade of a colorful beach umbrella, his cart filled with tantalizing fruit. Your taste buds immediately scream, “yes!” but your mind says, “wait!” worried about peeling away the skin to find the goodness inside tasteless and unripe.
We’ve all been there before, but thankfully we can learn from our mistakes! The next time you’re at the fruit stand, your hand hovering over the pile in desperate hesitation, keep these tips in mind to pick the ripest one.
Avocado: Known in Jamaica as an Alligator Pear and everywhere else as simply delicious, the avocado is a versatile fruit you can eat on its own or mixed with lime juice, garlic and tomatoes for tasty guacamole.
To pick the best: Choose one that’s soft and gently squeezable, with dark green skin. Stay away from brown avocados, which are too ripe. Too often the softer ones get bruised by aggressive customers digging through the pile, so if you have the time to wait, choose a firm avocado and allow it to ripen unmolested in your kitchen.
Grapefruit: A popular breakfast staple chock full of nutrients, the grapefruit is a hybrid orange first grown in Jamaica and perfected in Barbados, where it was originally called the “forbidden fruit.”
To pick the best: Search for a grapefruit that feels heavy for its size; this means it’s extra juicy and extra tasty. Aim for one that has firm, slightly springy skin, and avoid the ones with a soft spot at the stem end, which may mean decay.
Guava: This popular pear-shaped fruit can be eaten raw or to made into jellies and juices. Grown around the world, its dresses in green, yellow, red or pinks, which each color tasting slightly different.
To pick the best: Choose a guava that yields a little when you squeeze it, and make sure it doesn’t have any spots.
Mamey Sapote: Even though it looks like a giant almond on the outside, the insides of a mamey sapote are blissfully fragrant with rosy pink or orange flesh that becomes creamy and sweet when ripe.
To pick the best: Like an avocado, the skin of the mamey should give a little when gently pressed. If you can, peel off a piece of the skin to see the color underneath; pink is ripest.
Mango: One of the most desired fruits in all the Caribbean, succulent mangos are usually eaten raw or made into scrumptious pies or ice cream. In Trinidad, unripe mangos are turned into pickles and chutneys.
To pick the best: Don’t judge a mango by its color, since they come in many shades of green, yellow and red. Choose a slightly soft mango, if you want to eat it immediately, or a firm one to ripen at home. Also, ripe mangos have a full, fruity smell emanating from the stem
Papaya: An earthy, tasty melon, papayas are best enjoyed with a spritz of fresh lime. It’s also used to tenderize meat, thanks to an enzyme called papain that breaks down protein.
To pick the best: Pick a papaya that’s mostly yellow and has a light, sweet smell. As with most of the above fruits, it should give just a little when pressed.
NEW FACES
Make sure that the fruit you choose SMELLS ripe even if in some instances it looks green and sometimes doesn't yield easily to the touch.