Pomelo

 No, I'm not a giant pear!

The Attraction

As part of my recent trip to Taiwan, I had the chance to try this obscure fruit in the US, that happened to be in season on my visit.  

The Review:
These pomelos were all over the place when I was in Taiwan. Every market had them, I saw truck fulls of them everywhere I went. I even saw fancier versions of them wrapped preciously in paper and packaged in boxes. What the heck must these things taste like if they are so popular? Oh heck, what do I have to lose?

My in-laws had a big box of these in their house and one night after dinner, they busted out a few for us to have. I was a little nervous at first as I've never had one before so I had no idea how to begin to eat it. They were kind enough to cut it open for us, so at least I knew not to bite into it like an apple.

Once it was opened, it looked very similar to a giant orange or a large grapefruit. I wasn't sure how to feel exactly. I love oranges, but more lukewarm towards grapefruits. Either way, I had to try it now. I can't not have a little in front of the whole family.

Look how big this sucker is compared to my hand!

When I picked up a half, it was clear that even though it looks like an orange, the skin surrounding the actual pomelo flesh itself was much thicker and tougher. Almost like you have a really dry grapefruit skin.

Sure enough, people begin peeling off the skin around the flesh and ate the juice vesicles. (not to be confused with juice testicles, which is something I just made up). I followed in suite and stared at the fruit of my labors for a moment. Then I popped it in my mouth. After all that work, this better be worth it...

Tasty little bit

As I chomped down on the pomelo, there was a burst of citrus juice in my mouth; it tasted like an orange at first, but before it could get sweet like a conventional orange, a tartness settled in like a grapefruit. Wow...how interesting. It's literally like an orange and grapefruit combined; not as tart as a grapefruit, but not as sweet as an orange.

Is that a good or bad thing?

I laboriously picked thought a few more pieces to see if it would become any clearer to me, but it didn't. I did eat all the pieces that I extracted...that must mean something, I think.

The Sweet:
It's a great snack if you are looking for something new with a sweet and slightly tart twist.

The Bitter:
Takes some work to get to the good stuff

Conclusion:
Pomelos are a strange snack to me; they didn't really strike me as anything special when I first had them. They didn't bowl me over the way persimmons did when I first had them, so I thought I could take them or leave them. However as more time passes since my last encounter, I find myself looking for them in Asian markets.

Maybe Pomelos are like that female friend that you always got along with and had a great time with, but you never really thought about because they were always there. It wasn't until they weren't around anymore that you realized how much you missed them.

Yes, what I think I'm trying to say is say is Pomelos are like Rachael Leigh Cook in "She's All That"

Video of the Week

Great, it's going to kill me, in a stylish way

After warning you for months, if not years that these things (here and here) are going to take over the world and kill us, they've now made a robot that can jump and flip. I'm human and I can't do half the stuff this robot can do. We are doomed. Calling Kyle Reese, come in Kyle Reese.

Kiwano Melon

 
 Not to be confused with the equally delicious guano

The Attraction

I was strolling in an American supermarket last week when I came across a small exotic fruit section in the produce aisle. As I was scoping out the fruits in there, (among them persimmons and quenepas) I come across a fruit that I have never laid eyes on before. It was orange and had horns on it. (I was tempted to write "horny", but I was giggling too much). I didn't even know what it was called, but one thing was for sure; I was going to be taking one of these home to try!

The Review:
The label on this bizarre looking fruit said, Kiwano. I was really curious as to what this thing would taste like. It vaguely resembles a dragon fruit or pitaya, but probably mostly because of the shape.

After googling it extensively, I find out that the kiwano is actually a kind of melon that is popular in Africa. Not sure when the next time I'll be in Africa, so I was sure glad I grabbed this kiwano before some other adventurous soul beat me to it.

Once I take it home and cut it in half, it becomes very clear kiwano is very different from dragon fruit.

Whoa....that's freaky!

The kiwano melon has all these seeds inside that are surrounded by these gel like pods. Think like a pomegranate. It's a little freaky looking, but that just made it all the more intriguing.

I picked up a half and grabbed a spoon. It was time to dig in. I scoop out several "pods" and go to town on it.

The seeds are edible!

The first thing I notice is that unlike pomegranate seeds, these seeds are far easier to eat. You can barely feel the texture difference between biting into the gel sack portion and when your teeth hit the seed within the pod. Think passion fruit in texture.

Flavor-wise, it was reminiscent of eating a not sweet green grape. Some green grapes have a slightly tart flavor along with the sweetness. In the case of this kiwano melon, the lip smacking tartness is there, but none of the sweetness. The texture is also similiar to an inside of a grape. I also get a slight cucumber vibe off it as well, but not a lot, otherwise I would really not like it.

I can't help but feel like a bit of a fruit pioneer as I eat this melon (except people in Africa have been eating this for many years)

The Sweet:
A nice change of pace from the "regular" fruits. Refreshing!

The Bitter:
Not chocked full of flavor. Very subtle flavor compared to many other fruits.

Conclusion:
No, I won't be running back to the supermarket to buy out the remaining stock of these exotic melons, but I am glad I tried it. I can see chilling one of these in the fridge, then cutting them in half and eating them as a chilled dessert with a spoon because, well, lets face it, how many fruits can you eat with a spoon with no preparation?

I would, however, recommend that should the next time you are at the market and see one of these or another fruit you've never had before, you jump in with both feet. How often does one get to sample these types of fruit in your home town? It's one of the best parts of traveling to new and exotic places; sampling the local cuisine. Now you can do it from the comfort of your own zip code.

Video of the Week

This video makes me think of this song

At first, I wasn't too amused, until the remix kicked in. It seemed like it started out intentional and then he lost control. I hate showoffs, but love it when karma kicks in....even with little kids. That shows him what happens when you try to showboat.

Water Coconut

Water coconuts! (No, not giant canepas!)

The Attraction

I watch a lot of survival / outdoor shows like Dual Survival, Survivorman, and Alaskan Bush People, so while on a recent trip to the supermarket when I saw a water coconut, I was hypnotized and knew what I had to do; try to imagine myself as a survivalist and extract coconut water from it.....from the comfort of my very home.

The Review:
I was excited to bring this baby home, although I had no idea how I was going to crack this thing open. On the many shows I watch, two methods come to mind; 1. find a fallen branch and sharpen the end of one and impale the coconut on it and use that to peel away at the shell of it or 2. take a machete and hack off the top of it and drink it like you are Indiana Jones.

Be it that I didn't have an branches in my house and /or didn't feel like breaking one off of a tree and then having to sharpen it, I opted to try plan B. Granted I don't own a machete, but being Asian, I did own a Chinese butcher knife. I know, not exactly the same, but it could be equally effective. Now to figure out how to do this without lopping off any parts I might need. (More mine than the coconut's)

Gilligan!!!

For my safety, I opted to place the coconut on my kitchen counter. I said a quick prayer and went to it. I swung my knife into the coconut and it dug right in, but what next? You can't just hack it in half because all of coconut water will just pour out. How would I survive on a dessert island if that was my technique? I've trying to get the water into my mouth, not onto the counter top.

Next I decided that my second hack into the coconut would be about 4-5 inches apart from the first one. I was going to try to get a "V" shape cut in there.

Doesn't look too exciting

After hacking away and pulling some of the husk off for about 5 minutes, I began to see some moisture trickle through. I knew I was close! I swung my knife one more time and I could feel the shell of the coconut crack and give way. I grab a glass and begin to pull where I could feel the crack. Coconut water starts to gush out and into my glass. Take that survivalist! (Don't ask me where I would have found a glass in the wilderness)

After getting all the water out, I hack into it a few more times to the point of where I could "open" the coconut shell to see what was going on it there. Sure enough there was some coconut jelly on the interior of the coconut. I went ahead and scraped it off the sides and scooped it into my glass.

Finally, the time had come to taste the spoils after such a herculean effort.

I bring the glass and take a sip. If you have never had coconut water before, it's remarkable how much water is in it. It's really light in comparison to many other fruit "juices" It more comparable to fruit infused water, where there is an essence of fruit flavor in the water. The flavor is more subtle and the density of the drink itself is much lighter than juice. I can see why many people would enjoy it, as did I.

For those that have had coconut water before (as many have in recent years with all it's supposed health benefits), the fresh coconut water taste identical to me to the bottles of coconut water you can purchase at the store. I guess that's good news for people buying the commercial products, but bad news for people that were hoping the fresh variety would taste much better. I can't vouch for if it's better for you having it straight from the source like I did.

The Sweet:
Fun experience.

The Bitter:
Not easy to find. Takes some time and energy to get to.

Just like store bought!

Conclusion:
Is it worth the trouble to hack into your own personal coconut to get to the water? Well, that depends on what you are looking to get out of it.

If you just want the freshest coconut water possible, yeah, you can say you can't do much better than this, but truthfully, it's indecipherable from the stuff you get from a good quality coconut water manufacturer. For me, the extracting and opening of the coconut was the fun journey I had getting to the destination.

Have you every done some work around your house or apartment? Paint it, lay some tile down, hang the kitchen cabinets? By doing it yourself, you gain a different level of appreciation for the said task.

That's the way this water coconut extraction was for me. Even though I think it's the same thing as what you can find in bottles, the water I got from that coconut I hand opened that day never tasted quite so good.

Video of the Week

Take thee to a water park!

When I'm not working, watching my kid, or extracting water from large cumbersome objects, I like to go on vacations. Maybe the next time I'm at a tropical location with a water slide, I'll try this trick. (note to self: check if health insurance is current before going away) 

Persimmon (Fuyu)

Don't call me a tomato!

The Attraction

I've resisted this fruit for many, many years, but after a bagful landed on my desk, I couldn't avoid it any longer.

The Review:
It's a new year and I thought what a wonderful way to ring it in on Sneakasnack by reviewing something healthy, like a fruit. The bigger question is if this is a tasty fruit or a
"healthy" fruit that taste as such. (if you know what I mean).

My Mom loves persimmons, but I never really thought about trying it. I think subconsciously it looks like a tomato to me and back in the day I was not a big tomato fan. Therefore, it must taste bad if it looks like a tomato, right?

Fast forward 30 something years and I had a former coworker offer me a bunch that she received from her parents in DC. She told me her parents would send her a box-load because they have a persimmon tree and it would grow too many for them. I casually said, "Sure, of course", not really thinking she would follow up and give some to me. 2 days later there was a bag of about 20 persimmons on my desk. Her generosity put me in a jam. Now what? I can give them to my Mom! Problem is, many were already ripe and I wouldn't see her until 5 days later. Some of the persimmons wouldn't make it.

Damn this "hate-to-waste-food" mentality. I was backed into a corner. I should at least taste one before tossing out the over-ripened ones, don't you think? I owe my co-worker and the persimmons at least that much, no? Enter my snack review...

Persimmon varieties

At first, I had no idea how to eat it. Can you eat the skin? Is there a pit? How can you tell if it's ripe? After having to Google all these things like some sort of fruit barbarian, I had my answers. Yes, you can eat the skin, but I elected to peel it anyway. There's no pit in the Fuyu type persimmon I had, but some do have them. Lastly, you can eat Fuyu persimmon's while they are firm, but some choose to eat them when they are a bit softer. Good thing was I didn't need to wait for the softer part. These babies were ready to go.

Personally prepared by Chef Paul

I pick one up and try not to destroy it as I attempted to remove the outside skin with a peeler. With moderate success, due to it's ripeness, I was ready to go in. I wasn't too excited as the mushiness of the one I had as it further reminded me of a tomato.

As I bring a piece to my mouth, I can smell the sweetness of it. Not strong, nor familiar, but a sweetness. I take it in and surprisingly to me, there's not much tomato likeness at all.

It's sweet and at first and it reminded me of a really sweet mango, but that still wasn't quite accurate. After having a few more bites, perhaps a juicy sweet potato, minus the graininess might be more on target. Texture-wise, the outside is like a papaya, but the interior has these chewy gel sacks in them. I know that may not sound super appetizing, but the contrast works really well. Having several more bites, I not only found myself enjoying that chewiness, but looking forward to it.

This really isn't like a tomato at all!

The Sweet:
Great "sweet potato" like flavor with a chewy gel surprise!

The Bitter:
Only available certain times of the year (mostly Fall) and it took some time for me to prep. (Remove the top greenery, peel, then cut into pieces)

Conclusion:
I was ready to not like this fruit at all. Maybe "not like" is putting it lightly. I was looking at this fruit through "tomato-tinted" glasses and avoided it for many years.

Boy, what I have been missing out on.

Since discovering persimmons, there is hardly a time that I've seen them and not bought any or think to myself if I had any left at home. I couldn't think of a stronger endorsement.

For those of you who are tired of having the "typical" fruits, give persimmons a shot. You might find that eating healthy has never tasted so good.

Video of the Week

What is that vase made out of?

I don't like to see people fail, unless it's something with bad intentions behind it. In this case, perhaps some planning or testing may have been a good idea before you try to put on a show for your superiors. Loss of faith in the Iranian Army, however new found belief in the quality of their vases.