A Favorite Fruit

[dogcountry]

When I resided in Japan I became very fond of one particular fruit. I was told this fruit was between an apple and a pear, being extremely juicy. If I'm not mistaken this fruit was called NASHI. Does anyone know if this fruit is grown in the USA and if so how could I get it?

 

[thomas]

One of my favourites too! I think they are originally from China. I'm not sure about the US, but I know that they are grown in Europe too. However, they are smaller than the ones I've seen and eaten in Japan.

 

[mdchachi]

You can find nashi in the U.S. at Asian markets. I have even seen them sold at Sam's Club (called Asian Pear). These are usually imported from China or elsewhere in Asia. I only eat them occasionally and I've never found them as good as they were in Japan.

 

[ragedaddy]

Nashi is a tasty fruit, but my favorite fruit woud have to be Kaki. Now that is a very sweet, juicy, and definitely grubbin` fruit. Also raichi is like another one of my favorite fruits. I don`t think they sell either of those much in the US, but I could be wrong.

 

[dogcountry]

Yes Kaki I have eaten but as years have passed I can't remember it. Peach family? My lady's relatives owned a Persimmon orchard just outside Toyama. I'm gonna' have to get down to the big city for that Asian Market, like some 150 miles from this village.

 

[Iron Chef]

Nashi are very good although my personal preference leans more toward a fresh ripe Mango or chilled Lychee, both of which while not unique to Japan are commonplace in Asia.

 

[thomas]

Khakis are nice, if it weren't for their stickyness, lol. Lychees are delicious, they top my yummy list. I remember they are called rambutan in Malaysia, I had them every day. Fresh, right from the tree.

 

[manekineko]

fruits...mmhmm....

Hi everyone!!

Ah... speaking of my favorite fruits, well... I have too many since I am a fruit eater . There are too many to list them all, but a few of my favorite ones are lychee, rambutan, longan, mangosteen, orange, guava, Asian pears, Fuji apple, jackfruit, persimmon, durian... miam miam...

Thomas, for your own information, lychees and rambutans are two different kinds of fruits. The picture you posted are the rambutans with hair on it, on the inside there is an elongated pit of color somewhat grey and not smooth. The flesh of the rambutan is very firm and is not perfumed like the lychees... The lychees'skin is sort of scaly, its flesh is much more juicy and tender and very much perfumed, and the seed is smooth, somewhat elongated and brown...

M.

 

[thomas]

Hey, thanks for the info, I thought lychees and rambutan are more or less the same. Anyhow, I miss them!

 

[dogcountry]

Well now, when I lived in Japan I didn't have the opportunity to sample all those juicy fruits and yes, I am a fruit eater. In those days those fruits weren't available as at that time most citizens were too busy out scrounging up enough food to put on their tables. You didn't mention the Papaya. Living in Costa Rica we had a couple of abandoned Papaya trees right next to the bodega that we lived in, as we were wiped out, destroyed our home by the 1991 7.4 earthquake (terramoto) We cherished those papayas when eaten when ripe enough. Great for milk shakes too.

 

[Iron Chef]

Ooohhh... a Papayan milk shake does sound good indeed. Never tried one but I like the sound of it.

 

[dogcountry]

And speaking a bit more about exotic fruits. I'm getting off subject area a bit here. In Costa Rica you'd normally buy all fruit from street venders with push carts. They have crushed ice tucked away in the bottom. If you should select a papaya and they are wrapped in newspaper to hasten ripening, the vender will cut a piece for your inspection. If it is unsuitable you don't buy, but eventually find the right one. (cont)

 

[dogcountry]

(Cont) We bought a super large grapefruit. Larger than seen here in the USA. At home we cut it in half and found it to to be the most juicy ORANGE. I had a friend get me a potted orange tree, about 12" high. We smuggled it tucked away in the shipping container. At US Customs in Miami I had an old navy buddy as the inspecting agent and he quickly cleared us through with no inspection. Tree 11 years old and still producing oranges.

 

[Iron Chef]

Heh, great story and good to hear the tree is still thriving to this day. I think when I was still in the Bay area out west I remember having a similar orange tinged or hued grapefruit from a local Asian market although I can't recall specifically. Thinking it would be tarter than your average grapefruit, I was mildly suprised at how sweet it was.

 

[dogcountry]

On the subject of sweets: I could go for a chokoreto keki and some aisu kurimu topped off with batasukotto sosu. My question is are these Americanized versions still in use in Japan today or have such expressions been discontinued? I have a book around somewhere loaded with these expressions.

 

[Iron Chef]

From my experience their still around-and probably will be for a long time as they've most likely become ingrained into much of the dialect by now. If anything, it's probably more a result of the overemphasis in pronunciation from so many onomatopoeic words. It's kind of catchy actually, and I have caught myself on more than one occassion doing the same, heh. My personal fav though has to be "Makodonaldo" for the golden arches

 

[leonmarino]

I was just wondering what the oldest thread in this topic was, and I thought it would be fun to bring it up. (And it saves me time on thinking of an interesting topic )

Anyways, I think Kaki's are one of the most delicious kinds of fruit in existence!! The Dutch aren't really familiar with it, but I found a good fruit and vegetable store which sells them in particular seasons. They're actually bigger and juicier than the ones I ate in Japan, and hell of a lot cheaper too!! (But every fruit or vegetable is cheaper in Holland I guess.) Can't wait till he orders them again..

Anyways, why do they call it a 窶敖ｪ窶｢S窶ｰﾂｮ? Is it because fruit and veggy stores usually have a lot of things for sale and "800 store" sounds better than "a-lot-of-things store"?

 

[dogcountry]

Rembering Some Fruits

Yeah! Remembering those juicy fruits brings back memories. Thougth the Kaki was great I favored the Nashi. I reside in the deep rural area and unable to buy those fruits.. Russ