Custard or Sugar Apple

Our client was visiting our office and we started talking about local fruits that she has tried at the hotel where she is staying. She loves the local mangoes and the mangosteens. Later in the conversation she was describing a fruit that was red and had spiky hairs. The fruit was white with a large seed. I told her that was a rambutan, similar to lychees but the sweetness is entirely different.

I asked her if the hotel also served a locally grown fruit called atis. In other countries this fruit is called sugar apple or sweetsop. Relative to the custard apple since it belongs to the same Annona family, the meat is sweet having a 50-50 ratio of sucrose and glucose. I showed her a photo of the fruit, and she said they didn't serve this in the hotel. So I brought one the following day. She was amazed and surprised with the sweetness and the number of seeds a fruit could have. She still prefers the rambutan though and couldn't get enough of it.

In my research for this entry, I found out interesting facts about this delectable fruit:

- for every 100g of edible meat, there is 88.9 - 95.7g of calories; 40mg of vitamin C and is a good source of iron.
- the meat may be eaten raw, turned into ice-cream, cider or wine
- there are medicinal properties that may alleviate rheumatic pain, dizziness and fainting spells; treat dysentery, colds and fever. However the seeds are said to be poisonous and may cause blindness despite it's healing remedy for hair lice.
- the blacken aborted fruit is part of the ingredients for "unton" ( a pillow pouch pinned to a child's dress to fight against bales or "bati")

From experience, when buying, pick the firm and harder fruit. The size of the "scales" should have defined groves. It is fine to get the pieces with dark firm spots at the top. Place the fruit in a sturdy container, the firmest on on the bottom and the least on top. When it is ripe, the fruit becomes verify delicate and is easily bruised. In storing, keep in room temperature until it is soft. To prolong it's shelf life, store the fruit in the refrigerator when it is almost ripe but not overly so.

References:

http://www.philippineherbalmedicine.org/atis.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar-apple
http://www.stuartxchange.org/Atis.html
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/sugar_apple.html

Prices Soar

My mom and I went to Divisoria yesterday. She wanted to get purse for my aunt. I on the other hand had other things in mind... update my blogs and edit photos. But she won, so I tagged along. Divisoria is place where you can get almost everything and anything at a bargain price - all sorts of foods, clothing, bags, home furnishings, plastic wares, electronics, toys, video, mp3s... The list is endless, in my opinion. Now that the Christmas season is nearing, it is one of the hot spots to go to.

We went around the 168 Mall, and was unlucky with the find. She did set her eyes on the persimmons she saw by the corner of the mall. After haggling with the price we went our way to Tutuban Mall. We searched high and low until we found a store that gave us the purse my aunt wanted at a really good price. It was a Coach body purse in the shades of dark brown. For Php 250, the class AAA, Korea-assembled knock-off was not bad.

Since we were in the area, we decided to buy some fruits to add to the persimmons. I approached serveral stalls and asked for their prices for their persimmons. The price ranged from Php 80 to 100 per kilo and depending on the size. Mom was frustrated because she bought hers at Php 130 She lost Php 30 for the bag she bought. Tsk...tsk...

As we headed to Divisoria Mall, there were a wide array of fruits and vegetables, house hold wares that were being sold. I was there 2-3 weeks back and noticed that the prices increased by 35-50%. I got lucky that I was able to stock up with garlic and red onions. The could last me for a few weeks more. I bought 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) of garlic at Php 45 then. Yesterday, they were selling it for Php 60. Fuji apples used to be Php 10/piece and hiked up to Php 50/3 pieces. I was blown away by the difference in price after being away from the area for almost a month. I guess with the prices of gasoline increasing (which is everywhere), product prices will increase as well. The sellers would have to adjust to make their ends meet, and the buyers would wisely budget and spend their hard earned cash to put a decent meal to the table.

I came across an old lady selling all sorts of fruits. She was selling her oranges for Php 10/piece. There was even a sign that claimed the oranges are definitely sweet. There were slightly larger than an baseball and looked sweet and fresh. I bought 5 pieces and my mom was rather skeptic. True enough when we got home, mom opened one and it was sour. So much for guarantees and sweet oranges... I guess I will use them in search for the Christmas treats.