Thursday, October 26, 2006

The fruit chart

My favourite fruits in reverse order are:


5. Orange - But why is it the only fruit called by its colour? Or is that the only colour called after a fruit? Intriguing.

4. Papaya - A smidgeon of lime and it tastes fine. And it rhymes.

3. Water Melon - Although I never know exactly what to do with the seeds.

2. Mango - Not too stringy please. As a child they were a rare treat but now they are so common that we get them free inside packets of cheese and onion crisps.

1. Rambutan - Number 1 by far

Easy to open, easy to eat and delicious too. No mess, which is a big downside of mangoes for me. I still don't get it with the dodgy bit that is just near the seed, I always end up chewing it for a while and then giving up. The flesh is so similar yet so much better than a lychee. I remember spending 2 days in Yala several years ago and my friend A and I spent hours driving around eating from a big bag of Rambutans that we had bought on the way. We never saw much on that trip apart from a few elephants. I hardly ever see them in the UK, maybe that's one reason I like them so much. I mean Rambutans, not elephants. Although I don't see that many elephants in Richmond Park either.

11 comments:

Jack Point said...

Rambutans - easy to eat? You must be joking. It takes ages to get the flesh off the misarable things and more often than not you take the skin of the seed with the flesh.

Sachini said...

If I remember right, you were the one who made an entry about rambutan a while back. I love rambutan and mango. About water melon, in my case if I'm at home I just throw them out in the most disgraceful manner but if I'm at a nice hotel or a stranger's house, I try to spit them into a tissue as demurely (I think) as possible. And you should try Melon juice. Absolutely delicious. I love the one they serve at Cafe on the Fifth here in Colombo and also the one my mom makes. I'm ranting about fruits because I'm running on just two hours of sleep. Sorry =)

Anonymous said...

Orange... interesting isn't it?

The King coconut in Sinhalese is "Tahmbili", which is also the same word used to describe its colour - orange.

So Orange isn't the only fruit to be called by its colour or vice versa. But isn't it intriguing that they both share the same colour?

Anonymous said...

anyone who doesn't love watermelon is obviously nuts. i love watermelon, they're so nice, cool and refreshing and taste wonderful.

i love all the fruits you've listed. which order i would list them in would take some thought. papaya is prob my leat favourite of all the one's you've listed, although yes, lime helps.

Rhythmic Diaspora said...

Jack Point - Yes, that seed skin is a continual problem for me, but I do think they are far easier to eat than a mango for example.

Sach - Yep 'twas me. I love watermelon juice too, we never really get it here. I think it must need about 76 watermelons to make 1 small glass. 2 hours! What's T been doing to you?

Rhythmic Diaspora said...

L - Avocado is not one that I am that keen on.

D - I never knew that. Thanks. We live and learn.

Anonymous said...

Mangoostien! The kahata is a katta but the flesh (when it hasn't gone off) mmm. And got to agree with jackpoint, when the skin comes off the seed of the rambas its a nuisance.

Anonymous said...

hmm, well there's chestnuts. But those are nuts :)

Anonymous said...

No love for banannas? Did I spell that right?

Banannas are perfect. They boost energy. They taste great. Come in a variety of colours and tastes.

It is also the metaphorical equivalent of a certain part of the male anatomy - atleast in minds that have been corrupted beyond redemption (like mine).

Anyway, fruits are great. I guess the only fruit that I really hate would be durian. The smell alone is a huge turn off.

Rhythmic Diaspora said...

ddm - Mangosteen would have been in the list if they weren't quite so messy to eat

Anonymous said...

re. the oranges being orange...

the color orange means, after all, the color 'thambili' in sinhalese. thambili, in turn, stems from (pun?) the eponymous fruit, the king coconut. of course, to the sinhalese, the orange (fruit) was originally green in color, while their contemporararies in britain would have viewed any claims of orange (color) coconuts with extreme skepticism.

times, however, have changed. we now have orange (color) oranges (fruit) here, and know that 'orange' (color) is justified in being used to describe a previously purely green fruit. and they probably know that thambili (fruit) is orange (color) as well, and now are reconciling themselves to the fact that 'thambili' (color) is used to describe what was previously to them a purely green fruit.

green, however (the color),....