Fruit is a reminder of the garden of Eden, when everything nice to eat was there for the taking and all meals were alfresco picnics. When a plant fruits, it broadcasts chemical signals, wantonly crying out to be eaten. This is a reproductive goal, ensuring that the plant’s seed is spread. Sexy stuff. And even more so, perhaps, when you come to tropical fruits with their heady perfumes, sunset colors, slipperiness and intense flavor. The following describes how you can further Nature’s goals while enjoying pretty tropical plants and the fruits of your labor.
The papaya (Carica papaya) is among the easiest tropical fruits to grow. The flowers must be fertilized to produce fruit, which can be achieved with a mixture of male and female plants, or by choosing a self-fertile variety. Grown from indeterminate seed, papaya can be sexed when they flower; the male inflorescence is borne on stalks, where the female grows directly from the stem. The flowers are fairly insignificant, but that’s no reason not to include these delicious fruits in your garden. Large slightly spiky lobed leaves and a palm-like growing habit up to 20-feet make this a showy, exotic landscape addition. The papaya likes rich compost and plenty of water during the warm season, and needs full exposure to produce the sweetest fruit.
Papaya is eaten raw and cooked, green and ripe (slightly soft, like an avocado, and wonderfully fruity smelling); the seeds are also eaten. Try substituting papaya seeds for the poppy in your favorite poppyseed dressing. A wedge of fresh papaya with a little lime juice squeezed over is a favorite tropical breakfast. Green papaya can be shredded for thai salad, ripe chunks make a nice fruit salsa to top grilled fish. Curried with chicken, in desserts, soups, and muffins…well, you get the picture. See end of article for the chicken recipe.
Passionfruit (Passiflora) or maypop is a beautiful, fast growing vine. In good conditions, it can spread forty feet in a season. The vine is food for Gulf fritillary larvae; a pretty butterfly that resembles the monarch. Growing two of the same variety next to each other ensures fruit set; the egg-shaped produce is so pretty and tasty this is a very good idea. Passionflower is also grown for the dramatic inflorescence. Its name refers to the Passion of Christ. The five stamen are said to represent the wounds, the top three stigma the nails, the ten sepals and petals the faithful apostles, and the corona the crown of thorns. Religious symbolism aside, they are wondrous flowers.
Passionfruit is simple to grow, requiring only sun, well-drained soil, and something to climb on. Sturdy support is recommended; the vine will quickly hide unsightly chain link fencing. Keep the skirt trimmed up off the ground to avoid fungal disease. Passion vine can be grown in a 12-inch pot with plenty of compost and water, but avoid feeding the plant during crop season if you want fruit; excess fertilizer encourages growth at the expense of production. The fruit are ready to eat when they drop off the plant. Excess crop can be stored by scooping out and freezing the pulp.
The passion fruit contains just a few spoonfuls of pulp and edible seeds. Serve in small meringue nests, a la Pavlova; use to top rice pudding or flan; or spoon over citrus sorbet (especially orange). The seeds can be strained out, and the pulp used to lend a tropical note to drinks or vinaigrettes (see notes below).
The pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a member of the bromeliad family. These spiky plants bear flowers in hot tropical colors. You can actually start your own plants from the fruit. Cut the leafy top off the pineapple, remove all the fruit and strip the bottom leaves. Let the plant dry for a few days so it doesn’t rot in soil (this process is called hardening off). Plant out in fast draining soil, e.g. cactus mix, and place in a bright spot. To induce flowering, place a couple of apples next to a plant at least one year old. Put a cloche over all, and leave for a week, then remove. The ethylene gas from the apples should induce flowering in the next couple of months. The fruit obtained by this method will be miniature; for supermarket sized pineapples you need a plant about six feet by six feet.Like most of the tropical fruits, pineapple is delicious raw, unadorned, and perfectly ripe. Pineapple upside-down cake is a retro favorite, as is sweet-and-sour with pork, shrimp, chicken, or tofu. Good in salsa and fruit salads, or crushed for dessert topping.
Avocado (Persea americana) is another do-it-yourself tropical fruit, grown from the large stone as a favorite elementary school project. They make lovely shade trees, growing up to 60 feet, and can be grown as houseplants but will probably not fruit indoors. Avocados like protection from wind and rich, sandy loam, although they are amenable to a variety of soil conditions with good drainage. They will grow in the shade, but won’t set fruit without full sun.
Although Americans usually think of avocado more as a savory food, in Mexico it is recognized as a fruit, forming the basis for ice creams and sweet drinks. And, naturally, perennial party pleaser guacamole, as well as sauces, salads, and soups. The great recipe at bottom is cribbed from Peggy Harvey’s “Great Recipes from the World’s Great Cooks.” The leaf of the avocado is also used in Mexican cooking as an herb, imparting a slightly bitter licorice flavor especially good with black beans.
The cherimoya (Anona cherimola), or custard apple, is incredibly evocative, with ivory colored flesh and large shiny ebony seeds. The skin and seeds are both poisonous, a fact that is offset by the perfumed sweetness of the fruit. The tree often requires hand-pollination for good fruit set, and is fussy about temperatures, so likely best attempted by the enthusiast. Cherimoya can be grown from those beautiful seeds, the caveat being that seedlings are susceptible to fungal rot, so make sure that the medium is very well-draining. Soak the clean seeds in water for a few days or nick them with a sharp knife to aid sprouting.
Perhaps they are worth the trouble, though. Besides the fruit, cherimoya is a very pretty small tree (around 15-20 feet), with pale, drooping, trifolate, scented flowers. The leaves are around half a foot long, green and roughly ovoid. New growth shows rusty fur. They are native to subtropical regions in the Andes and not a heat-loving tropical, going dormant without periods of cool temperatures, but have been grown successfully indoors given plenty of light.
People who have had the pleasure of eating a good cherimoya often get that faraway look in their eye remembering. They need nothing more than to be scooped out of the skin and eaten with a spoon (avoiding those emetic seeds), although in Mexico they are sometimes treated to a squeeze of lime. The juice is popular with a slice of lemon in Colombia, and has been fermented into an alcoholic beverage
There are any number of delicious exotic fruits that haven’t been mentioned: mango, feijoa, guava, banana, carambola, kiwi…the list goes on. But perhaps the growing and eating impressions here will inspire further forays into the world of tropical edibles.
Food Thoughts…
Chicken and Papaya
Take a chicken in pieces, flour and brown in a deep, hot skillet. Turn heat down and add one papaya, peeled, seeded, and sliced; a small handful of golden raisins; a tablespoon of curry powder (or to taste). Pour a glass of white wine over all, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through (this should take about three quarters of an hour). Serve hot with a baguette, lemon wedges, and the rest of the bottle of wine. Smoked salmon makes a nice appetizer for this dish.
Passionfruit Salad
The sweetly tropical taste of passionfruit pulp is a pretty counterpoint to unusual peppery greens. Seek out the fleshy leaves of purslane (verdolagas in Mexico), watercress, or roquette (arugula) for your mixed greens salad. Add passionfruit pulp to balsamic vinaigrette and use as dressing.
Pineapple Bread Pudding
This can be used to accompany a ham, or with ice cream for dessert. Mix three beaten eggs, half a cup of milk, half a teaspoon each of ground ginger and white pepper, a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of sugar and one of dark rum. Fold in two cups each of chopped pineapple and french bread cubes. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour (use a clean knife to test for doneness).
Avocado Cream Soup
This soup is based on one that originally appeared in The Esquire Culinary Companion, billed as “One of the Simplest Yet Most Delicious Soups We’ve Ever Tasted.” Simplified even further, it still qualifies as delicious. Heat a can of cream of chicken soup to simmering, remove from heat and stir in a diced avocado and a splash of hot sauce. Serve immediately topped with lemon zest and freshly ground black pepper, and baguette slices on the side for dunking.
Cherimoya Fool
A fool is an old-fashioned dessert that has gone by the wayside; a shame, since it is so simple, light, and good. Fold cherimoya puree into an equal amount of softly whipped cream, leaving marbled streaks of fruit and cream. Top with lime.
