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Fruits
The Fruits
of Myanmar
Myanmar
is fortunate in that it is lavishly endowed by nature with a rich variety of
fruits. Myanmars can enjoy one fruit after another throughout the year.
Fruits can be divided into two kinds, namely, seasonal fruits and those that
are available at all times of the year.
Bananas or plantains, papayas,
guavas and grapes belong to the second group. Bananas of various kinds are
cheap as well as tasty. Bananas are generally eaten fresh when they are
ripe. They are also preserved as figs or dried bananas. A kind of banana
called Pheegyan contributes towards regular bowel movement. Bananas come in
four colours namely yellow, green, red and blue which is very rare.
Generally speaking, yellow bananas are more commonplace and cheap. In
countries where bananas are plentiful, they are made into meal and used in
various kinds of cakes.
Papayas are generally believed to be conductive to longevity. They also
promote digestion. If we put a few bits of green papaya into a dish of meat
while it is being cooked, the meat gets tender earlier than usual. In some
countries, a small plate of papaya costs more than ten dollars at large
hotels.
The guava causes constipation especially to those who eat the seeds as well.
Most of the grapes produced in Myanmar are sour, probably due to the
subtropical or hot climate. They have been introduced into Myanmar recently.
They are only fit to be made into wine, but the trouble is that
wine-drinking is not yet popular or fashionable in Myanmar All the grapes
available in Myanmar before World War II were imported ones and they tasted
very sweet. Being exotic and delicious, they were generally used as "
chemical food" or diet for the sick. Two other kinds of popular chemical
food are the apple and the grapefruit or pomelo. The apple also was entirely
imported in those days and the imported apples were replete with a nice
taste and flavour
The rainy season in Myanmar is the time when fruits are plentiful. The
earliest rains of the year in Myanmar are called "leaf-plucking rains" as
they cause the old, yellow leaves to fall to the ground. They ate also known
as mango-showers as they help ripen mangoes.
The
mango is the first seasonal fruit of Myanmar as well as its most delicious.
It may be the tastiest fruit throughout the world also. It is definitely
sweeter and more nutritious than the apple which is the most vaunted fruit
of the West. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" says a Western proverb.
If this is the case, I would like to add that a mango a day will transform
the world into paradise! Even Westerners concede the superiority of the
mango over their apple and calf the former the king of fruits. There are
many kinds of mangoes and, of course, not everyone of them is sweet and
tasty. So you need to choose only the good ones if you want to try them.
Some of the best are machitsu (Ms Collection of love!), seintalone (one
diamond) and myakyout (emerald stone).
The mango is enjoyed as a side dish in a Myanmar meal either pounded with
matching ingredients or as a pickle when it is tender and sour. The mango
juice produced in Myanmar is highly appreciated by foreigners when it is
available. The mangoes that come from Upper Myanmar have a better flavour
than those grown in Lower Myanmar as mango trees thrive in hot and dry
climate. It is a pity that Myanmar cannot as yet export its tastiest fruit
in large quantities.
The marian that comes into season at about the same time as the mango is
hardly worth mentioning as a fruit as most marians are sour enough to set
the teeth on edge. Even sweet marians are not very sweet actually. Hence,
the Marian is pounded with other ingredients such as shrimp-paste, chilies
and onions into a side dish while it is tender and green. Green marians are
also pickled and ripe ones are made into preserve.
The
jackfruit ripens at the beginning of the rainy season. It is of two kinds
namely those with hard pods and those with soft pods and both are sweet and
delicious. Jackfruit seeds are eaten after being boiled, roasted or cooked
into curry. Surplus jackfruits are made into jackfruit preserve sheets.
The durian and the mangosteen come into season when the supply of mangoes is
about to be exhausted. The durian has a very sweet and cloying flavor. In
fact, some people find its strong smell repulsive. It has such a hot effect
that a person who "eats it sometimes breaks out in boils unless he or she
takes several baths after eating it. Vet it is the most popular fruit in
Myanmar and the most expensive.
Fortunately, it has an antidote: the mangosteen which is available at the
same time. The mangosteen has cotton-like, delicate and delicious meat
inside its reddish-brown rind. The durian is also made into preserve which
is the most expensive fruit preserve in Myanmar. The durian tree flourishes
in the southernmost parts of Myanmar as it likes the Equatorial climate.
After the durian and the mangosteen comes the pineapple. It is inferior to
its predecessors in flavor. Its sweetness is marred to a certain extent by
its acidity. Its meat consists of rough fibers. Besides, some pineapples
leave the eater's mouth itching unless they are washed thoroughly with salt
water.
The custard apple that follows the pineapple has a definitely better taste.
The only fault that we can find with the custard apple is the fact that it
has too many seeds. Some people do not eat the custard apple because they
are impatient about spitting out the seeds. But for this fact, the custard
apple is second to none in the world of fruits. Its sugar-sweet seed-pods
that melt in the mouth more than make up for the trouble of spitting out the
seeds. Being very delicate and perishable, the fruit is not preserved in any
way. It grows luxuriantly in Central Myanmar as it likes a hot and dry
climate. The custard apples that come from the regions around the city of
Pyay are among the best in Myanmar.
The grapefruit and the pomegranate are likely to be among the least popular
fruits in Myanmar. People eat the former only when other similar fruits are
not available. All grapefruits are more or less sour and none of them is
totally sweet. The pomegranate is neither meaty, juicy nor, above all,
tasty. It is natural that no one bothers to grow pomegranates on a
commercial scale. The most plentiful citrus fruit in Myanmar is the lemon
also known as the sweetlime. It is usually made into syrup with sugar, and
drunk. It features prominently among the things offered to elderly relations
around the fullmoon day of Thadingyut.
It is followed by the orange, the prince of citrus fruits. It is
indispensable at all Christmas Celebrations in Myanmar. It is sweeter and
therefore more expensive than the sweetlime.
The avocado is another nutritious an6 tasty but little known fruit in
Myanmar. It is vaunted to be good for the skin. It has to be eaten together
with cream, milk and sugar or condensed milk as its meat has an indifferent
taste.
The apple is a recent addition to the kingdom of fruits in Myanmar. Its
cultivation was introduced in Myanmar only a decade or two ago. Like grapes,
all the apples which were consumed in Myanmar before World War II were
imported ones. The major cultivation areas for apple in Myanmar today lie in
the northern hilly regions which have a cold climate. Locally grown apples
are definitely inferior to imported ones in flavor, color and size.
I would not be surprised if the popularity of the locally cultivated apples
declines once their novelty wears off. The apple is one of the best fruits
that the West can offer. However, in my opinion, it is no match for some of
our fruits. The apple juice or cider is a popular beverage in Western
countries. If it is made into vinegar and drunk with honey, it is said to be
a panacea. It is gratifying to note that we have several fruits which are
superior to the apple in many respects. In this respect, we are better off
than most industrialized countries despite our developing nation status.
We are fortunate in that we can enjoy a large variety of fruits. In
addition, our fruits are relatively inexpensive. They are, like all other
fruits, tasty and health-giving. So I would like to cordially invite all
visitors to Myanmar to enjoy our fruits while they are here.
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