Fruit Maven » pink http://fruitmaven.com Your guide through the wild world of fruit. Mon, 21 May 2012 17:54:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Mango Orange | Vaniglia Sanguigno http://fruitmaven.com/2012/01/mango-orange-vaniglia-sanguigno/ http://fruitmaven.com/2012/01/mango-orange-vaniglia-sanguigno/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:34:45 +0000 Fruit Maven http://fruitmaven.com/?p=2819 I realized this weekend that I do not have even one mango reviewed on this website. I was truly puzzled by this discovery because I would list the mango as one of my very favorite fruit of all time. It was the first “exotic” fruit introduced to me by my grandmother when I was five and was a huge departure from the orange, apple and banana I had experience up to that point. It remained the most exotic thing I would try for another 15+ years.

mango-oranges
My grandmother died when I was six, so it sticks out as one of very few memories I have of her. She was introduced to the mango when she lived in Hawaii — a place she lived for quite a few years, as did my mother, as did I — all in our twenties. All of us either moving toward or away from various men. In a way, a mango represents strength to me, and independence. For each of us the relocation required a great amount of courage. I think there is some part of me that feels the mango, the fruit I so closely associate with all of these memories, is sacred and shouldn’t be rated the way I do on this site. I don’t know. I can’t think of a good reason why I keep deciding not to highlight one here. But I keep doing it, so there must be some logic to it.

Regardless, I was delighted to see a Mango Orange variety of citrus at the market this week so I had a chance to celebrate my beloved mango in some small way without having to rate it just yet. If you see this orange I definitely recommend it, as well as any mangoes you find of course. And when you see them, I hope that for a small moment you are reminded of this story and pause to connect for a moment with your own strength and courage, right there in the grocery store. Because really, is there any other time?

Mango Orange

APPEARANCE 4 out of 5 stars

Baseball size, perfectly round orange with gorgeous flesh ranging from sunkist orange to salmon pink.

AROMA 3.5 out of 5 stars

Mild, sweet orange.

TEXTURE 5 out of 5 stars

Juicy, tender flesh that seems to just melt in your mouth. This might be the very best citrus texture I have ever tried. I would dare to say it is creamy.

TASTE 3.5 out of 5 stars

No acidity or tartness in the flavor but I can feel some acidity on my tongue in the aftertaste. Think of a sweet mellow orange magnified with well rounded vanilla flavor.

OVERALL 4 out of 5 stars

While I like this orange quite a bit particularly for the texture, I tend to like my citrus, and really most fruit actually, with a nice bit of acidity. This orange is missing that extra punch of flavor. I’m also slightly disappointed it doesn’t taste anything like mangoes, though I suppose an argument could be made that the flesh looks a little like one, but it would be a thin argument. I read in the LA Times that this orange’s real name is Vaniglia Sanguigno, Italian for “Vanilla Blood”, and I have to admit that despite my confessed love of mangoes, I find that to be a far more fitting name. It has a pretty clear vanilla note and the coloring is certainly more reminiscent of a blood orange than a mango. Also, I like the idea of telling people I had Vanilla Blood for breakfast. It takes the idea of fruit giving strength to a whole new level.

FRUIT
Orange		 PEAK
Winter		 PURCHASED
Grocery Store
VARIETY
Mango
(Vaniglia Anguigno)		 GROWN
California

COMMENTS!

What do you think the better name is? Mango Orange? Or Vanilla Blood? Which name would get you to buy it? Clearly I would buy it either way.

]]> http://fruitmaven.com/2012/01/mango-orange-vaniglia-sanguigno/feed/ 0 Cara Cara Navel Orange http://fruitmaven.com/2010/01/cara-cara-navel-orange/ http://fruitmaven.com/2010/01/cara-cara-navel-orange/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 04:23:26 +0000 Fruit Maven http://fruitmaven.com/?p=1150 If you like to use catchy catch phrases like “Fruit Maven is the new black“, then this is the fruit for you! Cara Cara Navel Orange
APPEARANCE 4 out of 5 stars

Regular looking orange skin, regular orange size, pinkish salmon colored flesh (not quite as pink as a ruby red grapefruit, but close) with very few little tiny seeds.

AROMA 4 out of 5 stars

Clean, pure orange.

TEXTURE 4 out of 5 stars

Juicy (this is the first word for pretty much all citrus, if you are eating citrus that isn’t juicy – please, please just choose a different one, there is no reason for that), soft flesh, few unnoticeable  seeds.

TASTE 4 out of 5 stars

Only slightly acidic, enjoyably sweet – everything that an excellent orange should be.

OVERALL 4 out of 5 stars

I find that grocery store navel oranges in general are risky (sometimes good, sometimes not) even right now when they are in season. So far, every Cara Cara I have tried has been excellent, so really if I combine that with the funky color and the catchy slogan on the label (see notes below) I have no reason to ever buy a regular navel again except to rate it on this blog. (Coming someday…I would say “coming soon” but who has time for regular navel oranges when I have mandarinquats and limequats in the hopper.)

FRUIT

Navel Orange

VARIETY

Cara Cara

PEAK

Winter

GROWN

Grown

PURCHASED

Grocery Store

NOTES

I’ve been seeing Cara Caras in every grocery store and at all the farmer’s markets. Apparently they are the hot new thing in citrus for the masses. The sticker on the orange when I picked it up at the grocery store said “Pink is the new orange”. Looks like it might just be true.

]]> http://fruitmaven.com/2010/01/cara-cara-navel-orange/feed/ 1 Red Pitaya (Dragon Fruit) http://fruitmaven.com/2009/12/red-pitaya-dragon-fruit/ http://fruitmaven.com/2009/12/red-pitaya-dragon-fruit/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:30:48 +0000 Fruit Maven http://fruitmaven.com/?p=1135 If you’ve been invited to a “Herb the Vegetarian Dragon” party and just haven’t been able to find the right hostess gift, then this is the fruit for you! red pitaya - dragon fruit
APPEARANCE 5 out of 5 stars

Fuchsia body with leaf shaped flaps that fade to green, the inside is white with tiny black seeds; reminds me of a cross between a shiny zebra and a poppy seed muffin. Also it is quite big – the size of a small nerf football.

AROMA 3 out of 5 stars

Cucumbers!

TEXTURE 3.5 out of 5 stars

Juicy and grainy with crunchy little seeds; similar to a cucumber but with more seeds and a little more snap to the bite.

TASTE 2 out of 5 stars

Reminds me of bland melon and kiwi and cucumber, but with a slightly sour note.

OVERALL 3.38 out of 5 stars

I’m not a fan of this fruit and I keep making faces every time I take a bite in order to describe some aspect of it. I had a bit of a red-fleshed variety at a potluck a few months ago and I remember thinking I liked it and wanted to look for it. So maybe this just isn’t a good one or maybe I was just feeling festive that day. I will say that this fruit is absolutely visually stunning and I really do wish I was throwing a party tonight with this fruit as the centerpiece. Oh how my friends would be jealous of me.

FRUIT

Red Pitaya

VARIETY

Unknown

PEAK

Unknown

ORIGIN

Unknown

GROWN

Unknown

PURCHASED

Asian Market

NOTES

This fruit is also called Strawberry Pear. You can see some gorgeous pictures of the plant (it grows on a cactus) here.

]]> http://fruitmaven.com/2009/12/red-pitaya-dragon-fruit/feed/ 5 Variegated Pink Eureka Lemon http://fruitmaven.com/2009/11/variegated-pink-eureka-lemon/ http://fruitmaven.com/2009/11/variegated-pink-eureka-lemon/#comments Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:11:01 +0000 Fruit Maven http://fruitmaven.com/?p=868 If you’ve been looking for a marketing angle to give you the edge over the lemonade stand down the street (“Lemonade Vegas Style!”), then this is the fruit for you! dsc_0980-small
APPEARANCE 4 out of 5 stars

Yellow and green variegated tiger stripes, with pale pink/peach flesh

AROMA 3.5 out of 5 stars

Acidic, lemony and floral

TEXTURE 2.5 out of 5 stars

Dense and tight bubbles of liquid, with medium juiciness

TASTE 3.5 out of 5 stars

Acidic, lemony and SOUR! but not quite as much as a common Eureka (grocery store) lemon. I would love to be able to go on about the lovely floral notes with hints of this and that, but I can’t get past the way my jaw seizes up and my eyes water at the extreme sourness.  It’s like getting hit in the nose with a cute little fruit. And who can be expected to smell flowers after getting punched like that?

OVERALL 3.38 out of 5 stars

I love love love how this lemon looks. I was hoping for a brighter pink color but I’ll take this whiz zinger of a lemony showgirl over a regular one any day. You can’t really eat this as a snack, but who cares – I’m such a sucker for fruit that looks dressed up for mardi gras or an evening at the annual zoo extravaganza. (What? Your zoo doesn’t party it up with an evening of disco balls and posted warnings “Things may fly, float, amaze and explode“? Mine does.)

FRUIT

Lemon

VARIETY

Pink Variegated Eureka

PEAK

Fall

GROWN

Farmer Steve Inc.
Ramona, CA

PURCHASED

Farmer’s Market

NOTES

You would think this would make really fun pink lemonade, but the juice is disappointingly yellow just like every other lemon. Maybe there is some other cool pink lemon out there that can fulfill my lemony dreams. Oh citrus world -please don’t let me down.

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