A Bunch of Raw Mango Fruits

Photo: Raw mango fruits from Brazil

The photo shows a bunch of purple colored raw mangoes in a mango orchard in a commercial mango farm in/near Petrolina in the state of Pernambuco in Brazil. Petrolina is the largest producer of fruits such as mangoes, grapes and guavas in Brazil.

The variety/species of this mango cultivar is unidentified, though the mangoes look like Tommy Atkins.

Though there are many cultivars of mango, the "Indian mango" or the "common mango", Mangifera indica, is the only mango most commonly cultivated in several tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

Though many people in Southeast Asia consider the durian as the "king of fruits" for its large size and strong odor, many others call the mango the "king of fruits" for its taste, color and nutritional value.

Ripe fruits of mangoes are generally sweet, although the taste and texture of the flesh may vary from one cultivar to another. The commonest use of the mango as a food is to consume it uncooked as a fruit when it is ripe.

Unripe mangoes are generally sour, and the best for the preparation of pickles, chutneys, side dishes, or eaten raw with salt and/or chili, or any other ingredient according to individual tastes.

Ripe mango fruit jelly/pulp is used to prepare fruity drinks, mixing with other ingredients such as sugar, milk, etc. They may also be used as a flavoring and major ingredient in ice creams, fruit bars, pies, milkshakes, desserts, jams, juices, etc.

IMPORTANT: If you look carefully at the right hand side of the photo, you can see an Indian peacock hiding among the green grass/small bushes. Enlarge the photo, if needed, or just save it to your computer and look carefully.

Buddha's Hand, an unusual citrus fruit

Photo 1: Buddha's Hand, closed hand-shaped green fruit on semi-dwarf plant

Photo 2: Buddha's Hand, ripe closed hand shaped fruit

Buddha's Hand is a bizarre citron. Its scientific name is Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis, and is a member of the Citrus genus to which lemons, oranges, grapefruit and limes belong.

It’s called Buddha's Hand because of the shape of the fruits that resembles a human hand with fingerlike projections. The origin of this citrus plant, also known as Fingered Citron, is traced to northeast India and China.

The Fingered Citron is an evergreen, large, fast-growing shrub that can grow to a small tree of 3m to 5m height. It has long thorny branches and oblong leaves. Its white flowers have a purple tint and appear in fragrant clusters.

The plant loves temperate climate, and is sensitive to extreme climatic conditions like excessive heat and frost. It can be reproduced from branch cuttings.

Unlike other citrus fruits, Buddha's Hand fruit, looking like a lemon with fingerlike projections, has a sweet aroma. It contains only a very small amount of pulp and negligible juice, and is seedless.

Admired for its unique shape and aroma, the fruit can be eaten raw. It is mainly used in various recipes for its unique flavor, lemony zest and zing, and also to flavor alcoholic beverages. It can be sliced into strips, or chopped and added as special ingredients in sweet breads, cakes, cookies and ice creams.

In traditional medicine, the sliced, dried peel of immature fruits is recommended as a tonic. The fruit is known to help relieve pain and discomfort due to injuries, swellings and bruises and to relieve discomforts related to respiratory diseases, diarrhea, constipation, high blood pressure, heart problems, menstrual issues, etc. (This is no medical advice, consult a doctor).

The fruit is important as a religious offering at Buddhist temples. Buddha prefers fruits with closed fingers, resembling folded hands symbolizing the act of prayer. Some fruits of this plant naturally resemble Buddha's hand symbol and are specially revered. The fruit is a symbol of good fortune, longevity and happiness in China where it is also a traditional offering in temples and given as a New Year gift.

The Fingered Citron is very fragrant and is used in Japan, Korea and China as a perfume for rooms and clothing. It is also grown as an ornamental plant in gardens and in pots placed on porticos and terraces.

African Red Devil pepper - Capsicum frutescens

Public Domain Photo: African red devil pepper with ripe and unripe fruits

African Red Devil pepper (other names: Piri Piri, Pili Pili, Bird's Eye Chili, African Devil) is a cultivar of Capsicum frutescens that grows both in the wild and as a cultivated crop. The plants grow 45 to 120 cm tall, and the fruits measure up to 8 to 10 cm. Thai Chili peppers (aka phrik khi nu, siling labuyo, etc.) of the subspecies Capsicum frutescens L. are a similar and related variety commonly found in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. It can also be found in India (mainly in Kerala, known as Kanthari Mulagu) and rural Sri Lanka (known as Kochchi in Sinhalese).The name Bird's Eye Chili is also used for the North American Chiltepin pepper.

It is an extremely spicy member of the Capsicum genus, with its ‘heat’ measure up to 175,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Units), while Bell Peppers rank at 0 SHU, New Mexico green chilies at about 1,500 SHU and Habaneros at 300,000 SHU. The record for the hottest chili pepper was assigned by Guinness World Records to the Naga Jolokia from India (also known as Bhut Jolokia, Ghost Chili, Nai Mirris, Cobra Chilli, etc), measuring over 1,000,000 SHU, while pure capsaicin (the substance that make chili peppers hot), measures only 16,000,000 SHU.

Photos of similar varieties are below:

Public Domain Photos: Peppers of the subspecies Capsicum frutescens L. variously known as Thai chili peppers, phrik khi nu, siling labuyo, Kanthari Mulagu, Kochchi, etc.

Peperoni pizza

Public Domain Photo: Photo of Peperoni pizza or pizza with peppers - photo dimension: 1024×768 pixels, size: 129 KB

Stuffed Snakehead Fish: a popular Thai cuisine

Public Domain Photo: Snakehead fish stuffed with herbs (mainly lemon grass and lime leaves) on banana leaves, ready for steaming – a popular cuisine in Thailand. Photo dimension: 2816×2112 pixels, size: 2359 KB

Public Domain Photo: Snakehead fish or mudfish (Channa striata). Photo dimension: 489×142 pixels, size: 21 KB

The striped snakehead fish or mudfish (Channa striata, in Thai language: Pla Chon) is very popular in Thai cuisine. Pla ra, a fermented fish sauce, popular in Northeastern Thai cuisine is made by pickling snakehead fish. A Chinese sausage is also prepared with striped snakehead flesh in Thailand. In Indonesia the snakehead fish called gabus is a popular salted fish in Indonesian cuisine.

The snakehead fish (also known as chevron snakehead, aruan or haruan) has also been classified under the binomial names Ophiocephalus striatus Bloch and Ophiocephalus vagus Peters. It can grow to a length of 1 meter in the wild. It can be found in southern China, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, and in most of Southeast Asian countries. It has recently been introduced to Indonesia, Philippines, Mauritius, and into the wild in Hawaii (in the island of Oahu).

Pickled peperoncini - Capsicum annuum

Public Domain Photo 1: Pickled Peperoncini

Public Domain Photo 2: Pickled Peperoncini (or fefferoni) in a Swedish restaurant

Peperoncini (or pepperoncini), a variety of Capsicum annuum, like bell peppers and chili peppers, are also known as Tuscan peppers, sweet Italian peppers and golden Greek peppers. In Italy these mild peppers are called friggitello (plural friggitelli) or generally peperone (plural peperoni) like other sweet varieties of peppers. Peperoncini are commonly pickled and sold packaged in jars.

Fruits

Fruits are, generally, the seed-bearing parts of plants and they are the fleshy structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state, such as apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, juniper berries, bananas, and the fruit-like structures in other plants such as lemons and olives. Seed-bearing parts of plants that are not called fruits are called by other names such as vegetables, pods, nuts, ears and cones.

Fleshy fruits like apple, peach, pear, kiwifruit, watermelon and mango are nutritionally highly valuable as human food, eaten both fresh and in raw state, and as jams, marmalade and other preserved forms. Some fruits are used to make beverages such as fruit juices or alcoholic beverages such as wine or brandy. Fruits are also used for gift-giving.

Fruit Basket, oil on wood painting (1632) by Balthasar van der Ast (1593-1656). Fruit Basket and Fruit Bouquet are some common forms of fruit gifts.

Some vegetables are in fact botanically fruits, for instance, tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, okra, squash, pumpkin, green bean, cucumber and zucchini. Olive fruit is crushed or pressed for extracting olive oil. Spices like vanilla, paprika, allspice and black pepper are derived from berries, which are also fruits.

From the point of view of nutrition, fruits are generally high in fiber, water, vitamins, complex sugars and some rare nutritional elements. Regular consumption of fruits is advised by nutrition-specialists for reducing risks of cancer, cardiovascular diseases (heart), strokes, Alzheimer's disease, cataracts and functional disorders associated with aging.

Diets that include sufficient amounts of potassium from fruits and vegetables help reduce the chance of developing kidney stones and may help reduce the bone disorders. Fruits are low in calories, and hence help fight obesity and help lower one’s calorie intake as part of a weight-loss diet.

The basic ingredients of a vegetarian diet

Photo: Fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains; some of the basic ingredients of a vegetarian diet.

Well-planned vegetarian diets are healthy and satisfy all nutritional needs, may offer protection against heart disease, cancer and other diseases, according to some studies.