Expats, Has Your Preference In Thai Fruits Changed Over Time?

[Jingthing]

It recently occurred to me that my pattern of Thai fruit consumption has changed radically over the years.

Of course in my tourist times here, etc., I tried all the Thai fruits, some of which I hadn't tried before.

I loved durian, lumyai, rambutan, and mangosteen, disliked snakefruit and dragon fruit.

I used to somewhat regularly eat durian, not every day or week of course especially when out of season, but at least every month or so.

Now I don't think I have felt the need to eat durian for well over a year, eat lumyai, rambutan, and mangosteen much less even when they are in season. But the most surprising change is a desire/craving to eat PAPAYA almost every day. I can't explain it. I definitely love it more than I used to but partly it's as if my body is telling me that I need to have it nutritionally (it is a very healthy food).

Have others noticed such a radical fruit preference change over the years?

I also eat lots of bananas and oranges, but I don't think of them as Thai fruits, per se, more like internationally available fruits.

Hmmm, looking at this picture, made me think of a Georgia O'Keefe painting ...

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=papaya

Edited March 8, 2011 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

Yes I do love lychees and always will, but yes, a very short season. I was one of those love durian on first smell and taste, but it is really a rich high fat food. I find it weird that even though I still feel like I like it, I don't bother buying it anymore.

[canuckamuck]

I love lychee, green mango, mah fai, lum yai, long gon, rambutan, durian, mangosteen, and that reddish thing with the short brown prickly fuzz.

I like papaya, bananas, pineapples, melons.

I don't mind tamarind and sweet mango.

I don't think this list has changed in 8 years.

[xen]

Can't think of any that i don't like only some that i can't eat too much of in one sitting like durian or custard apple. Can't get enough yellow mango and don't mind green which i never liked at first. I even like Sala that many of my thai friends tend not to be fond of.

[Darrel]

For raw fruit I have always liked yellow mango, rambutan and pineapple. That hasnt changed for 30+ years.

For salads/cooking I like papaya, green mango, tamarind. Big (Western) bananas in pancakes only, or with custard, though the small "real" ones are good fresh.

Not very keen on the other local fruits. Most of them are somewhat insipid.

[tutsiwarrior]

I usually just eat what the wife brings home which is whatever is cheap and in season...lotsa pineapple and water melon, and bananas and papaya are usually available year round for free from the trees behind our house...she usually yields to my preference for ripe mangoes unless it's outrageously expensive...the kids like to watch me slicing up a banana to put on my muesli: ('uncle tutsi is clazy, sho' nuff...')...then the rest of the family bring over stuff; oranges, durian...whatever they run across that's cheap...always got lotsa fruit on the go in the main dining area on the rear terrace...

nothing has changed, really...it's de old folks at home...

[janetdoe]

Used to be big into guava, now have changed to mangos. Rambutan season is my favourite though

[Cuban]

Somo/Pomelo, guava, lamyai, jackfruit, surprised no one mentioned Rose Apples yet.

Salat, is probably the only thing I used to avoid but when I find a good supply we buy, not sure of the transliteration. But the light brown torpedo shaped fruit with short spiky skin that is easy to peel off, the flesh is pale with a mild lemon flavour. There is a similar shaped fruit with a green brown skin that when washed you can eat the skin and flesh together - the texture is similar to a pear, has about three solid dark brown stone/seeds in the most of the fruits.

Custard Apples; too much effort to eat then and the Mealy Bugs put me off.

[joy16]

There is a similar shaped fruit with a green brown skin that when washed you can eat the skin and flesh together - the texture is similar to a pear, has about three solid dark brown stone/seeds in the most of the fruits.

It may be lamud (ละมุด) or Sapodilla.

[meatboy]

after almost 30years i eat more now than i ever did,those large juicy lychees,yellow mango,pineapple,pappaya with a dash of lime jus.

[Mosha]

Really gone off pineapple. I still like Mangosteen, and Rambutan. Mango is ok in small doses, but I do love durian. Just my opinion.

[sbk]

Salat, is probably the only thing I used to avoid but when I find a good supply we buy, not sure of the transliteration. But the light brown torpedo shaped fruit with short spiky skin that is easy to peel off, the flesh is pale with a mild lemon flavour. There is a similar shaped fruit with a green brown skin that when washed you can eat the skin and flesh together - the texture is similar to a pear, has about three solid dark brown stone/seeds in the most of the fruits.

Sala?

Its a member of the Salacca family, there is a wild version that grows that is so sour its nearly inedible but the locals soak it in a palm sugar syrup so thats actually kinda good. The non-wild version is quite tasty.

The plant it grows from is seriously nasty, with major spikey branches growing up and the fruit at the bottom.

I love Sala and Rose apple too.

[Lite Beer]

My favourite is Dragon Fruit.

[Cuban]

It may be lamud (ละมุด) or Sapodilla.

That's the one.

....and yes, spikey Salat

[FunkyMonkey]

My favourites are rambutan, mango and watermelon.

[JeffreyMcCollum]

Yes I do love lychees and always will, but yes, a very short season. I was one of those love durian on first smell and taste, but it is really a rich high fat food. I find it weird that even though I still feel like I like it, I don't bother buying it anymore.

What is snake fruit ? Thought I had been around a while but never heard of this one

[joy16]

Posted 2011-07-16 17:02:24

Jingthing, on 2011-03-08 19:07:01, said:

Yes I do love lychees and always will, but yes, a very short season. I was one of those love durian on first smell and taste, but it is really a rich high fat food. I find it weird that even though I still feel like I like it, I don't bother buying it anymore.

What is snake fruit ? Thought I had been around a while but never heard of this one

It is ra-gahm (ระกำ).

Edited July 18, 2011 by joy16

[Ulysses G.]

I still love mangoes and mangosteen best, but I am too lazy to cut them up myself, so I usually buy watermelon and papaya at the 10 baht booths instead.

[radiola]

What about mango?? That is my favourite!

I also love stravberries, season starts soon i think, durian, I ate every day few months back, basically every fruit is good beside dragon fruit, yak

[farang000999]

after awhile the sticky fruits seemed to be not worth the trouble of dirtying my hands. specifically longan, which is delicious.

[meatboy]

nobody has said they eat pommellon the large green fruit the size of a football,when peeled it looks like a cross between a grapefruit and an orange,lychees are also one of my favourites but the last 2years have been poor.

[just_Elaine]

nobody has said they eat pommellon the large green fruit the size of a football,when peeled it looks like a cross between a grapefruit and an orange,lychees are also one of my favourites but the last 2years have been poor.

Pomelos are good. We like them in a salad (Som O).

If I am here during the correct season, I would say mangosteens and mangos are my favorite. I, also, like passion fruit, pineapples and papaya. I don't think my preferences have changed much, but I eat more bananas because they taste so good here (both the large fat ones and the tiny fingerling like ones).

Edited December 11, 2011 by just_Elaine

[NamKAheng]

I like most of the fruit in Thailand. I think the Thai pineapple are the best in the world, the green skin oranges are very good and sweet.

One fruit that not to many farang eat are the sweet tamarind:

Very tasty!

[TwoDogz]

My Yong Chit...not sure of the spelling. Delicious.

Lychee, is the best, chilled from the fridge.

Rose apple also.