Waking up to a quiet Sunday morning on new year's day, and taking a stroll to the back garden to harvest fresh fruit, sounds like something one would wish for in a jocular mood. However, this is exactly how my morning began. I consider having a garden a priceless luxury, and being able to pick fruit from my personal trees is a covet thing I aspire to do daily.
It's 30ºC today, but I kid you not, it feels like 43ºC, and I made the mistake of venturing out without a hat or sunshades. As the sun's rays kissed my forehead, I faired I'd suffer a heat stroke, so I quickly ran back into the house to grab a hat and a bottle of water.
The smart thing is to either wear protective gear, or dodge the scorching heat and start at the crack of dawn, or late evening when doing outdoor activities.
While planning my trip back, I kept wondering which fruit would be in season.
Each fruit has its specific months for maturing and harvesting, so the same fruit does not grow all year round in Jamaica.
Everyone has their favourite fruit season and mango reigns in popularity.
There's a guesstimate that there are over 20 different varieties of mangoes that all have different flavours and textures.
It's incredible the contrast, and it would be a difficult choice to say which kind of mango is your favourite. Still here on my family's property is the Saint Julian Mango, commonly called 'Julie mango', which is a sweet, fibreless green skin mango, that is smooth with a rich taste.
When you are in the tropics you truly get to appreciate the rich flavoursome taste of the fruit that grows in abundance, and you can't help but compare it with some resentment for the quality that you purchase back home in say the UK for a premium.
That's because the fruits are picked way before maturity, and shipped across countries. Still, we do face the challenge of having to reap fruits such as mangoes early because of birds, who love to feast on the fruit around. I'm always torn between birds and mangoes though, and as a child, I always had a catapult handy.
I have neighbours, but each person's yard is laden with the same fruit. So for a small family like my mum and dad who live alone, it's customary to utilise the crop as soon as they are harvested, cooked and baked, or for condiments such as jams and chutneys which enhance simple meals, and is a great way to prevent waste.
There's a huge naseberry tree that's laden with young naseberries, I will put on appropriate clothes and climb to pick some in a few weeks. I'm optimistic that they will be mature before I leave here in February.
I love fresh fruit and could eat them all day long, but I'm conscious of my sugar intake. Still, I cannot resist making fresh juices like the ever-popular blended fruit punches that I just can never get enough of.😋
