In-season fruits in Davao to try this harvest season!

It is now August, the beginning of the season of harvest for the people of Davao! August to November is when fruits and vegetables are the cheapest. While in Davao, this is the best time to spend on your favorite fruits or fruits you would love to try at least once.

In-season fruits in Davao to try this harvest season!

Here are four fruits that are either uniquely Davao or can be bought for cheap during Davao’s harvest season:

Durian

Known as the “king of fruits.” The fruit is of a brownish-green color with spikes on its exterior. It has a really pungent smell. Despite this, the meat inside tastes amazing. The flavor can range from sweet to bitter. I find that the brighter the yellow tinge of the meat, the sweeter it is. If it appears pale yellow then it is most likely bitter with little to no sweetness. It is really creamy and custard-like. I advise if you want to pack it with you for a flight to have it checked in with lots of packaging tape to keep the smell from emitting.

I think durian tastes the best as a dessert or after a night in the freezer especially since I prefer the sweet-tasting durian to the bitter kind. However, it is also possible to cook it.

Pomelo

Pomelos in general have a thick yellowish green exterior. Davao’s pomelos are rather sweet and slightly tart. The color of the pulp ranges from light to bright pink. The teardrop-shaped pulp is really soft and can be separated easily with your fingers. Similar to how red caviar pops in one’s mouth, the pulp of a pomelo pops the same way. One of my favorite ways to eat it is just to put a single juicy pulp on my tongue and press it against the roof of my mouth so the juice would just release itself from it with a pop.

Mangosteen

In the Philippines, mangosteen has a reddish violet exterior and white meat inside. The inside of the mangosteen is lobed similar to the pulp of an orange.  Tastes sweet and slightly sour. When opened the mangosteen’s shell can stain your hands so be careful.

Marang

This is the most similar fruit to a jackfruit I have ever seen. It is smaller and softer compared to a jackfruit. The exterior feels like the rough side of a sponge and when opened it has a white interior similar in shape to the jackfruit’s bright yellow interior.

I have only tried eating this once. What bothered me was it was slightly slimy and wet which I did not really enjoy. However, it has a mellow sweetness to it and goes down smoothly with minimal need for chewing.

Plan a trip to Mindanao and head on to Davao to try these sweet fruits grown and harvested locally!