I have just learned that there is a Fruit of the Month Club. I do not plan to join it. The Fruit Explorer would prefer to go on safari through Market Basket, Stop&Shop, and Trader Joe's rather than be the passive recipient of some pre-packaged fruit. Here we have an example of the proverb that one does not go on safari from one's recliner.
You have read of my
disenchantment with the ataulfo mango, and you have read of one unhappy
experience with an unripe standard mango. I have two more encounters with a
standard mango to report. First, I had a fruit salad with standard mango
prepared by Maria, the mango whisperer. The mango in the salad did not appeal
to me though everyone else was raving about it. Second, Mei-Mei gave me a
perfectly ripe mango. It was orangeish yellow with a big red splotch and not a
trace of green. I cut off a slice, scored it, and flexed it inside out. (I have
mastered the technical aspect of eating a mango.) I chowed down, and found that
I didn't much care even for this perfect mango. It finally occurred to me that
mango has much the taste and texture of a peach, and I have never cared much
for peaches, so I now understand why my reaction to mangoes differs from
everyone else's. The final word: Mangoes of any stripe do not speak to me.
You will recall my starter garlic
press from Target. Well, its handle fell off. I can stick the handle back on
and press the garlic just fine, but the handle falls off again when it leaves
my grip. Clearly, it is time for me to add a second garlic press to my
collection.
I needed shampoo, and browsing
the aisles at Dollar Tree I saw one with the impressive title, Alberto VO5,
Herbal Escapes, Kiwi Squeeze. I figured that kiwis have earned a larger place
in my life, so I bought a bottle. This is a reminder that fruit is for more
than eating. I wouldn't be at all surprised if some fruit turned out to provide
the cure for cancer. (Have I carried my enthusiasm for kiwis too far? Does kiwi
really belong in shampoo?)
What is happening to our crops?
My favorite fruit is the large navel orange. Traditionally, they are available
from mid-January until late April. This year, I started finding good ones in
mid-December. On July 8, I went to Trader Joe's, and they were still being
sold. Thinking that this might be the last batch of the season, I bought
eighteen. When I open my fridge, it looks like there is an orange tree inside.
In reading about the various
fruits, one invariably encounters the statement, "high in vitamin C."
This property of fruit, however annoying to read over and over, has
significance in the evolution of the human species. It is a fact that our
pre-primate ancestors had the ability to synthesize vitamin C. Therefore, they
never had to worry about vitamin C deficiency or scurvy. When the early
primates evolved, they specialized in eating fruit. Because fruit was so high
in vitamin C, they did not need the ability to synthesize their own. Since
evolution follows the use-it-or-lose-it philosophy, they lost the ability to
synthesize vitamin C. Humans still have the genes for synthesizing vitamin C,
but they have been mutated into uselessness. Now that we no longer specialize
in fruit and sometimes do have trouble getting enough vitamin C, you might
curse our early primate ancestors for fumbling away this valuable physiological
capability. Not so fast. It is thought that the ability to spot fruit and to
distinguish ripe from unripe fruit led the early primates to develop color
vision, which their ancestors did not have. Therefore, the fruit-eating
lifestyle of early primates led to the loss of the ability to synthesize
vitamin C but also to color vision. I would say that our early primate
ancestors made a pretty good trade-off. I tip my hat to them.
