(Continued from Part 1)
The Taste Test
Since this fruit was new to me, I went to the Internet to see how to eat it. This video revealed that you scratch at the peel until you reveal the fruit beneath; if the fruit is red, then it will be ready to eat as soon at it softens, much like an avocado. (If it's not red, then the fruit was picked too soon, and you were sold a bad fruit.) You then prepare it much like an avocado; you cut around it lengthwise, pull it apart into halves, extract the seed, and eat the interior of the fruit.
After I cut the fruit in half, I cut it lengthwise into six segments. I took a spoon to the first segment. I found that the fruit was completely ripe and very soft. I was able to scoop out a bite with great ease; it was even easier than ice cream. I took a bite. I found that it had a mushy texture with a mild taste. The taste was somewhat appealing but did not make a strong impression on me. I did find the texture to be a little off-putting. The consensus from the web sites, videos, and Pepe is that the mamey is better as a milkshake, so I decided to have the rest of it in this form. Here are pictures of my mamey.
- The uncut mamey held aloft.
- The uncut mamey on my cutting board.
- The mamey cut in half.
- The mamey cut into six segments, with the seed extracted.
- Close--up of the exceptionally shiny seed. It retained its shine even after being washed and dried. I hope to find a place for this seed in a future Fruit Explorer art work.
You can find recipes for a mamey milkshake here and here. Alternatively, you can watch a mamey milkshake being made in this video, which features as background music "The Ride of the Valkyries." It took only seconds to cut the fruit from the remaining five segments. Into my blender I put roughly equal quantities of mamey, milk, and ice, measured roughly by eye. I tipped in some vanilla extract, shook in a generous amount of cinnamon, and then blended the mixture until it was smooth. I felt like an accomplished chef as, with a flourish, I poured the orangey-pink result into a glass and raised it to my lips. I took a sip. Very creamy. I liked it. I think the experts are correct in saying that a milkshake is the preferred form. Here are more pictures.
- The rind after the mamey has been removed.
- My blender containing all the ingredients ready for mixing.
- Somewhat more than half of the blended mixture poured into a sixteen ounce glass.
The verdict is that, while the raw fruit has limited appeal for me, I am a huge fan of the mamey milkshake. At $6.89 for what amounts to two medium shakes, however, this is a treat for special occasions rather than an everyday experience. The vanilla and especially the cinnamon really improved it, so I suggest that you add your favorite spices with a heavy hand.
Party Tip
Your party tip is to let your guests engage in hands-on discovery of the possibilities of mamey milkshakes. Lay out a supply of mamey, milk, condensed milk, salt, sugar, ice, cinnamon, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and whatever other spices you have on hand. Also, make available several blenders and a half dozen recipes for mamey milkshakes, which you can find on the Internet (some are given above). Exhort your guests to make a series of experimental, two-ounce milkshakes. (This is a quarter of a small glass.) Your guests will soon be acting like research chemists as they try varying mixes of ingredients, taste the result, and try something different. Your guests will soon zero in on what they like best, and when they see that others like different mixes, it will be a lesson in multiculturalism. Your guests will leave the party not only armed with knowledge of how to make a scrumptious taste treat but also with a renewed appreciation of the variability in taste among humans.
As an alternative, you could make mamey jelly (first picture) or mamey ice cream.
Travel Tip
With travel to Cuba just opening up, now is the time to go and taste a mamey milkshake made in its homeland before it is ruined by tourism. The real Cuba is available now, but as the Cuban hospitality industry starts to adjust to tourists, it is only a matter of time until mamey milkshakes become indistinguishable from milkshakes sold by McDonald's.
(Here is the experience that underlies this travel tip. In 1978 I spent a month traveling in South America with Pepe and Maria. Why go to South America instead of Europe? Maria argued that Europe was already fully developed and was not going to change; nothing would be lost by going to Europe later. South America, in contrast, had not yet fully developed, so it paid to go before it was altered by development. With the benefit of nearly forty years of hindsight, I can see that Maria was correct. Here is an example.
(We spent the night of 14 Aug 1978 in Cuzco and got up at 4:00 a.m. to catch the train to Machu Picchu. We spent all day climbing around the place (see picture). At the end of the day, everyone else got back on the train and returned to Cuzco. Instead, taking advantage of Maria's knowledge of the area, we hiked a mile down the train track to Aguas Calientes ("Hot Waters"), where we got a room at the only hotel in town; it bore a strong resemblance to a prison cell with its cinder block construction and 20 watt bulb, which only burned for a four hours each night when they turned on the generator.
(We decided to go visit the eponymous thermal baths. Someone at the hotel vaguely pointed out a path, which we walked down. We walked and walked and saw no thermal baths and no signs. It was getting dark. Not even sure if we were even on the right path, we discussed whether we should turn back. After walking for twenty minutes we were on the verge of giving up when the thermal baths came into view. We quickly changed. When we eased ourselves into the pool of hot water and felt the warm bubbles welling up from the sandy bottom and running up our legs, after getting up at 4:00 a.m., after clambering about Machu Picchu, after hiking down the railroad track, the hot water provided perfect relaxation. In fact, for me, it was the highlight of the trip. Warm, soothing, healing. You just float and let yourself go, standing on warm sand. You turn philosophical: What is life but a search for the perfect thermal bath? The admission fee was ten soles, i.e., seven cents.
(We nearly missed the thermal baths, however, because Aguas Calientes was underdeveloped without signs or a clearly marked path. That was 1978. Now Aguas Calientes has a five-star hotel. (For the nights I checked at the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Hotel in Aguas Calientes (pictured below), it was $602 per night. I believe that Pepe, Maria, and I paid $3 each per night.). I talked to someone who had recently visited Aguas Calientes, and they said that no one now visits the thermal baths; Trip Advisor scares tourists away from the thermal baths by describing them as "...murky...not clean...unattractive." First conclusion: Underdevelopment, while not perfect, is better than overdevelopment. Second conclusion: Go to Cuba and get your mamey milkshake before it starts catering to Americans.)
Final Words on Mamey
In heaven the Elect sit around sipping mamey milkshakes in between eating cherry pies. I can't put my hand on the passage in the Bible that promises this, but I'm sure it's in there somewhere; this probably explains why Christianity has done so well.
Rick
