Folks who grew up on the mainland, where seasonal fare such as stone fruit is well ripened before being picked and sold, insist the summer fruit shipped to Hawaii pales in comparison.
"It’s just simply not even close to eating something tree-ripened. Why eat that stuff when we have our own fruit available?" one Hawaii transplant asked in exasperation.
If you’re thinking that means lilikoi, guava, pineapple, papaya, lychee and mango, you’re right on the money. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. At Frankie’s Nursery, Oahu’s tropical fruit mecca sitting on seven acres in Waimanalo, owners Frank Sekiya and Lynn Tsuruda grow more than 100 varieties of tropical fruit on their property.
If you’re not familiar with chico, sapote, mafai, wax jambu, jackfruit or soursop, you’re not alone.
Elizabeth Dippong, the new pastry chef at Chef Mavro restaurant, recently visited Frankie’s for the first time for a tour and a sampling of tropical fruits. She was interested in fruit she had never tried, an investment in her idea bank for future desserts. Indeed, farm visits have long served as inspiration for her boss, restaurant owner and chef George Mavrothalassitis, who continues to create new menus seasonally with as many fresh and local products as possible.
Dippong was in heaven as Sekiya peeled and sliced an array of tropical fruit bursting with fragrance and flavor. Possibilities abounded as Dippong took her first bites of Mamey sapote, sweet and creamy like a yam; mafai, a Burmese grape that tastes like a tart lychee; jackfruit, a mix of perfumy sweetness and tartness; and juicy, tart and creamy soursop, among other fruits.
As she slurped juicy fruit, Dippong quickly assessed that tropical fruits would generally pair nicely with spices and could work as ice cream or sorbet, among her favorite desserts to make.
"The tropical flavors go well with chili and peppers," she said. "I like the contrast of a little bit of burn in the back of the throat."
As for the farm experience, "it’s pretty mind-blowing," she said. "There’s so much diversity. I can’t believe more locals don’t know about this stuff."
Mavrothalassitis grinned as he looked on.
"Can you see we’re far away from apples and oranges?" he quipped.
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Call Chef Mavro at 944-4714 or visit www.chefmavro.com. Frankie’s Nursery is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays to Tuesdays and 9 to 4:30 p.m. most Fridays and Saturdays except the last Saturday of the month when the staff is at the Kapiolani Community College Farmers’ Market. Call ahead at 259-8737. Also find Frankie’s fruits at the Ala Moana Farmers’ Market the first three Saturdays of each month.
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DESSERT MENU MIXES SWEET WITH SAVORY AND A BIT OF HEAT
Since her arrival at Chef Mavro in March, pastry chef Elizabeth Dippong, 30, has already displayed her chops for creating innovative dishes.
On the summer menu is her first dessert for the restaurant, Name?laka, a luxurious combo of Valrhona white chocolate, yuzu cream, pistachio nuts, Campari (a bitter Italian liqueur), poached lychee and a delicious, vibrant candied basil.
Another chocolate creation incorporates a mango confit seasoned with urfa biber, a Turkish chili.
“I like a little bit of savory in a dessert, like the basil in the Namelaka or the chili in the chocolate,” said Dippong. “For me they go together. A sweet dish doesn’t have to be too sweet, but the savory can’t be too overpowering. It should be kept simple.”
Here are several ideas for other tropical fruit, straight off Dippong’s inspired tasting at Frankie’s Nursery:
>> Frozen treats: “I’m all about cold desserts,” said Dippong, who uses whatever fruit is available to make ice cream or sorbet, which is added daily to Chef Mavro’s menu.
She says frozen treats, along with candies and savory flavors, are the latest dessert trend.
A new fruit to add to her chilly list is soursop, which she thinks is a perfect fit for sorbet. “It barely needs sugar.”
>> Roasting and baking: Mamey sapote, which has the starchy texture and taste (and orange color) of a sweet yam, might do well in the oven, says Dippong. Her idea is to spice it up with nutmeg and roast it, which she said “brings out so much flavor.” It’s a trick she also uses for underripe fruit such as stone fruit.
Dippong also plans to experiment with a sapote bread. The technique for this is similar to making potato bread, meaning the sapote will be mashed or puréed, then added to the dough. “It would be like sweet bread because sapote is sweet, similar to pumpkin,” she said. “Or maybe we could make a cake.”
>> Jellies: To top the sapote bread, Dippong is working on mafai (Burmese grape) jelly.
“It has such a distinct tart taste and an excellent texture for jelly,” she said. “I’ve been imagining what it would be like cooked.”
Dippong says tart fruit have more potential than sweet because the amount of sugar can be controlled.
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