Lansones

Lanzones or lansones are a great favorite with the Filipinos. Lansones is planted for its desirable fruit in Luzon, particularly in Quezon and Laguna Provinces, and occurs wild in Mindanao and Basilan. The fruit is whitish-yellow and occurs in bunches which resemble those of grapes, except that they occur on a single stem instead of a branched stem. The outer skin is fairly thin but is tough and contains a milky juice, which exudes abundantly. This juice deters many foreigners from eating lanzones. If the fruit is peeled, then iced, and eaten within a reasonable time, its flavor is not impaired. The edible part of the fruit is a translucent pulp, which occurs in five sections, one of which usually contains a well-developed seed. The pulp is succulent and delicious, and may be preserved in syrup or candied. The fruit skins are often dried and, when burned, give an aromatic smell, which drives away mosquitoes and makes a pleasant inhalant in a sick room. The seeds are very bitter. The tree grows from 4 to 15 meters in height. The leaves are alternate, 20 to 40 centimeters long, with 5 to 7 leaflets, which are oblong or elliptic-oblong, 7 to 18 centimeters in length, and pointed at both ends. The flowers are small, yellow, and borne on spikes, which are solitary or fascicled on the trunk and larger branches. The fruit is hairy, oblong-ovate or ellipsoid, 3 to 5 centimeters long, and contains seeds, which are surrounded by pulp (arillus). One or two seeds usually develop and the rest abort.

Guava

The guava fruit is green on the outside and almost white in the inside. There are some small seeds in it, which can be eaten. The fruit can be compared with a common pear. The taste is very light sweet. In the Philippines it is also known as "bayabas" and is common in backyards. Guava is rich in vitamin C. It is a wonderful natural remedy for diarrhea - safe enough even for young children. For infants and children under the age of 2, just a cup daily of guava fruit juice is helpful for diarrhea. For older children and adults, a cup once or twice daily of a leaf decoction is the tropical herbal medicine standard. Guava fruit is still enjoyed as a sweet treat by indigenous peoples throughout the rainforest, and the leaves and bark of the guava tree have a long history of medicinal uses that are still employed today.

New Year's Lucky Fruits

Fruit sellers was almost everywhere before New Year Eve. Why? One of the traditions followed by people from the Philippines during New Year is preparing 13 kinds of fruits or more. These fruits should be round and sweet. It's 13 because as Chinese believes is a lucky number and having round fruits signifies coins so having a lot will bring luck and prosperity this coming 2009. So this is not only for Filipino tradition and beliefs but really from Chinese. For sure, the fruit sellers are already experiencing the luck and prosperity way ahead of everyone else. My mother believes this because every new year she really bought any round fruits, is sometimes more than 13 kinds.