Dried mangoes are quite common place. But this is the first time I come across dried soursop. A friend bought this back from Philippines.
I took out a piece, closed my eyes and took a bite.
I was an explorer during the British Empire. I travel all across Southeast Asia to discover the most amazing fruits and spices, to bring back to the King. On this expedition, I am looking for a spiky fruit with a stinky smell, known to the locals as durian. Initial sources tell me that I can find it in the central islands of the Philippines.
Two days have passed since I entered this jungle. I have yet to find a spiky green fruit. All I have seen are spikes in the trees that have given me all these scratches all over my body. And those pesky insects looking for their next meal (me).
Oh, wait! What is that? It’s spiky. It’s green. Yes, it must be the legendary durian!
“No, that is not a durian”, a voice suddenly came out from behind the trees and startled me.
“W.. who are you? Come out and show me your face!”, I shouted.
A man walked out from behind the trees. He was dressed in traditional warrior clothes. He had a long hollow stick held on his right hand, something like a blowpipe.
“I am the leader of the nearby village”, he said. “Those are not durians. It’s called Soursop. They are different fruits.”
“Oh, really?”, I replied. “I’ve never seen a durian before, so I cannot tell. Does a soursop taste similar to durians?”
“They are very different. You would be running away from here if those were durians. Here, I have some dried Soursop here for you to taste. A specialty of my village.”, he replied.
I took one and tasted it. There is a distinct soursop taste, which sweet and slightly sour. The taste is similar to the soursop fruit, but a bit sweeter. The texture of the dried fruit is quite unexpected. It is soft. It is slightly chewy but breaks easily when chewed. It’s not like the texture of the soursop fruit. In fact, it is more like soft jelly sweets than dried fruits. The closest I can think of is dried mango, but a lot less chewy and a lot more jelly-like. Overall, it was pleasant, provided you like the taste of Soursop.
“Can I buy some of this from you? The King of England will be pleased to try this”, I asked the village leader.
“I can give you some. It’s my compliments to your king. How will you bring it back?”, he replied.
“Odd question”, I thought to myself. Why would he worry about how I will bring this back to England? I replied, “I have in my command His Majesty’s most modern and fastest ship, HMS Speedy. I can get back to England in a month, much faster than a normal ship.”.
The village leader replied, “These soursops will be rotten in a month. Let me give you a ride on my airplane. It will get you to England in 12 hours.”.
Huh? What is an airplane?
This was a gift from a friend who bought it from the Philippines.