Foraging and the Fruit of Hawaii

Mamey Sapote(sweet potato pie fruit), soursop, and heirloom tomatoes(the yellow ones are called banana legs) All fruit is certified organic and grown right on the farm where I live.

Organic non GMO papaya grown outside my door

This papaya was so sweet and smooth, almost creamy. Now one of my very favorite fruits!

Before I got to Hawaii I had picked some of my own food. Foraging for apples on crisp autumn days, picking grapes on the trellis over our house, wild blueberries in the fields, and of course whatever grew in the gardens, but I can't compare it to the experiences I''ve had here. There's something about going into the humid jungle, picking mangoes off the ground, and eating them as juice drips all over me, that feels so natural and right, like I was meant to be doing it. Instinct takes over.

A couple months ago I was feeling a little let down about the mangoes here. When I came in the winter I saw the giant trees, hundreds of them, and I thought to myself of the feasts I would have when they were fruiting. But then people kept telling me, "oh, those are only common mangoes. They're alright picked green for pickles, but you wouldn't want to eat them." Mangoes in the market were more expensive than any I had seen in my life. In Mexico I was paying about 5 cents per mango, of the best I had ever eaten. Here you can easily pat $5 for a mango, and no, I don't know if they're good because I never bought one. I did buy a few that were $2/pound which were good, but to me that is still very expensive.

When I went to the beach and hot pond a couple weeks ago I saw a few mangoes on the ground, and I knew it must be the season. I picked up one to taste, and it was then I knew that all the people that told me these mangoes were no good had either never tasted them, or were out of their minds. I've never had a fruit so fulfilling, so rich. It was like it had the flavours of every one of the best fruits I had ever eaten. Even hints of durian I tasted. I began searching for more trees and found more fruit than I could eat. It felt so right to be under these giant trees, eating to my stomach's content. I had never had such amazing food, food which I felt was truly nourishing me. I could taste all the vitamins and minerals, and these mangoes made me feel so content and completely fulfilled. For those of you living up north, you know that feeling when you eat a meal of berries, or bananas, or whatever it is, that has been shipped across the world to you, and it's like you're full, but there is something missing, something your body is still asking for? I used to get that feeling quite often when I was living off of old dates, irradiated mangoes, and pesticide covered apples that had been in storage for 6 months. Here I rarely have that experience, and especially with wild foraged food, my body is completely taken care of.

Now, don't decide to come here thinking you can forage for all your food, all the time. I was always imagining a paradise like that too, and maybe it exists, but as long as I've been here, I haven't found as much wild fruit as I would like to have. There are often avocados growing on the roadside all over the place. I have found an abandoned citrus orchard, and guavas, yes, you can find them everywhere at most times of the year. If any of you like to eat noni( the fruit that smells like rotten cheese and sweat, and tastes pretty much like it smells, but with hints of spicy pepper and garlic) there are always abundant amounts to be had. And of course, during mango season there are some to be gathered. The first day I had them there were a lot, more than I could eat or carry home, but when I went again yesterday there were almost none. I imagine there are plenty of people who go searching for them since they seem to be a highly esteemed food in Hawaii. I'm sure there is other free fruit here, and the longer I'm here the more I will find. I'm very grateful for what I have found. It's like one of my biggest dreams can now be ticked off my list. You don't know how many winters I've sat in the cold, dark house, eating old, dry, terrible fruits, dreaming of being in the sunshine, eating tropical fruits from the trees. I'm very blessed.

I know you fruit lovers want to know everything about finding fruit to eat here. I can remember when I would look out the window at the snow outside, and spend hours on the computer, reading about other fruitarian's experiences in tropical countries. I wanted to hear of all the fruits I had never tasted, and learn how to live in these places with little money so I too could reap the bounties of the tropics. I have tried a lot of new fruits since being here, and found so many that are new favorites. It is lychee season right now, and while I had tried them in Canada, and actually disliked them very much, they tasted nothing like the ones I have had in Hawaii. These fruits are like sweet, tangy, perfumed nectar, so divine that they put a smile on your face every time that you eat them. I think my favorite new fruit I've had here is rollinia. I don't know how to describe it so that you'll know how amazing it is. It is sort of like cherimoya, but much better in my opinion. It is very creamy, truly like a thick pudding. It tastes very sweet, a little like lemon merigue pie, and to me, like fresh homemade yogurt.

Fruit isn't that cheap here, not most of it anyway. I could easily spend $20 or more each day on fruit, but I try to keep it down to less than $10. The papayas here are absolutely amazing, and dirt cheap, sometimes as low as 10 for $1, but these are not organic, and most likely GMO. Until I can grow my own, I am making do with these. My body responds very well to them, and I can eat up to 20 each day without having to break my bank account. I had an organic, non GMO one from the farm that I live yesterday. It cost me over $3, the same price I could get up to 30 fruits for at the market, but it was of much better quality. It was probably one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. Papayas are one of my very favorite fruits, and I am forever grateful that I am able to get them in abundance here. If you have very little cash and want to live here, enjoying the fresh, vibrant fruits which grow on this island, you can get on foodstamps very easily, and I hear we have the highest benefits in the US. That is probably because non foods(like grains, beans, and processed things) are very expensive since they need to be shipped in. Also, if you buy fruit in the grocery store you can easily spend $60-$100/day on one person! But luckily foodstamps can be used at the Hilo Farmers Market and you will easily get by with the amount they give you. 

I hope that gives everyone a better picture of the fruit situation here on the Big Island of Hawaii. If there's anything else you'd like to hear about, leave me a comment and I'll make another post about it. As much as I researched before I got here, I feel that the only way to really know what it's like is to come here yourself. There are many things that aren't as wonderful as I had expected, but many more beautiful, amazing things which have truly blown me away. This is an island that seems to have something for everyone. If you'd like to visit feel free to write me, and I can provide you with any info I have about places to stay, and the best sources of fruit that I've found. Aloha!