FRUITS

Papaws

Mangoes

Mamees

Something sad is happening. Many of Guyana's delightful fruits are on the decline and will probably disappear unless special efforts are made to preserve them as one of the joys of living in Guyana or visiting the country.

Bananas, mangoes and papayas (pawpaws) will no doubt remain available because they are popular commodities the world over and large producers would be more than happy to take over production, as long as they continue to be profitable. Fruits such as jamoons (jamuns) and plums and a host of others are another matter. They are likely to become extinct in Guyana if nothing is done to prevent it.

Mangoes

Even mangoes are likely to suffer. There was a time when Guyanese used to boast that in mango season, they would “turn down the pot” for days and not cook because mangoes were all they ate. This was often an exaggeration, but the incentives to do so were real. There was a variety to choose from: long mango, julie mango, pound mango, Buxton spice, water spice, black spice, turpentine ….. the list goes on. 

The mangoes of Guyana are flavorful, when you can get them. One type of mango is genuinely different from the other. In contrast, mangoes imported into the United States, Canada and such countries are often flat, tasteless and lacking in character.

Bananas

The one dominant variety of banana in world markets, the Cavendish, is becoming less sweet and more starchy. That is the conviction of a growing number of people. Producers have tinkered with it to increase shelf life and uniformity of appearance. They are picked green and hard, giving them less and less time for tree ripening. In the supermarkets of New York, the banana smell is absent and the taste is more starchy.

Guyanese have been accustomed to bananas that have matured on the tree. They are called long banana, apple banana, buck banana, sweet-fig, sour-fig, and cayenne. These are left on the tree to mature and when they ripen both their aroma and flavor are superior.