Tutored tasting: exotic fruit

19 March 2014
Tutored tasting: exotic fruit

During the cold and wet winter months, fruits from further afield can refresh and lift the flavours of your dishes.

Although exotic ingredients can be pricey, they are worth the extra expense to add colour and flavour to a menu. Improvements in transportation mean it is now easier than ever to get hold of more unusual fruit and vegetables at wholesale markets, such as London's New Covent Garden Market.

Here, Vernon Mascarenhas of First Choice Produce takes us through a selection of exotic fruit supplied by Gilgrove, alongside chef/proprietor Anthony Demetre of restaurants Arbutus, Wild Honey and Les Deux Salons, who shares his ideas for their use.

LYCHEES

Properties Lychees are covered in a red rind and have a grape-like texture. The brown or pink shell can be easily peeled to reveal a white, syrupy ball. Aside from a wondrously sweet taste, the lychee comes with numerous health benefits. Just nine small lychee will provide an adult's daily allowance of vitamin C.

Usage Lychee syrup is often used in desserts and is used to make a sweet wine in China.

Notes The fruit was a favourite of Chinese emperors as early as 2000BC.

MANGOSTEEN

Properties Native to the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas, mangosteens are round and purplish-brown with creamy fruits with a citrus taste.

Usage Great in a sorbet or as a standalone fruit.

Interesting fact The number of pods inside the rind corresponds to the number of tiny tabs seen on the bottom of the fruit.

POMELO

Properties A citrus fruit native to South-east Asia and Malaysia, and an ancestor of the grapefruit. It is pale green to yellow, with sweet white (or pink or red) flesh and very thick pith. It is the largest citrus fruit.

Usage In South-east Asia it is eaten raw, sprinkled with salt or dipped into a salt mixture. It is also used in salads and drinks. Marmalade can be made with the peel, or it can be candied and dipped in chocolate. In China it is stir-fried with pork.

Interesting fact Pomelo is one of the ingredients of Forbidden Fruit, a liqueur dating from the early 20th century, most famously used in the Dorchester of London cocktail.

RAMBUTAN

Properties Native to the Malay Archipelago from an evergreen tree, the Rambutan has a hairy, leathery, red skin covered with spines. The skin can be peeled to reveal a sweet and syrupy white ball. A small amount of flesh can be removed from the hard core.

Usage Rambutan is delicious in fruit salad and a great plate decoration. It also works well in curry pastes.

Notes Best enjoyed when fully ripe. Look for a bright red exterior with no white spots. Good quality rambutans have flesh that comes off the seed easily without too many bits of wood attached.

THAI GREEN MANGO

Properties This hard, starchy, green version of a mango is not a dessert like its sweet yellow cousin. It is an unripe mango, and has long been highly prized in South-east Asian cuisine.

Usage Green mangoes have a great tart, sour flavour and a crunchy texture. Often used in main dishes and salads in South-east Asia.

Notes Pick one that is rock hard and bright green.

SUPPLIER CONTACTS

For supplier information, contact First Choice Produce (020 7498 0550, www.firstchoice-produce.com) or Gilgrove (020 7720 7575, www.candcgroup.co.uk).

For more information on New Covent Garden Market or to book a workshop, call Melissa Hayles on 020 7501 0973 or visit www.newcoventgardenmarket.com

WHAT THE CHEF SAID: ANTHONY DEMETRE

Chef-proprietor, Arbutus, Wild Honey and Les Deux Salons

They work particularly well with British seafood. We serve a green mango salad with langoustine and pickled pineapple, where the sourness complements the sweet flavours in the shellfish.

I also make my own chaat masala, a spice mix that requires green mango powder called amchoor. It works well with fresh mango or other fruit/spicy salads. It can be difficult to obtain, but I would recommend the Spice Shop in Portobello Road Market.

Pomelo is similar to grapefruit, but is less tart with big, chunky segments. It can be tricky to separate the cells from the membrane, but dropping them briefly in a calcium solution can make the task far easier. You can candy the peel and use it for desserts, too. It's also delicious with dried shrimp, nuts and chilli, and with herbs like mint, coriander and basil.

We make a marmalade with pomelo, honey, pink grapefruit juice, chilli and ginger. I serve this with lacquered eel, kohlrabi and pickled mushrooms. We also use this marmalade with white fish.

I love mangosteen - we make a dessert with it similar to a crème caramel.

And it's not just the kitchen where these fruits work - the bar at Wild Honey is a real hub. We're using spherification techniques to create cocktails with lychees and rambutan, bringing back the spirit of the old temperance bars, but in a modern way.

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