Tropical Fruits
One of the things that we enjoy the most during our trip to Hawai'i is the tropical fruits. We enjoy them the most, when they can be had from the trees, fresh and allowed to become ripe on the tree. Having said that we realized that there are tourist traps in every touristy place. Maui is no exception.
Above picture of a fruit platter is from our last meal at our resort before we left Maui. Pictured are pineapple, papaya, guava with pink pulp, raw mango and (sitaphal) cherimoya.
Some Observations and Tips:
Farmer's Markets : Some of these are not really " farmer's" markets. You can find Maui Gold pine-apples at Costco for $2.50 ish. At airport they sell these for $8 and the farmers markets will sell you pine-apples for $5 - $7. We found Maui grown papayas at Costco: 4 for $6. Typical farmers market price was $2-3 for a papaya. Even the fruit stands by the road-side can be tricky. Be careful of tourist traps.
Sugarcane juice : Maui has lots of sugarcane crop. Ask if you are getting freshly squeezed juice. At one shop we got the juice poured form a thermos. It was more ice than juice any-way.
Bringing fruits on plane: Nothing other than pine-apple can be imported to mainland.It does not matter if you have cut the fruit and removed the seed. It cannot be taken past the agricultural inspection center. Not, unless it is cooked. We were able to get jack-fruit seeds which were baked.
Ginger: We have included a picture of a ginger plant, so that you can spot it on one of the many trails. Ginger grows widely and wildly in the rain-forests. Can you notice the ginger root at the base of the plant?
