PB Top 25 Fruits

Ok, I'm a follower on this one, but since my cousins Kent and Heidi have both posted their top fruit list and it is my dream to be as cool as they are, I thought I would let you know my favorite fruits, just in case you were curious. I like to eat all 25, but I enjoy the top few much more than the bottom few.

25. Honeydew/Cantaloupe - Gets a bad rap for being tasteless, but I've had some good melons in my day. It's pretty risky though.

24. Strawberries - I like strawberries, though I'm not crazy about them. This will be the first of 6 berry entries.

23. Kiwi - Good in small quantities. Very sweet.

22. Guava - They used to have a great guava Tang, but it looks like it has been discontinued.

21. Plum - Great snack food.

20. Fig - I didn't know these were classified as fruits, but apparently they are. I've never had one aside from the deliciousness known as fig newtons.

19. Apple - A solid fruit, though I don't usually care for the texture. I can also never remember which of the many kinds I actually like. Great for pies though.

18. Watermelon - Nothing says summer like watermelon.

17. Blackberries - hard to separate all the berries but blackberries are good.

16. Grape - a versatile fruit. I enjoy seedless grapes (got hooked while working in the nursery) and grape flavored Gatorade and Propel. Raisins are awesome too.

15. Lemon/Lime - Sprite has made millions off of lemons and limes. Lemon flavored Gatorade scores highly with me as well. Also goes well on fish. And what about Key Lime Pie?

14. Blueberries - Another solid berry. For some reason, I have an association with Dairy Queen and blueberries.

13. Raspberries - A little more zing than the blueberry. Great for jam too.

12. Grapefruit - I used to hate grapefruit, but it has grown on me. Sometimes tough to find the right kind though. Great for juice.

11. Pomelo - Tasty, but Tang also discontinued this line, which caused me grief.

10. Apricot - Apricot really excels at jam for some reason. I love apricot jam.

9. Coconut - another surprise for me that this is really a fruit. But I like it. The milk is pretty good, though I don't care much for the meat unless it is in a coconut cream pie.

8. Orange - Orange is an all-around performer. A staple in Gatorade, it also shines as slices at sports events, in mandarin form or as a jello flavor.

7. Cranberries - Cranberry scores highly for mixing well with other fruits (credit: Brian Regan). Terrific in juices, it also scores a place on the Thanksgiving table.

6. Nectarines - What a delectable fruit.

5. Bananas - Bananas are not as tasty as several mentioned below, but they win points for versatility. Banana cream pie, chocolate banana shakes (I make these often), banana pudding - the list just goes on and on.

4. Tangerines (Clementines) - A Christmas time favorite at the Broadbent household. We go through these things faster than Halloween candy.

3. Peach - I love a good peach. Fuzzy skin and all. Peaches pack a lot of juicy flavor. Also, my favorite Propel flavor of all time is Peach - and it is nigh impossible to find (especially in Manila).

2. Boysenberries - My dad is somewhat obsessed with boysenberries. We grew tons of them when we lived in California and I spent many an hour picking and eating them. He has tried to grow them in Florida, North Carolina and Houston, with not much success. I especially remember moving from North Carolina to Houston and my brother Phil was charged with holding the potted boysenberries and bringing it into the motel room at night. At one point he set it down on a sloped surface and it almost fell over. From my dad's reaction, you would have thought we were transporting uranium or something. Anyway, boysenberries are awesome - and really shine in jam.

1. Mangoes - I can understand why many people think mangoes are terrible. Because many (most?) of the mangoes in the US are terrible. Many come from Mexico and taste like garbage. I'm not even sure why Mexico keeps sending them up. I guess someone keeps paying for them. The only sure bet I can give you is to ask for "Champagne" mangoes or to buy "Philippine" brand dried mangoes. That will give you the kind of flavor that will do the mango justice. I work with people who have lived all over the world and they all agree that the best mangoes are in the Philippines.

Below is a picture (thanks Heidi) of how to correctly cut up a mango. Unfortunately, I only learned this a few months ago. Previous to this I would just peel the skin and eat recklessly. The reckless method required a lot of flossing after each feeding and was also pretty messy. The method below is definitely the way to go.



Some fruits are not mentioned because I don't care for them, namely pineapple, passion fruit and cherries. Other fruits are not mentioned because I eat them so infrequently that I don't even remember what they really taste like (too numerous to mention)