Farm markets in Kauai: exotic fruits an vegetables • Neyu Ma

When I travel I like to go to local markets. I like to interact with the locals, try all their products (especially fruits) and ask any curious things that appear on my mind.

I went to two different Farm Markets in Kauai . The one in Hanalei (Saturday morning) and Waipa Market (Tuesdays at noon)

In both I found more or less the same. In fact most sellers attend both markets, but I liked Hanalei better; it is bigger, with more stands, more diversity, music and prepared food ready to eat.

In fact, a couple days ago, I was told that Hanalei Market has been voted one of the top 5 markets in Hawaii magazine’s Readers Choice Awards.

Besides fruits and vegetables they also sell handmade clothing and jewelry. I bought this bracelet made with seeds.

All the sellers were very kind, letting me taste everything and answering all my questions.

I even found a Warung with Balinese food, so I decided to eat there, enjoying live music and talking with other people.

The diversity of fruits and vegetables they sell is amazing. I tried all they had for sale during those days and bought my favorites to eat at home.

Here you have some of the fruits and vegetables I found.

Breadfruit

It is a fruit of variable size that can weigh 6 kilos. Green on the outside and white-yellow inside.

Its pulp is creamy and sticky. The knife and table we used to cut it remained sticky even after washing! Haha

We were told you could eat the fruit raw or cooked. We opted for the second option; cutting and roasting it on the barbecue like a potato.

This was the result.

I did not like it much. I ate a little bit, but it’s not something I would buy and cook again.

I also tried the chips they were selling ready to eat on the market. In this case I liked those better; it tasted like potato chips…

Cocoa

I love cocoa. I eat them almost daily in small doses.

I never had the opportunity to see cacao fruit in person before, so I liked to see and know the whole process of cultivation, harvesting and processing of the final product we eat.

When you open the fruit you see a white pulp with a delicious taste, wrapping the shells of the cocoa beans.

Once the seeds are seperated, it proceeds to fermentation thereof and finally left them to dry.

When the seeds are dry, they are selected and bagged to be sent to factories producing chocolate.

These seeds can also be consumed directly without processing; I tried it and I did not like it.

If you would like to see this process in person, there are several farms that offer guided tours. Here you have the websites of two of them: Grand Island Chocolate and Steelgrass Farm.

Creamy apple

The outer part is red and it looks like an apple, but when you open the fruit, it looks completely different.

The interior is fuchsia and white. The pulp is sweet and creamy. It’s pretty good.

Egg fruit

It is yellow and oval shaped. The texture of its pulp is very similar to egg yolk. The flavor is sweet, like a pumpkin or a sweet potato.

Soursop

This is without any doubt my favorite fruit of the trip.

The outer part is green and it looks like jackfruit.

The pulp is white, with a sweet taste; to me it reminded me of some kind of creamy yogurt with lemon, pineapple and banana. The texture is creamy but also fibrous.

broke it in half and emptied it with a spoon, removing the black seeds it contains. The look is not very appetizing, but the taste is really good. But, I know people who do not like it … I think it’s a fruit that either you like it a lot or do not like it at all.

Cinnamon Pear

I can’t say much of this fruit because when I bought it I was told it would be ripened in 3-5 days. I waited until my last day in Kauai because I felt I was not ready and when I tried it, it had this sticky texture of pear-banana green. So I don’t know exactly how its flavor and texture like when it is ripe and ready to eat…

Noni

For this fruit I’ve written a whole separate post, because I think it’s an interesting fruit with many properties.

If you want to learn more, you will find more information here.

Grapefruit

I had already tried this fruit before and I didn’t like it, so since I was full I didn’t try it again.

The taste is bitter and sour and texture is like an orange.

Papaya

You can find this sweet and delicious fruit all year around in Hawaii.

It is a fruit that helps improve the digestive process.

I really like it, but last week someone told me that every time she eats papaya she feels like she is eating fish and I couldn’t understand why because it doesn’t look like fish, it doesn’t smell like fish and it doesn’t taste like fish. Well, so do you know what? Now when I eat papaya I have that fishy taste too!! L

Zucchini

I mention this because I thought it was curious its shape. I did not buy it, but they told me the taste is the same as than of the elongated zucchinis.

Beans

Purple and green, consumed raw or cooked. I tried them raw and I liked it, but with no fanaticism … haha

Yellow watermelon

Outside it has the same appearance as a normal watermelon but the inside is yellow.

I was told that the taste is very similar to the red watermelon and that usually they have fewer seeds, but I thought it was sweeter than red ones.

It was delicious! I ate a whole one by myself!

Pineapples Sugar Loaf

This is the best pineapple I’ve ever eaten in my life. It is sweeter and less acidic than the normal version.

It is quite expensive ($ 5/lb), but all the pulp is edible; the heart is not hard, it is soft and fluffy as the rest of the pineapple.

I did not buy it in the local market, I bought it at Poipu Living Foods Market and buy another in Harvest Market in Hanalei.

I love the writing:

Aloha I am a Kaua’i Sugarloaf Pineapple. I have been meticulously hand picked at just the perfect ripeness. Please enjoy me immediately.

P.S. I won’t return yellow and I won’t get any riper. You can eat the core, it’s sweet and soft.

Mahalo!

Paul and Jude Huber

Japanese eggplants

The taste is the same as the “regular” eggplant. I was given recommendation to cook them on the barbecue, without cutting or opening them and that’s what I did. I liked them a lot, but I could not eat the peel because it was too thick.

Chirimoya

I remember I tried this artichoke shaped fruit when I was little and I did not like it. I think it was because of the texture … well, never mind, now I really like it !! It is a mixture of pineapple and pear. Why do all fruits remind me pineapple? I think I have an obsession with pineapples!

Banana

Small and cute.

Some more yellow and other green with purple tones.

Mini – coconuts

Coconut is always delicious. This time I decided to take a ripened brown coconut to eat dry pupa.

I love it!

Lilikoi (Passion fruit)

It is sour and sweet at the same time, widely used in mixtures of tropical juices, jams and ice cream.

Lychee

It is one of the most popular fruits in Hawaii. On this trip I could not eat them because the season runs from May to August, so I couldn’t find them in any market.

Anyway I had already tried them before and I can say it is a delicious fruit; sweet and with firm texture.

Nuts

I also want to highlight the delicious nuts grown in these islands, especially macadamias.

If you love nuts (like me) you should visit the store Kauai Nut Roasters, located in Hanalei, where they roast different nuts daily with different flavors.

The owner is super friendly and allows you to try all the varieties they offer.