Hsinchu International Church (Taiwan) - Taiwan Expatriate Food Blog

Entries in cherimoya (2)

Tuesday

30Dec2008

Atemoyas & Cherimoyas

Tuesday, December 30, 2008 at 11:59PM

Atemoya vs CherimoyaAtemoya season is here again. Don't forget to share with a friend.

If you don't remember the difference between slightly sour atemoyas (fenqli shyhjia) and their cloyingly sweet relative, cherimoyas (shyhjia), here is a mnemonic:

Atemoyas are slightly pointy on top, like a capital letter "A"

Cherimoyas are more rounded, like a capital letter "C"

Update on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 07:57PM by

Webmaster

Atemoyas were also mentioned on this blog in January (www.hictw.org/taiwan-expatriate-food-blog/2008/1/14/atemoya-season.html)

Update on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 08:14PM by

Webmaster

Hong Kong people often use less than complimentary language to refer to foreigners: 老番loufan ("barbarians") is a very common expression. Latent racism is probably also responsible for at least one imported fruit name. In Cantonese, cherimoyas are called fan laiji 番荔枝 (literally "Barbarian" lychee). This is presumably a reference to their ugly green appearance, in contrast to "proper" lychees, dainty fruit whose delicate red exterior is much more attractive.

Update on Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 11:26AM by

Webmaster

Notes:

1] I have only studied a little Cantonese, so I am using what I remember of Barnett-Chao romanization (tonal spelling for Cantonese, based on Gwoyeu Romatzyh/National Romanization). Before a vowel, r = low pitch and h = high pitch; After a vowel, r = rising and h = falling.

Fan laiji is probably (my Cantonese reference books are not available) spelled fann lrai-ji: The tones are [HIGH] [LOW]-[HIGH]

Loufan is probably spelled lourfann

2] Fan used in older Mandarin words such as fanchye (tomato) and fanshyrliou (guava) has no derogatory meaning

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Atemoya Season!

Monday, January 14, 2008 at 07:46PM

Rejoice in God's bounty! Atemoya season is here. In Taiwan, atemoyas (the fruit on the left) are often called Fenqli Shyhjia ("pineapple Shakyamunis"). The second word refers to their resemblance to a Buddhist monk with a shaven head; the first word is presumably a reference to their slightly sour taste. Buy atemoyas when they are hard and keep them for a few days until they start to get soft (slightly rubbery). If they are surrounded by fruit flies, they are way past their prime. When your atemoya is ready to eat, rinse it off (always a good idea), slice it open, and enjoy the marvelous aroma and flavor. Don't chew on the hard, black seeds (they contain arsenic; the same goes for apple seeds) and don't let small kids run around while eating atemoya. Sad to say, there have been choking incidents in the past.

The fruit on the right is called cherimoya, called simply Shyhjia (shakyamuni) in Taiwan and Fan laiji in Hong Kong. When ripe, cherimoyas, which have a cloyingly sweet flavor, start to fall apart. Atemoyas taste much nicer, IMHO. Enjoy them while they are in season: make up your own mind! Please do post comments on this weblog.

Atemoya article in the Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atemoya

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HICTW.ORG

Entries in cherimoya (2)

Atemoyas & Cherimoyas

Atemoya Season!