International Cooking Club Dinner at Ron and Brad's

Last night we had a great time in Hawaiian Paradise Park with our International Cooking Club. Once a month we get together for a dinner with a theme set around a particular part of the world. Sometimes it is a region and sometimes it is a country. There are about 45 members in our club, which was started in November of 2008 when were here for the closing on our house. Most events bring in about 25-30 people because there are always some of us who are busy with other activities and travel. Many of the people are ex Californians who are consummate gourmets, with a few people from such places as Idaho, Florida, Canada and Oregon. Given the lack of great restaurants on the big island, this kind of dining experience is much more common among people in our area. Since we moved here we have been to many such dinners including our own Super Bowl Potluck. It is a terrific way of socializing and sharing food. Most of the people in this group are also slow food members, so care is taken to make foods from scratch using as many local ingredients as possible. It is convivial dining at it’s best. Last night was no exception. Brad and Ron opened up their home and Lanai to us and we laughed, talked, hugged and enjoyed the creations of our members from the Pu Pu course to the great coffee and desserts. I rarely eat desserts, but these people take them to a whole new level and it is pretty much impossible to not at least have a few bites of these delectable delights.
I took some pictures at the beginning of the evening and then got wrapped up in the fun and conversation and left my camera in my purse. So you can see us as the evening began with pu pus and drinks.

The theme for last evening’s dinner was Mediterranean. Many countries were represented from Portugal to Greece and everything in between. Brad and Ron’s house has a delightful retro feel to it and was a lot of fun to explore. There was a combination of Hawaiiana and mid century art and the house in typical Hawaiian style led directly to the large lanai and pool area which was surrounded by lush vegetation and exquisite tropical plantings. They had lots of torches burning around the pool and the glow from them was a lovely back light to the evening. These guys are serious foodies and have a well equipped kitchen which was overflowing with wonderful food made by club members.

Our neighbors Maria and Ric came along with us to their first club dinner. They own a B & B and moved here from very close to where we lived in the East Bay. The guys that sold us this house, Hugh and Ray told me ahead of time that Maria and I would be fast friends and we would have many good foodie times together and they were RIGHT! We met them at our super bowl party (also a potluck) last week and had such fun with them we invited them to the club dinner.

Maria made two especially great dishes, for the salad course she made a roasted asparagus salad. But one of the crowning glories of the night was her awesome coconut flan!
I brought bruschetta with luscious local tomatoes from today’s Farmer’s Market and herbs from my garden. I also made a 99% local Greek Salad. Romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and Puna Goat Cheese Farm Feta all from the farmer’s market. For that 1 % that was not local, I did bring some Greek Calamata olives and olive oil from Italy with us and used them in the salad and added lots of parsley, basil, oregano, mint and chives from my garden. I also used a few squeezes of lemon juice from my trees.

There were so many terrific dishes… just to name a few: Bonnie’s assortment of homemade breads delicious. She shall forever more be named Bonnie the Baker! Once I get my wood burning oven made and running I am going to invite her to our communal baking days. We had dolmas made with local lamb by the Richards, Liz made incredible spinakopia (sp?) with chard from her garden. Ron made a tasty pear salad with one of the best dressings I have ever had. Noel made a pu pu with asparagus that was rolled and fried. They were one of my favorite things of the evening. There was delicious Portuguese Bean Soup (one of Wes’ favorite “Hawaiian” foods), a lovely tomato and mushroom casserole, fluffy polenta ala fungi, there was a chick pea dish to die for by Noel, Ron made grilled Greek chicken that brought me to the “other” islands, there was a pasta salad dish and a tomato and cucumber salad too. Russel mad a delicious Paella. The dessert table was laden with amazing things like an almond cake with whipped cream, Maria’s Coconut Flan, a apricot and chocolate flourless cake/torte drizzled with a dark chocolate ganache and studded with almonds and baklava!

The entire evening represented a lot of what we love about Hawaii. The importance of good friends and new acquaintances always welcomed with aloha and sharing foods from the land, prepared with heart and soul. Dining with balmy breezes on lanais, laughing, drinking great wine and sharing the truly great moments that matter around the table (in this case several tables). It just gets better and better.

We will be hosting the March dinner which is penciled in for March 28th right now. It will feature regional Italian foods. If you are interested in joining us, send me an e-mail . Note: most of the people in the club live in Puna and a few of us are in Hilo.

There is a cruise ship pulling in just now… the Spirit of America. Here she is:

When the sun comes out, we are heading downtown for the Bob Marley Day celebration and the Ag Fair. It seems like there is always something going on here, in fact many times we have to choose between 3-4 events.

Cruising Hilo Bay

As most of you know, I live over looking Hilo Bay and one of the things I love about living here is watching ships come and go. Most every morning I am up well before sunrise and in my office over looking the bay. Many times early arriving ships have all of their lights on and are quite a sight to see coming in with a sunrise for a backdrop. I like knowing who these ships are that are visiting us, and so after a little digging, I found some information for the ships that will be visiting us this week. On average we get 2-3 ships a week. This week we get three. On rare occasions (like last week) we even get two on the same day. Hilo is a very deep port and can accommodate the very large cruise ships. Here is what we are looking forward to seeing, starting tomorrow (Sunday) morning:

The Pride of America (Norwegian Cruise Line) arrives at 7 am on Sunday with it's brightly painted stars and stripes bringing 2,250 passengers and 900 crew. It will depart at 6 pm. Although the Norwegian Cruise Line Itinerary says it arrives at 8 am. The disembarking generally begins at two hours after docking and all passengers are to be on board two hours before departing. Gotta count those heads! It is a 7 day cruise and we are their first port after leaving Honolulu. From here they go to Lahaina Maui, then Kahului Maui, next on to Kona, then they spend the night at Kauai and finally head back to Honolulu. The Golden Princess (Princess Cruise Line) arrives at 7am on Monday with 2,400 passengers and 1,100 crew. It leaves our shores at 6 pm. This ship is on a 14 day cruise from LA and will visit Honolulu,Kauai (Nawiliiwili), and Maui (Lahaina) before heading to Ensenada Mexico and then to LA. Just in case you are wondering, it takes 4.5 days of sailing to reach Hawaii from LA, so those folks will be very happy to depart the ship when they arrive in Hilo. This same ship has another identical itinerary later in the month and will arrive in Hilo on the 23rd of February.

How does this look for fun? It is one of many activities aboard the Pride of America. Seems to me it is a counter sea sickness idea... This same ship goes to Alaska during the summers, so we only see her in the winter. On Tuesday at 7am the Mz. Zaandam (Holland America Line) arrives with 1400 passengers and 650 crew members. It departs at 5 pm. Here is how they describe their ship: Designed to carry fewer guests while providing more space for maximum comfort, the ms Zaandam is a prize in the mid-size ship category. Offering spacious public areas and plush accommodations, many staterooms have private verandahs(can't we say Lanais?). Here is a veranda stateroom:The musically themed ms Zaandam offers a unique shipboard atmosphere. Inspired by the world's great music, artifacts and memorabilia from a variety of musical genres decorate the ship. You'll find musical instruments such as Bill Clinton's saxophone and signed guitars from Queen, Iggy Pop, Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones used as art objects throughout the ship. At the heart of the ms Zaandam, in a soaring three-story atrium: a Baroque-style Dutch pipe organ, inspired by the traditional barrel organs still found on the streets of The Netherlands. Enjoy an onboard IPod self-guided tour of the complete Zaandam art collection.This is the ship that is black on the bottom, most others that visit us are all white. Remember that these folks arrive in Hilo after 5 days at sea, we are their first glimpse of Hawaii. Just imagine walking thorough that ugly port as your first time on dry land in 5 days.

This is a real issue to me, because I believe that it is a shame that every week thousands of people are introduced to our little city in a most ugly manner. The port is almost three miles from downtown and 2 of those miles go through what is truly the most unattractive place in Hawaii with big ugly industrial buildings and other icky and sometimes smelly things. On top of that if we are getting a morning shower, they have no place to hide from the rain. Our town is not the Disneyesque Tropical Paradise that Kona or other ports are in the first place, and I like that about it, but taking people through the industrial waste land to get here is really pitiful.

Back to the ship…This ship is on a 15 day circle tour from San Diego, California; Visiting Hilo, Hawaii; Kona, Hawaii; Honolulu, Oahu, United States; Nawiliwili Kauai, Hawaii; Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii; Ensenada, Mexico. It will return on the same schedule two more times later in February and again in March. It also has a 21 day tour and a 19 day tour later in the year. The 21 day tour leaves April 6th from San Diego, California and visits; Hilo, Hawaii; Nawiliwili Kauai, Hawaii; Honolulu, Oahu, United States; Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii; Kona, Hawaii; Ensenada, Mexico; Avalon, Catalina Island; Astoria, Oregon; Victoria Canada; Vancouver, British Columbia.The 19 day tour in October leaves from Vancouver, British Columbia; and visits Victoria Canada; San Diego, California; Hilo, Hawaii; Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii; Nawiliwili Kauai, Hawaii; Honolulu, Oahu, United States; Kona, Hawaii; Ensenada, Mexico. The ship spends the summers in Alaska.

Here are a few pictures of the ships passing our house, the first one is of Valentine watching a ship come in on the Lanai off of my office:

Anchors Away!

What a weekend!

It’s 3:17 am and I am up early as opposed to staying up late. Sometimes my body clock reverts to California time and I go with it. We had quite a weekend and now things are getting back to normal. I needed catch up time to write.

On Saturday we went to a Slow Food Hawaii event at the Lyman Museum., downtown Hilo. It was a fun afternoon, comprised of a spectacular “local food” potluck. The food was great, so many different things grown and made in our area, even some terrific home made beer! We invited two couples and they both attended the event. Noel and Keith who hosted the first International Cooking Club Dinner that we attended last November were there as well as my new friend, Leslie Lang with her husband Marcario and their little darling Emma Rose. She was the only child at the event and was both well mannered and adored by many people throughout the afternoon.

After we sampled the food and drink offerings we were treated by a presentation on Hawaii’s food traditions. Nan Pi'ianaia, the founder of Slow Food Hawaii gave a talk on the actual foods that Sarah Lyman had used during her lifetime as a missionary in Hilo. The agricultural history of the area was a natural extension of that topic as Nan shared from the actual diaries of Mrs. Lyman. Such things as flour had to come around the horn on ships and usually were full of bugs by the time they arrived. Locally the introduction of the sugar cane industry changed their lives as well as that of the boys at their boarding school. It was a very interesting presentation and one that leads me to want to read further about life in the early times of our city and these islands.

Fellow food writer, Joan Namkoong of Waimea shared with us about the “key ingredients” of Hawaiian cuisine. She had queried several well known Hawaiian chefs about what they thought were the most important and iconic elements to Hawaiian Cuisine. It was a pleasure to meet Joan in person after having read some of her food writing.

After the presentations, we viewed the exhibit from the Smithsonian, Key Ingredients – Hawaii Edition. It was the last day of the exhibit so we were delighted to get a chance to see it before it left the Lyman. We really enjoyed our time at the museum and visiting with our new friends. Emma Rose charmed us through the exhibit, proving that there is nothing like seeing things through the eyes of a child.

We wished we had time to see more of the museum and to go on the mission house tour, but we had yet another event to attend and so we ran home, gathered up food and went to a Punaweb party at the Lamont farm in Glenwood. We saw Keith and Noel again there too. It was a fun evening with lots of great food and drink, but most of all it was special because we got to talk in person with so many of the characters from Punaweb ! Pam so generously shared her lovely home and farm with us all. I finally got to see Carey's beautiful mosaic work in Pam's bathrooms too.

Superbowl Sunday was here before we knew it! Time to get ready for our first annual neighborhood Superbowl Party. This was not an easy task because our container and home goods has still not arrived, but we brought in some outdoor furniture from the Lanais and have a few pieces we bought here, so we made it work. We had about 20 guests from the neighborhood and just to keep the theme going, Noel and Keith were there again too! Our good friends Ray and Marsha from Honokaa came and spent the night in our guest room. Our friend Kelly brought Brad and Abel (remember Abel was the one who planted all of our new trees) It was a Pu Pu Buffet and game watching fun on the 6’ HD projection screen. Several of us also enjoyed watching the whales from our lanais. After most of the crowd left a smaller group of 8 of us sat around on the lanai and talked story into the night with the sound of the surf and the spectacular Hawaiian star show above us.

Coming up...

Next weekend we have an International Cooking Club dinner on Saturday night and Sunday is Bob Marley Day and Agricultural Fair in Hilo, so we will be going to the big free Reggae concert in the park and attending the Agriculture Fair with some friends. The following weekend on Valentine's Day is the Hilo Chinese New Year Celebration , so lots more fun stuff on the horizon.

A walk in the park...

Another bright sunny day was inspiration to take our dog, Valentine for a walk and to see more of Hilo. We started out at Wailoa State Park downtown. The park has darling little "rainbow bridges" arching over the fishing ponds. After taking a picture of Vali with the gold guilded statue of King Kamehameha, we ventured on. We saw a flame on some sort of monument and went to see what it was. It was the Viet Nam War Memorial and has an eternal flame on top.

From there we rambled over to the Wailoa Center which focuses on artists from Hawaii. Unfortunately, it was closed so we could not go in, but we do plan on making another visit soon.

Then we saw another memorial, actually from our point of view it was a large mound of lava, but going around to the other side, we discovered the Shimachi Tsunami Memorial, where hundreds of residents were killed in the 1960 Tsunami here at the Shimachi district of Hilo, which is now mostly parkland. The memorial has a beautiful mosaic of the world in the center. There was a couple with a 5 month old baby there with a professional photographer taking pictures of the baby crawling on the "world".

We also saw some of Hawaii's protected and treasured native geese, the Nēnē. This is the world's rarest goose. In 1952 there were only 30 left in the world. Now there are about 1000. Let's just hope that they do not increase in population like their cousins the Canadian Geese which were also protected and now have become a real nusence on the mainland. The ones pictured appear to be a cross breed of some kind, maybe with ducks???

We saw an outrigger rowing club practicing and they yelled out to us. This is a common sight in Hilo, both in the river/ponds and in the bay. We ofter see them out in front of our house past the break water.

We walked back to the car and then went to find a "secret beach" that our friend Kelly had shown Wes a few days before. We found it past the port area and breakwater. It was beautiful, secluded and a few families were there enjoying the day. A few others had dogs with them too, so Vali met some new friends. Surf was up and the whales were spouting in the area. One person told us there was a whale breeching moments before, but we missed it when we were hiking over the lava.

All in all, it was a lovely little outing and a delightful way to spend a few hours walking and seeing more of our new hometown.

This Morning's Sunrise

Most mornings I am work in my office overlooking the bay at 4 am and I await the sunrises as I write. This morning we had a rather spectacular sunrise as well as the treat of seeing two cruise ships come into the bay. It is a beautiful day in paradise!

Pineapple Fried Rice

Ah... pineapples! The symbol of hospitality and probably an icon of Hawaii. Here, you buy a pineapple every week for 6 months and then you never have to buy another pineapple again, because you just stick the top of the pineapple in the soil and it grows and produces another pineapple! What a place to live!

OK... so we have an abundance of pineapple here... and it is wonderful stuff. My favorite are the white pineapples, really lovely flavor and beautiful too. The white pineapples are a bit more expensive here, but all in all, pineapples are available at every farmer's market and grocery store as well as in many gardens and yards. Pineapples are a real value for what they provide. I love them raw and fresh, in kabobs, smoothies and as a sweet addition to many dishes. My favorite way is grilled, where the flavors come to their peak through caramelizing. In my quest to start my own pineapple garden, I have been buying one a week and doing different things with it. Last night I made pineapple fried rice. Since I only made it for the two of us, I did not do it in the shell as the following recipe suggests, but if you are doing it for more people, it is a great way to serve it. You can see by the pictures that our container (household goods moved from California) has not yet arrived here. We only have our outdoor dining dishes (melamine) that I sent over ahead of time. Here is the recipe:

Hawaiian Pineapple Sitr Fried Rice
© Devany Vickery-Davidson, Dinner Party Cooking School

I took Ming Tsai’s basic Fried Rice recipe from the cookbook, Breath of A Wok by Grace Young and Aland Richardson and “Hawaiianized” it for this classic Hawaiian treatment of the Hawaiian staple of rice. In Hawaii, rice is served with every meal, even breakfast. At lunch & dinner it is commonly served even when other starches are present. Rice is also one of the few foods so important to the Hawaiian diet that is not grown/harvested in Hawaii. Fried Rice was the first recipe that Ming learned as a 10 year old boy in his mother’s restaurant, the Mandrin Kitchen in Dayton, Ohio. Interestingly, my husband grew up in Dayton and remembers going there as a young adult on dates! Talk about a small world. You can also add “leftovers” in this recipe. I often add fresh water chestnuts, slivered carrots, diced red peppers, bean sprouts, mushrooms, small shrimp, tofu celery etc. Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish or 2 people as an entrée Ingredients:

A fresh medium sized ripe pineapple
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon palm sugar, brown sugar or sugar in the raw

4 cups of cold leftover rice ( I generally use Brown Jasmine or Basamati but this can be done with any rice except sweet rice or sushi rice)

2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 large eggs beaten
1 Chinese Sausage (Lop Chung) or Chinese Red Pork (Char Siu), cut into 1/8 inch dice *see note4 scallions sliced on the diagonal
2 large shallots or 1 Maui onion finely chopped
¾ cup frozen peas2 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Hawaiian hot chile peppers or 1 red Thai chile or Serano chile, finely diced.
¼ cup Chinese Celery tops (omit if you cannot find this)1 tablespoons of fish sauce
2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce2 tablespoons of palm sugar, brown sugar or sugar in the raw (divided)
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

½ cup toasted chopped macadamia nuts

Method: 1. Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise, and scoop out the fruit. You can use a pineapple cutter or a curved grapefruit knife. Reserve ½ of the pineapple meat and cut the remaining pineapple into chunks about ¾ of an inch in size.
2. Brush the inside of the two pineapple halves with oil or spray with cooking spray. Place in a 375 degree oven or on a grill inside facing down till the pineapple starts to brown slightly (about 10 minutes).
3. In a large bowl place the pineapple and ginger. Stir in 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Stir. This brings out the juices in the pineapple and ginger.

4. Heat a large flat bottomed wok or skillet until a bead of water vaporizes within 1-2 seconds of contact. Stir in one tablespoon of the canola oil and one tablespoon of the sesame oil. Add the eggs and 30 seconds to one minute till the egg has set, swirling the pan so that you get a flat pancake of egg. Transfer the egg to a cutting board and cut into strips. Reserve.

5. Swirl in the remaining two oils and turn up the heat to high. Add garlic, chili peppers, Chinese celery, shallots and stir fry 30 seconds. Add the Chinese Sausage or Char Siu. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add peas, scallions, rice, pineapple/ginger mixture and stir fry another minute.

6. Combine fish sauce., remaining sugar and soy sauce and add to the stir fry. Toss in egg shreds and cilantro. Sprinkle with white pepper and taste. Adjust if needed. 7) Pour the mixture into the pineapple shells. Keep warm in a 250 degree oven till ready to serve. I feel that warming the rice in the pineapple adds additional flavors.

8) Garnish with the mac nuts.
* NOTE: Other protein can be used in place or in addition to the Chinese Sausage, but I believe that pork adds the best flavor. The sausages are available at Chinese Markets/Butcher Shops and look like a small dry skinny salami. You can also use Chinese “Red Pork” Char Siu. Or smoked ham or bacon for this. I personally like the Char Siu best and found it easily in Hawaii. You could also use smoked turkey legs or even leftover smoked chicken if you are on a diet.

Here is a little information on this lovely fruit...

PINEAPPLE
Ananas comosus
BromeliaceaeCommon Names: Pineapple, Ananas, Nanas, Pina.
Related Species: Pina de Playon (Ananas bracteatus).
Distant affinity: Pingwing (Aechmea magdalenae), Pinguin (Bromelia pinguin), Pinuela (Karatas plumier).
Origin: The pineapple is native to southern Brazil and Paraguay where wild relatives occur. It was spread by the Indians up through South and Central America to the West Indies before Columbus arrived. In 1493 Columbus found the fruit on the island of Guadaloupe and carried it back to Spain and it was spread around the world on sailing ships that carried it for protection against scurvy. The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines and may have taken it to Hawaii and Guam early in the 16th Century. The pineapple reached England in 1660 and began to be grown in greenhouses for its fruit around 1720.

Adaptation: The pineapples is a tropical or near-tropical plant, but will usually tolerate brief exposures to 28° F. Prolonged cold above freezing retards growth, delays maturity and causes the fruit to be more acid. Pineapples are drought-tolerant and will produce fruit under yearly precipitation rates ranging from 25 - 150 in., depending on cultivar and location and degree of atmospheric humidity. They are successfully grown in southern Florida and coastal areas of southern California. The small plant adapts well to container and greenhouse culture and makes an interesting potted plant.

DESCRIPTIONGrowth Habit: The pineapple plant is a herbaceous perennial, 2-1/2 to 5 ft. high with a spread of 3 to 4 ft. It is essentially a short, stout stem with a rosette of waxy, straplike leaves.

Foliage: The long-pointed leaves are 20 - 72 in. in length, usually needle tipped and generally bearing sharp, upcurved spines on the margins. They may be all green or variously striped with red, yellow or ivory down the middle or near the margins. As the stem continues to grow, it acquires at its apex a compact tuft of stiff, short leaves called the crown or top. Occasionally a plant may bear 2 or more heads instead of the normal one.

Flowers: At blooming time, the stem elongates and enlarges near the apex and puts forth an inflorescence of small purple or red flowers. The flowers are pollinated by humming-birds, and these flowers usually develop small, hard seeds. Seeds are generally not found in commercially grown pineapple.

Fruit: The oval to cylindrical-shaped, compound fruit develops from many small fruits fused together. It is both juicy and fleshy with the stem serving as the fibrous core. The tough, waxy rind may be dark green, yellow, orange-yellow or reddish when the fruit is ripe. The flesh ranges from nearly white to yellow. In size the fruits are up to 12 in. long and weigh 1 to 10 pounds or more.

CULTURE


Location: Pineapples should be planted where the temperature remains warmest, such as the south side of a home, or in a sunny portion of the garden.
Soil: The best soil for the pineapple is a friable, well-drained sandy loam with a high organic content. The pH should be within a range of 4.5 to 6.5. Soils that are not sufficiently acid can be treated with sulfur to achieve the desired level. The plant cannot stand waterlogging and if there is an impervious subsoil, drainage needs to be improved.

Irrigation: The plant is surprisingly drought tolerant, but adequate soil moisture is necessary for good fruit production.

Fertilization: Nitrogen is essential to increase fruit size and total yield, which should be added every four months. Spraying with a urea solution is another way to supply nitrogen. Fruit weight has also been increased by the addition of magnesium. Of the minor elements, iron is the most important, particularly in high pH soils. Iron may be supplied by foliar sprays of ferrous sulfate.

Frost Protection: Pineapple plants require a frost-free environment. They are small enough to be easily covered when frost threatens, but cold weather adversely affects the fruit quality.
Propagation: Pineapples are propagated by new vegetative growth. There are four general types: slips that arise from the stalk below the fruit, suckers that originate at the axils or leaves, crowns that grow from the top of the fruits, and ratoons that come out from the under-ground portions of the stems.

Although slips and suckers are preferred, crowns are the main planting material of home gardeners. These are obtained from store-bought fruit and are removed from the fruit by twisting the crown until it comes free. The crown may be quartered to produce four slips, in California's marginal conditions it is best not to cut or divide the crown. In Hawaii, go for it. The bottom leaves are removed and the crown is left to dry for two days, then planted or started in water.

Pineapples are planted outside during the summer months. Traditionally, plants are spaced 12 inches apart. Set crowns about 2 inches deep; suckers and slips 3 to 4 inches deep.

Pests and diseases: Mealybugs spread by ants can be a problem. Controling the ants will control the mealybugs. In most commercial growing areas, nematodes, mites and beetles can also be damaging.

Harvest: It is difficult to tell when the pineapple is ready to be harvested. Some people judge ripeness and quality by snapping a finger against the side of the fruit. A good, ripe fruit has a dull, solid sound. Immaturity and poor quality are indicated by a hollow thud. The fruit should be stored at 45° F or above, but should be stored for no longer than 4 - 6 weeks.

CULTIVARS
Hilo
A compact 2-3 lb. Hawaiian variant of the Smooth Cayenne. The fruit is more cylindrical and produces many suckers but no slips.

Kona Sugarloaf
5-6 lbs, white flesh with no woodiness in the center. Cylindrical in shape, it has a high sugar content but no acid. An incredibly delicious fruit.

Natal Queen
2-3 lbs, golden yellow flesh, crisp texture and delicate mild flavor. Well adapted to fresh consumption. Keeps well after ripening. Leaves spiny.

Pernambuco (Eleuthera)
2-4 lbs with pale yellow to white flesh. Sweet, melting and excellent for eating fresh. Poorly adapted for shipping. Leaves spiny.

Red Spanish
2-4 lbs, pale yellow flesh with pleasant aroma; squarish in shape. Well adapted for shipping as fresh fruit to distant markets. Leaves spiny.

Smooth Cayenne
5-6 lbs, pale yellow to yellow flesh. Cylindrical in shape and with high sugar and acid content. Well adapted to canning and processing. Leaves without spines. This is the variety from Hawaii, and the most easily obtainable in U. S. grocery stores.