Welcome back to the fourth edition of Food Fight! Every week, we will discuss two of our favorite foods or food orders and battle it out to see who wins. This week, we are diving into fruits to argue what is (objectively) the best!
Charlotte: It doesn’t get better than mango
When you want some fruit, what do you want? Do you want sweet golden nectar with a bold, yet subtle flavor? Succulent, juicy flesh that melts in your mouth? A beautiful bite that leaves you longing for more? If you said yes to any of the above, mango is the obvious choice. I’m a self-proclaimed fruit fanatic, and I can confidently say that mango is the one fruit that I have never ever gotten sick of. This is coming from a person who eats fruit in what my parents call “excessive amounts.”
For perspective, I once consumed each of the following in one sitting: half of a full-sized watermelon, 12 clementines, two pounds of strawberries, two pounds of blueberries, six alphonso mangoes and a whole honeydew melon. For clarification, each fruit was a different sitting, in case you were getting concerned or dubious about how feasible it would be to eat all of that fruit. My point is, I like fruit. A lot.
I like to think that I’ve tried a good variety of fruits, and nothing seems to top a beautifully ripe mango. I will insert one caveat: A lot of the mangos that are available in grocery stores are often picked much earlier than they should be and are left to shelf-ripen, which significantly alters the flavor profile and texture of the fruit when it ripens. Usually, you’ll run into fibrous and flavorless fruit, but if you pick a good batch, it’ll taste like a slice of heaven. I’ve experienced more consistency in flavor, texture, and deliciousness with alphonso mangoes, which are smaller and are usually yellow all over.
Mango just never gets old, and each time, it brings me so much joy to eat. It tastes so good that it’s hard to believe that it’s also relatively good for you! For the health-conscious, it’s relatively low in calories, high in vitamin C and beta-carotene (an antioxidant). Just don’t look too hard at the sugar content, but if you do, a whole mango still has less sugar than a can of soda. Maybe that’s why mango tastes so delicious.
For fans of delicious sugary fruit, consider trying sugar apples if you ever get the chance! It’s a weird looking fruit, but boy is it delicious! It’s not super common in the states, but it boasts a custardy, sweet flesh that always makes my mouth water. I think it’s really hard to go wrong with mangoes—if you don’t like mango, you just haven’t tried the right one!
Naiiya: It’s strawberry.
Really not a hard one guys. I am taking a different approach than Charlotte because a widely loved fruit is the BEST fruit. Who doesn’t love strawberries? They go with everything. There’s no question that a mango is yummy, but not to all. The pickiest eaters I know love strawberries. They wouldn’t dare touch a mango! My family loves mangoes. However, the stringiness of the mango is not for people who suffer from textural issues. I cannot handle the feeling of mango strings stuck in my teeth. A strawberry would never betray me like that.
Ever had a chocolate covered strawberry? Yeah, that should have your answer. I am not going to eat a mango with chocolate. Strawberries are yummy, versatile and so widely available. We are not gatekeeping strawberries from the public. I am not a mango hater, but it is not the best fruit. The best fruit is not one that is so difficult to find ripe or is so difficult to cut.
Go visit a strawberry farm and you will have your answer. Unsure if you can visit a mango farm.
Naiiya + Charlotte: Rotten fruit
Starfruit is crazy overrated for something that really doesn’t taste all that good. We are convinced that the only reason it’s still eaten is because of its star shape after you cut it (which is cool). Starfruit is surprisingly tart and flavorless and gets damaged relatively easily, meaning any fruit you get is probably not in peak condition. 0.5 / 5 Stars for starfruit (it gets a half point out of pity; it still is edible).