February 24th, 2012 – Pavones, Costa Rica

One of the great perks of living in a tropical place such as Pavones, Costa Rica is being able to enjoy exotic fruits that surround us.  There are so many different types of edible fruits that grow here, its unbelievable that most of them are unheard of in other parts of the world.  One of my favorite fruits in the area is called Biriba (Rollina Mucosa).  I’m even luckier to have one of these trees in my backyard.

This fruit has been said to have originated in the Amazon.  The Bariba tree will grow anywhere from 4-15 meters in height and will start producing fruit after three years from planting its seeds.   When read to be harvested, the fruit turns from green to yellow.  In its pre-ripe green stage the fruit is a hard fruit and as it becomes ripe it softens up and turns yellow, kind of like a sponge.  Its shelf live is short lived, after just about 2-3 days it turns black and starts to become spoiled.  This is one of the reasons why it does not travel well and is not exported. The fruit itself is very distinguishable from its bumpy surface with soft spines.  Its taste is awesome which can be described as a creamy mango-kiwi custard.  Next time you come into town, ask one of the locals where you can try one of these great exotic fruits of Costa Rica!