APPLES, BANANAS AND BALIMBINGS

To this day, many people still think that the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden was an Apple. Could this have been started by an American? The Apple is never mentioned in the Bible and is referrred to only as the forbidden fruit. However, the Koran is more specific in saying that the forbidden fruit was a Banana. Now, as to what type of Banana it was, a lacatan or a latundan? Well, we better just inquire from our Moslem brothers. The Apple is just one of many fruit varieties that have originated with the common blooming rose. Others include the Pear, Peach, Plum, Apricot and Cherry. Many fruits can be traced only to their discovery by explorers. The Lime, for example, wasn't identified until the 17th century, when sailors traveling to the New World drank its juice to prevent scurvy, a malady caused by Vitamin C deficiency. Since then - and to this day, citrus fruits have attracted a large cultish following as wellsprings of vitality and good health. Among them, Oranges, Grapefruits and Tangerines. However, gourmands in many places prefer Kiwis, Kumquats and Mangoes. Yes, Mangoes - and the Philippine type is king. The best Mangoes are said to come from Guimaras, an island in Southern Philippines. And then, we have the Coconut, an unbeatable source of several useful items. An edible pulp, a refreshing sweet milk that can quench even the toughest thirst, and a valuable oil ideal for making margarine, soap, and suntan lotion. The fibers from the Coconut husk itself are used in fashioning rope, and the tree's trunk is a valuable type of wood used for building huts and fences. Cocolumber is an essential by-product of the Coconut tree and is very popular in the furniture industry. And then we have the legendary Fig, which is also deeply rooted in the story of the Garden of Eden, where its leaves were believed to have clothed Adam and Eve after their fateful meal. Figs and Dates provided sustenance for the early Greeks, and the trees of both remain heavily cultivated today along the Eastern Mediterranean. But the most celebrated local fruit of all is of a political variety, and can be found in abundance inside the Batasan Complex. The English name for it escapes me for now, but the Balimbing is an "honorable" fruit, if you ask me. And, to add injury to insult, the more rotten, the more acceptable since it is always in good company. Just recently, these forbidden political fruits have been creating many jams, so to speak, and the latest is affixing their signatures to transform the House into a Constituent Assembly a.ka. Con-Ass. These fruits need to be processed to a pulp and then preserved forever as a reminder of how bad a bunch of fruits can be - in season or out of season.

(Image from http://www.globalpinoy.com/)