Mangos, tropical fruit tips focus of international conference

Maui News

“Mango Makers and Food Preservers” will be the focus of the 31st Hawaii International Tropical Fruit Conference held Oct. 8 to 9 at the Maui County Business Resource Center, the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers announced.

The conference will be both in person and virtual and will continue with mini-sessions and tours on Molokai, Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii island Oct. 10 to 14.

Geared toward farmers, educators, orchard managers and proponents of sustainable agriculture, the conference is open to the public. Videos of the presentations will be posted at htfg.org.

Visiting researchers and agro-experts will share information and lead breakout sessions on a variety of fruit-related topics, including the Tatura trellis system, avocados, advanced dehydration and canning methods, propagation techniques and unusual fruits with future economic potential.

Steve Brady will give the keynote speech, “The World of Mangos” with Jane Tai and Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Executive Director Ken Love presenting “Processing and Utilizing Your Fruit to Develop Award-Winning, Value-Added Products.” A tour with farmer Jordan Longman at the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Repository will cover fruit fly trap making and pruning techniques used in Australia and Japan.

A retired internist, Brady has been collecting and growing tropical and exotic fruit for over six decades. He helped found the Naples Botanical Garden and was curator of its Tropical Fruit and Edible Plants Collection. A resident of the Sunshine State, Brady teaches an annual class on mangos for the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Science as well as training classes for master gardeners.

Registration forms and fee schedule are available at www. HTFG.org or by contacting Love at kenlove@hawaiian tel.net or Mark Suiso at mark.suiso@gmail.com. The Maui County Business Resource Center is located at 110 Alaihi St. in Kahului.

Marilyn Monroe’s Stuffing Recipe Stars in a Remake

THE image of a bombshell cooking her way to nirvana may seem old-hat now, thanks to Nigella, Giada, Padma and the like. But back in the 1950s, a Hollywood starlet was not expected to squander her talents (or risk her manicure) chopping onions.

A new book, however, includes a recipe in Marilyn Monroe’s handwriting that suggests that she not only cooked, but cooked confidently and with flair.

“Fragments” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux; $30) collects assorted letters, poems and back-of-the-envelope scribblings that span the time from Monroe’s first marriage in 1943 to her death in 1962. Most of the material, however, dates from the late ’50s, when she was at the height of her fame, moved to New York, married Arthur Miller and connected with Lee Strasberg and his Actors Studio. Her poignant attempts to assert her intellectual side are what have made news about this collection, but the recipe on Page 180 was a bigger revelation to us.

Scrawled on stationery with a letterhead from a title insurance company, the recipe describes in some detail how to prepare a stuffing for chicken or turkey.

HAWAIIAN CHICKEN SANDWICH

Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich, this irresistible sandwich is quick and simple to prepare. The sandwich is made of boiled chicken pieces mixed with yummy mayonnaise sauce served on a bed of fresh salad greens with pineapple pieces placed between fresh bread rolls or croissants.

Before we know about the Sandwich, let’s know why this sandwich is so close to the Hawaiians. It’s because when you think of pineapples which is one of the main ingredients in this sandwich, you immediately remember of Hawaii. Pineapples and Hawaii has a close association that most people assume that the plant is native to the islands.  In fact, pineapples originated in South America and probably did not reach Hawaii until early in the 19th century; the first record of their existence there is dated January 21, 1813.  Don Francisco de Paula y Marin, a Spanish advisor to King Kamehameha of Hawaii, brought the famous fruits back with him to Hawaii, after Spanish and European voyagers had introduced the pineapple to much of the world.