Peru, also known as guava. A lovely fruit a zillion hard seeds. Some like it ripe, some have it …well… unripe or is it called raw? But yes some like it really hard and green and some soft and yellow. What dictates your taste? Well as the answer turns out, it depends on the soil condition of your home town. Yes I realize, this piece is highly inspired by behavioral scientists like Dan Ariely and economists like Steven Lewitt. Well I have reading a bit and listening to them on ted.com a tad too much. But that does not take away the finding… allow me…
So how do you like your guava?
While I walk into office from the parking lot everyday, I see a guava cart. The man sells guavas for three four or five bucks a piece. You have an option of choosing how rip you want it, both extremities included. I like them slightly ripe, not complete. Light green or just about yellow not rotting yellow. And I figure they are healthy so yesterday while I was at office instead of having chips or other snacks I sent my peon to get me one guava worth five bucks. I told him to get one and put a bit of salt (not too much). He gets me one really really raw piece. As I sink my teeth in it, I could feel the hard skin and the hard middle. Hard seeds as well. I threw away half of it after forcing myself to eat one half.
I kept wondering. This peon of mine, Vinod, is really a sweet guy. Vinod has grown up in a village and he knows his fruits. During the Mango season he gets us a few choicest of the yellow fruit and he explains exactly how to have them.
And I think he likes me (I hope0. so why would he get me a bad piece? This raw? Today I felt like having another one. I give him five bucks and ask him to get one but this time I told him, get me a slightly ripe piece. Sure enough a tasty ripe one comes along. He likes me :D.
I wondered a bit and then asked him. You like guava’s raw isn’t it? Yes he said. A bit of asking revealed this. He always eats them raw. In his village guavas don’t grow that much. Small trees with a little fruit grow. So typically they pluck the ones that are easily accessible. It’s not a crop that is grown for a commercial harvest. Since there is little fruit, if they do leave it to ripen, the kids throw stones and eat it. The ones that are on top are ones that ripen because no body else reaches them. "Only parrots eat ripe guavas" (I dont think he realised he called me a parrot). They reach on top and eat them. He is from konkan. He says Nashik, Shirdi, Pune are other places where guavas grow well due to the soil conditions. There you get trees with plenty of fruit and are grown commercially. There you get ripe guavas. Since they are plenty of them. In his village no one grows or eats ripe guavas. It is always plucked and eaten raw.
A ha, that’s why he got me a nice beautiful raw guava. I think he spent some time picking the rawest guava he could get his hands on. After all the soil conditions in his village don’t exactly favor ripening of guavas.
There you are… a freak answer to a simple issue.
So how do you like your guava?
While I walk into office from the parking lot everyday, I see a guava cart. The man sells guavas for three four or five bucks a piece. You have an option of choosing how rip you want it, both extremities included. I like them slightly ripe, not complete. Light green or just about yellow not rotting yellow. And I figure they are healthy so yesterday while I was at office instead of having chips or other snacks I sent my peon to get me one guava worth five bucks. I told him to get one and put a bit of salt (not too much). He gets me one really really raw piece. As I sink my teeth in it, I could feel the hard skin and the hard middle. Hard seeds as well. I threw away half of it after forcing myself to eat one half.
I kept wondering. This peon of mine, Vinod, is really a sweet guy. Vinod has grown up in a village and he knows his fruits. During the Mango season he gets us a few choicest of the yellow fruit and he explains exactly how to have them.
And I think he likes me (I hope0. so why would he get me a bad piece? This raw? Today I felt like having another one. I give him five bucks and ask him to get one but this time I told him, get me a slightly ripe piece. Sure enough a tasty ripe one comes along. He likes me :D.
I wondered a bit and then asked him. You like guava’s raw isn’t it? Yes he said. A bit of asking revealed this. He always eats them raw. In his village guavas don’t grow that much. Small trees with a little fruit grow. So typically they pluck the ones that are easily accessible. It’s not a crop that is grown for a commercial harvest. Since there is little fruit, if they do leave it to ripen, the kids throw stones and eat it. The ones that are on top are ones that ripen because no body else reaches them. "Only parrots eat ripe guavas" (I dont think he realised he called me a parrot). They reach on top and eat them. He is from konkan. He says Nashik, Shirdi, Pune are other places where guavas grow well due to the soil conditions. There you get trees with plenty of fruit and are grown commercially. There you get ripe guavas. Since they are plenty of them. In his village no one grows or eats ripe guavas. It is always plucked and eaten raw.
A ha, that’s why he got me a nice beautiful raw guava. I think he spent some time picking the rawest guava he could get his hands on. After all the soil conditions in his village don’t exactly favor ripening of guavas.
There you are… a freak answer to a simple issue.
