Ever been to an international grocery market and didn’t recognize half of the fruits that were stocked? Or how about a tropical vacation where you had the opportunity to feast on new and exotic fruits? Wanna widen your knowledge of fruits? Tired of the common grocery store fare (e.g., apples, oranges, bananas, and grapes)? This article can help.
The tropics are known for many things, and unique fruit is one of them. This article will cover many obscure and widely unknown tropical fruits and fruit tree species as a basic introduction to their characteristics, taste, etc.
Tropical Fruits and Their Trees Species
Longan (Dimocarpus longan)
An absolute gem, this tree grows fruit in bundles like grapes, and about the same size as grapes too — perhaps a little bigger. The fruit comes with a tough, brown shell that easily bursts with a light squeeze. Inside is a strange, opaque white, and circular fruit with a circular, marble-sized seed pit.
It is juicy and has a subtle sweet taste that (to me) is delicious. Longan trees are native to Asia but have been planted throughout the world in warm regions. Longans are related to lychee trees by family.
Lychees (Litchi chinensis)
Ever heard of it? I have only had canned lychees, which you can find at international markets, but not the pleasure of trying fresh ones. These fruits are similar to longans in anatomy (a circular, small, hard shell surrounding fruit, pit in the middle, white flesh on the inside), but the general appearance is quite different. Lychees are pink/red with curved spines all over the outside. They look like some sort of sea creature.
Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)
Believed to be native to Africa, this tree has a long history in South Asia, and more specifically, India. It grows all over the world in warmer regions. Tamarind trees grow a pod-like fruit containing a pulpy flesh within the fragile brown exterior. The fruit itself is sour, sometimes being described as sweet and tangy. It is often used as a souring agent in food or made into date-tamarind curry pastes. My first exposure to tamarind was in Senegal, West Africa, and I was delighted with the taste. However, I was in for a surprise when I bit down full force on the very hard-on-the-teeth seed contained within the fruit.
So be wary of the seeds if you’re indulging in tamarind. If you cook with tamarind, you will learn for yourself and know to be cautious. You can often find tamarind sold in bags in international markets.
Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota)
A palm sized, football-shaped fruit with the skin being brown and the inside flesh being orangey-brown (like a sweet potato) to light tan, this fruit is delicious. More commonly known as sapodilla (pronounced sapo – dee – ya), it is great for those with a sweet tooth — as it tastes almost like pure brown sugar. When it’s ripe, it will easily burst open in your hand, juicy and ready to eat. The seeds are obvious inside and will be of no tooth-cracking harm.
This tree is originally native to Southern Mexico and neighboring countries, but it has spread further north and south from there to areas that have an environment warm enough to be hospitable.
Canistel (Pouteria campechiana)
Native to Mexico and Central America, the most interesting thing about this fruit is perhaps its texture. I don’t think there’s anything quite like it. The flavor is nice, unique, and sweet, while the texture is … dry. Have you ever seen a dog trying to eat peanut butter? That’s sort of the way you have to eat canistel. You suck on it to soften and eat it, but if you can be okay with that effort, the mild, sweet flavor is nice.
The fruit is bright yellow and teardrop-shaped, with sizes ranging from a small orange to a grapefruit.
Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica)
这种树原产于中国和日本,现在生长在美国各地的温暖气候。这是一种常青树,结着一串串亮橙色的果实,椭圆形到梨形,长约一英寸。这种水果吃起来像是杏、菠萝和苹果的混合体,果皮也可以食用。虽然很小,但这种水果富含营养物质和植物化合物,可能对心脏健康有益,抗癌特性,增加代谢健康,并作为天然的抗炎剂。
这种树因其美味的味道、健康的益处以及视觉上的愉悦而越来越受欢迎。
Star Fruit (Averrhoa carambola)
This unique and fun species is native to Southern Asia, and has been transported and widely cultivated throughout the world in warmer climates. Like most fruit trees, there are many different varieties of star fruit, (called carambola). The varieties can be surprisingly diverse in taste, size, and color.
These sweet, tangy, citrusy fruits can make a showy garnish on drink glasses, be baked into sweet treats, or simply enjoyed as they are (my favorite).
The shape stays pretty consistent though, in that it is — if the name didn’t give it away — star shaped.
Monstera (Monstera deliciosa)
If you’ve visited the tropics, you’ve probably seen these beautiful plants with their unique, gigantic leaves in a natural environment. They’re evergreen, and characteristically shaped like the above image, although, when completely healthy, they will be solid green. Most people don’t know that these lovely plants also bear fruit. The fruit they bear grows from the base of the plant, straight upward. It has odd, square-shaped scales that will pop up and fall off when fully ripened and ready to eat. It ripens from the top down, a little bit at a time which means you can only eat a little bit at a time. It has a sweet, tangy, pineapple-y taste.
*You have to beextremely carefulwhen you are consuming monstera fruit. When it is not ripe, it has properties that aretoxic and can cause your throat to swell up. Ripened fruit is safe to consume, but consume in small quantities at first to be sure you are not allergic.
Noni (Morinda citrifolia)
An interesting fruit native to the Pacific, noni has been spread throughout the world. Vegans may be the primary consumers of this fruit as it has a unique, blue cheese flavor (many people do not like it for this reason, saying it tastes like dirty socks). Noni is native form Southeast Asia to Australia, but grows rapidly in any hot, humid climate. Once in the rainforests of Costa Rica, I found several noni trees growing on their own along the coast line and was amused to notice this was the onlyripe fruit the monkeys weren’t devouring. When it’s ripe it will fall off the small tree and into your hand.
The fruit itself looks about as odd as it tastes: whitish-green and slightly see-through with indents that are yellowy all over the lumpy, oval-shaped fruit. This fruit is widely used for its amazing health benefits, and because of them, has become popular, regardless of its taste.
Coconut (Cocos nucifera)
Coconut? Yes. I’m sure everyone has heard of coconut, knows what it tastes like, where it comes from, etc. Well, I’m here to tell a slightly different side of coconut that many don’t know. At different cycles of its growth, coconut is good for different uses. You see, new coconuts (coconut babies, some may say) that are fresh on the tree are the best ones to harvest for coconut water.
New coconuts are generally packed full of water and not so full of the white flesh. The longer a coconut has to mature, the denser the white fruit will become (both in the amount present and consistency). If you allow a coconut to fully mature, it will not contain much water and have a lot of delicious, hard, coconut flesh to consume (you can eat the thin brown layer surrounding the fruit as well — though it’s not as tasty). There’s one more, much less common way to consume coconut (and maybe the most delicious).
When a coconut has fallen and is allowed to sprout on the ground, growing an entirely new plant, there is a precious stage in which you can obtain angel cake consistency fruit. When the sprout has just started growing, or reached a foot or so in height, you can uproot it, open the coconut husk, and inside will be a white, sponge cake-y substance that tastes like very sweet, light fluffy, coconut! It’s as if you bought a coconut pastry at a bakery! It’s delicious.
Black Sapote (Diospyros nigra)
This fruit is interesting in that it isn’t edible or desirable until it seems to be rotten. You see, when black sapote is ripe, it is so squishy that the slightest touch can puncture its skin. Plus, it may ooze and begin to blacken in color, turning from green to black before it’s ready to be consumed. This may sound unappealing, but what makes this fruit desirable is that it tastes like chocolate pudding when it’s ready — mildly sweet, chocolate pudding. It’s great for making delicious and nutritious desserts, from brownies to ice cream.
Generally, the fruit will not ripen all the way on the tree without falling off and smashing. It’s best to pick it and allow it to ripen on its own off the tree in a safe place. This tree is native to Mexican coasts and Central America and is mainly cultivated in these areas.
Granadilla (Passiflora ligularis)
Many of the fruit trees on this list are favorites, but granadilla has a special place in my heart for being both fun and delicious. It has the appearance of an orange with a slightly more teardrop-shape. However, instead of a leathery skin, granadilla has smooth skin and a Styrofoam consistency that can easily be punctured with your fingers. On the inside, granadilla has what appears to be an “alien egg sack” of deliciousness.
In all seriousness, the edible inside of the fruit is a small sack full of seeds, with the film around the seeds being the fruit. They are edible, and you don’t really need to chew them, as the entire center sack is easily slurped and swallowed.
格兰纳迪拉与火龙果有关,火龙果包围种子的部分与石榴相似。
Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)
顾名思义,面包果因其内部的粘稠度和外观而闻名。它也可以被解释为有肉的一致性。有一次我在做饭的时候,差点骗过我哥哥,让他相信我在煎一些有趣的肉。他很惊讶,因为我的饮食通常不包括肉。无论如何,面包果与油和大蒜一起烘烤,都是一道美味佳肴。这种水果可以作为甜食或开胃菜烹饪。如果你读过《海底两万里》里关于诺第留斯号潜艇和尼莫船长的故事,那么你可能已经对面包果很熟悉了(他们对面包果评价很高)。它是怎么生的?生食可能会要了你的命!
*Breadfruit istoxic if it isn’t cooked, and without cooking it first, can only be ingested when it’s half rotten — but it isn’t advisable.
Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
这两个物种与面包果属相同,是近亲。然而(成熟后)这种水果是完全安全的,不需要烹饪就可以食用。很多人喜欢煮菠萝蜜。纯素主义者和素食主义者用它来代替肉类(你不一定非要是纯素主义者或素食主义者才能这样享受水果)。你可能会问,为什么?因为菠萝蜜的质地类似于肉类,而且味道很容易加入到美味的食谱中,比如牛肉酱和烧烤。即使不烹煮,菠萝蜜也很美味。许多人将其味道和气味与菠萝和芒果相比较。对我来说,它在嗅觉和味觉上都是“泡沫软糖”。真正的水果生长在种子周围,在每个水果口袋之间都有一个白色的、浅色的果肉,不是特别好吃,也不是你想要吃的部分。 You can eat it, to be clear, but it isn’t the best-tasting part. Sort of like the white parts of oranges. Jackfruit is native to Southern Asia, but has been widely spread and cultivated throughout the world in warm, tropical regions. The way jackfruit grows on trees is odd-looking. Jackfruit grows right out of the trunk, and can reach upward of 30 pounds! When jackfruit is ripe, the outside becomes squishy and a pungent, delicious scent is emitted. If there is no scent, the jackfruit is not ready. After harvesting, it’s advised to let the stem hang and drip, as latex will be seeping from the fresh cut.
*对乳胶过敏的人在尝试这种水果时要小心。菠萝蜜,尤其是未成熟的菠萝蜜,含有大量的天然乳胶,会导致对乳胶敏感的人产生反应。成熟的菠萝蜜几乎不含乳汁,但未成熟的菠萝蜜不能食用。里面会滴满白色乳胶。了解你过敏的严重程度,并采取健康的谨慎措施。
Custard Apple (Annona squamosa)
An apple? Didn’t we say in the beginning of this article that we were steering away从常见的水果?是的,是的,我们有,但这不是你平常吃的苹果。事实上,它一点也不像苹果。这种水果的果皮是绿色的,完全成熟后很容易弄黑。皮肤的外面有鳞片的样子(虽然没有鳞片)。里面有柔软多汁的白色果肉,滑滑的,里面有黑色的种子。
实际上,水果果肉分解的方式和外观让人想起烤鱼——尽管颜色和气味与烤鱼相差甚远。这种水果非常甜,多汁,粘稠得像蛋奶冻。它原产于印度群岛,但后来迁移到世界各地。
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