Nature’s bounty never fails to surprise us with its exotic products.
Today we are going to take a look at 10 of the most exotic and unusual fruits you need to try:
- Bael
Also known as wood apple, this tree is native to India where it is used widely for both medicinal and religious purposes.
The fruit has a hard yellowish-green shell and resembles a pomelo. You need to break the shell and scoop out its pale orange pulp.
- Miracle Fruit
This fruit contains a glycoprotein known as miraculin that coats our taste buds after consumption. The effect lasts around 30-60 minutes causing even bitter and sour food to taste sweet if consumed after eating miracle fruits.
The red berry-like fruits are native to West Africa and can be between 2-3cm long.
- Cloudberries
This fruit usually grows in Arctic and subarctic regions. They carry a golden yellow texture and a high-water content. Cloudberries have gained accolades for their high nutrient value.
They serve as storehouses of Vitamin C. These fruits resemble raspberries in terms of size.
Though the plant is not cultivated commercially, they are handpicked from mountains by locals and sold at stores.
- Nypa Fruit
The chestnut brown fruit develops on a single stalk. They resemble woody nuts from the outside while the pulp tastes sweet jellylike.
However, the jelly can be collected only from the immature Nypa fruits as after ripening, the flesh hardens.
- Feijoa
This fruit blends in the flavors of guava and pineapple. It bears an oval shape and has green skin covering its granular flesh and juicy pulp.
You are bound to enjoy the tart flavor of its sweet flesh. Ripe feijoas are extremely delicate and get bruised if they hit the ground.
- Pepino Dulce
The Pepino dulce fruit is produced by a shrub belonging to the Solanaceae family making it a close relative of eggplants and tomatoes.
Also known as melon pear or Pepino melon, this fruit bears a taste similar to cucumber, melon, honeydew, and cantaloupe.
This fruit has a light-yellow exterior with dark streaks. Its yellowish flesh seems sweet and juicy with small edible seeds in the center.
- Brazil Cherry
This tree is native to Brazil and produces purplish-black fruits tasting like cherries.
Certain varieties of plants produce orange-hued fruits having a juicy pulp with one to three seeds in the center.
The fruit can be used for making jams, pies, and jellies or consumed after discarding the seeds.
- Inga Bean
The pulp of Inga Bean fruit tastes similar to vanilla ice cream. You can consume the white cottony pulp after removing the black seeds. While there are various species of Inga Bean, only some of them are edible.
- Hovenia Dulcis
A popular choice amongst fruits that start with h is Hovenia Dulcis or Raisin fruit which is found in Korea, the Himalayas, and East China.
This fragrant fruit carries a sweet taste. You can either eat it fresh or use it in cooking. The dried variant of the fruit looks and tastes similar to raisins.
- Jabuticaba
The Brazilian grape tree is native to South America and produces purple-colored fruits with a diameter ranging between three to four centimeters.
The thick skin of the fruit covers its white jelly-like pulp. You can consume the fruit fresh or use it for making jellies, jams, wines.
The fruit is rich in a variety of anti-inflammatory compounds and antioxidants which has led to its popularity in the medicinal world for treating respiratory illnesses like asthma.
Conclusion
While we have mentioned only 10 exotic fruits, the list is vast and exhaustive.
You will come across these rare fruits on visiting new places.
Though they might seem enticing at first glance, it is advisable to consume them only after ensuring their safety.