10 MORE Must-try exotic fruits
Since our 10 Must-try Exotic Fruits was so well-received by you, our readers, we decided to look for some more healthy and delicious fruits that you absolutely must try if you ever have the chance, and here’s what we have on the menu for you:
10. Ugli
Ugli is a citrus hybrid between grapefruit and tangerine that grows in Jamaica. Its weird name may be spelled wrong but it really comes from “ugly” in reference to its unappealing, wrinkled skin. But the looks of the Ugli have nothing to do with the taste, it is incredibly delicious and juicy, it takes more from the sweet tangerine and less from the sour grapefruit.
As a curiosity, you should know Ugli is the only fruit in the world that starts with the letter U.
9. Langsat
Langsat is an egg-shaped fruit, about 5 centimeters in diameter, usually found in clusters of two to thirty fruits. The firm, translucent flesh is covered by a brown, leathery skin and has an acidic taste, resembling a grapefruit, but riper ones are quite sweet. It originated in Malaysia, but over time it has spread in the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and India. It was also successfully introduced in Hawaii in the early 1900s.
8. Sugar Apple (Noi-na)
One of Thailand’s most popular fruits the Sugar Apple has a white, creamy flesh covered by a lumpy green crust that makes it look like a giant, green raspberry. The incredibly sweet pulp is eaten with a spoon after the fruit is easily broken into two halves. Sugar Apples are usually blended with coconut milk, chilled and served as a delicious, light ice-cream. This is one fruit you have to try if you’re ever in Thailand.
7. Guava
Guava is often referred to as a superfruit containing large quantities of vitamins A and C, Omega 3 and 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and high levels of dietary fibers. Guava is a very aromatic fruit, with a pungent and penetrating odor, with lots of seeds (from 112 to 535) but great taste. It’s native to Mexico and Central America but it’s cultivated extensively in Florida and Hawaii.
When picking out Guava fruits, check if they’re ripe, that’s when they taste the best. Just pick them up and pressure them with your fingers, if your fingers sink into the fruit a little, they’re ready to eat. Enjoy!
6. Salak (Snake-fruit)
Native to Malaysia and Indonesia, Salak is called Snake-fruit because of its brown, scaly skin resembling that of a serpent. It grows in clusters at the bottom of a palm tree and it has the size and appearance of a fig. The skin can be peeled after pinching the tip of the fruit, exposing three garlic-looking lobes, each containing a large seed. Salak tastes sweet and acidic at the same time and its consistency can vary from dry and crumbly to moist and crunchy.
5. Soursop (Guanabana)
Soursop is native to Mexico, Central America, the Carribean and northern South America but these days it’s also being cultivated in countries in South Asia. Guanabana has a white, creamy pulp, very difficult to eat because of the large number of inedible seeds, but if you have the patience, you can enjoy a flavor that has been compared to strawberry and pineapple mixed together.
Very rich in vitamins C, B1 and B2, Soursop is a very popular desert ingredient in Mexico and countries around Central America, usually processed into ice-creams, fruit-bars, sherbets or soft-drinks.
4. Lamut (Sapodilla)
Sapodilla originates from Mexico and the Yucatan peninsula but it was also introduced in the Philippines during the Spanish colonization. Lamuts look like potatoes, reaching 4-8 centimeters in diameter and are incredibly tasty when ripe. Many have compared the sweet flavor of the Lamut with cotton candy or caramel. The seeds resemble black overgrown beans with a hook at one end that can get caught in the throat if swallowed. Lamut fruit only become ripe after being picked.
3. Santol
Santol look like overgrown apples but don’t share their flavor. They are some of the most popular fruits in the Philippines, the kids especially love them, but the fruit is native to Malaysia and former Indochina. Santol is often referred to as the “lolly fruit” due to the fact that you have to suck the flesh of the seed because it’s very strongly attached to it. It has a very sweet flavor and it is used to make delicious marmalade, very popular in markets around Europe and the US.
2. Sweet Tamarind
The Sweet Tamarind is one of the signature fruits of Thailand. It’s an ancient fruit that grows pretty much all over the country, although you can find the best ones in the Phetchabun province. It is normally eaten raw but there are some who prefer to combine it with rice and eat it as an appetizer. To eat the fruit you must first crack the pod, throw it and the strings away and only eat the pulp. The seeds are put in a pan over medium flame for about five minutes, their shell is cracked and thrown away and they can be carefully chewed.
1. Rose Apple
Common around South Asia, Rose Apple, also known as Champoo is one of the most interesting exotic fruits on the planet, just for the fact that it smells and tastes a lot like roses. Unfortunately they are rarely found in markets around the world because they spoil very quickly after being picked. The bell-shaped fruits are crisp, crunchy and have a delicious fresh flavor. It can be eaten whole but as with apples, many people prefer to leave the core.
Rose Apples are also boiled in hot water to make scented Rose Water.
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59 Responses to “10 MORE Must-try exotic fruits”
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July 15th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
You left out my favorite– lychee nuts.
July 15th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
You can find most of these fruits in Colombia. Since we are near the equator and the Andes offer many different heights, most fruits can find a patch to been grown in.
I wont bother you with their names here, but believe me you can at least find several as fruit juices in most places.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
I knew about the Guava
Jason
http://www.designerbay.com
July 15th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Just for kicks, here’s even more fruit trivia:
1. Ugli fruit may be a hybrid between a grapefruit and a tangerine, but grapefruits themselves are some kind of offshoot of oranges or tangerines and pomelos (also known as shaddocks - big, dry, tart citrus fruits).
2. You can find cherimoyas, a close relative of sugar apples, in some US groceries.
3. Sapodilla trees are where chewing gum came from - chicle was made from dried sapodilla sap.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Excellent list! (Although frankly, the guava’s not much of an unheard-of fruit anymore.)
I had a Langsat for the first time a couple months ago, in Hawaii at the Fairmont Orchid. Even the server manning the buffet didn’t know what it was - he had to call in the chef.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
The following fruits you can find in the Philippines:
9. Langsat (which we call Lansones)
8. Sugar Apple (Atis)
7. Guava (Bayabas)
5. Soursop (Guyabano)
4. Lamut (Chico/s)
3. Santol (Santol)
2. Sweet Tamarind (Sampaloc)
1. Rose Apple (Tambis)
Wow, 8 out of 10 ain’t bad.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Sugar Apple also grows in the south east of Mexico (in Yucatan) and its called “Saramuyo”. In Yucatan the Lamut (Sapodilla) it’s called Sapote; and the Guava it’s called Guayaba.
Are delicious fruits.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Most of these fruit exist regularly in the Caribbean (just South-East of Florida). I’m not sure I would consider them ‘exotic’
July 15th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Mangosteen should be on there. I had some for the first time last week and they were phenomenal.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
You left out the Durian!
July 16th, 2008 at 12:07 am
If you like Sugar Apple (Noi-na), you should try Custard Apple, known as Cherimoya or Anone. It looks like a green, scaly dino-apple (flat scales instead of bumps, like a faceted jewel). The creamy white flesh inside contains several large, smooth black seeds, very spoonable. It tastes just like sweet vanilla custard with a hint of apple or cinnamon-apple, with a similar texture as well. (I was foolishly brave - the inedible skin tastes like pine-cleaner, so do not bite right in!)
There is a relative that grows in the northeastern United States, the Paw-Paw, but I don’t adore it as much. It is much cheaper if available in your area, however. I believe the season is late August into October, and there is an Ohio Paw-Paw Festival at that time. The skin is thinner & it bruises very easily, so it is only available over the internet as jam or frozen.
From the original Top 10 Exotic Fruits list, if you haven’t been impressed by Starfruit (Carambola), you MUST put sugar on it! It brings out the flavor and makes it 10,000% better! I couldn’t figure out why the Hawaii’s Own frozen starfruit juice blend was so much better, until I tried this. It is now my favorite juice fruit.
And if you are afraid to try Durian because of the smell, try Durian Ice Cream — the cold kills the smell and it tastes like a completely different fruit! It really is delicious! (Plain Durian fruit still tastes like money-farts to me, because of the smell, sadly. I must try it again with a worse headcold next time.)
I must try the Sapodilla — I was thinking it wasn’t a fruit, because the store has been sticking them in with the heirloom tomatoes and cactus leaves.
- K
July 16th, 2008 at 12:19 am
I’ve never had ugli or snake fruit but I’ve had the rest while living in teh philippines. I love santol, I love Langsat(Lansones). Most people I suspect have had tamarind in one form or another, if not hunt down a recipe for sinigang na baboy and have the best stew of your life. Sugar apple is barely a fruit, it’s pretty nasty, rose apples don’t only not show up because they spoil fast but because they really don’t have much flavor, and aren’t sweet at all. Lamut (Chico ) when ripe taste more like brown sugar when ripe.
July 16th, 2008 at 2:46 am
Durian not in the list?
July 16th, 2008 at 2:57 am
got a little guava tree in my garden, and im in new zealand (bottom of the southern hemisphere)
you better believe those seeds mean business, though
July 16th, 2008 at 3:01 am
Hey Chris,
Durian was in the first list of 10 Must Try Exotic Fruits. We didn’t forget it
July 16th, 2008 at 3:56 am
nine from ten of those fruits are common in Indonesia. It beats 8, right?? I’ll give you the other name of those fruits in Indonesia:
9.Langsat = Duku
8.Sugar Apple = Srikaya
7.Guava = Jambu Biji
6.Salak = Salak
5.Soursop = Sirsak/Sirsat
4.Lamut = Sawo
3.Santol = Kecapi
2.Sweet Tamarind = Asem Jawa
1.Rose Apple = Jambu Air (Water Champoo)
July 16th, 2008 at 4:09 am
I’ve had all these, but I’m curious why the king(durian) and queen(mangosteen) of fruits are not on the list. They are given that title for a pretty good reason.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:12 am
Hi Shoes, Thanks for the comment, just letting you know that both Mangosteen and Durian were listed in the first part of this post series called 10 Must Try Exotic Fruits - check it out!
July 16th, 2008 at 4:17 am
What; no durian? No lumboy, no kaimeto, nor even damortis? Apo! I miss those fruits, even as I also miss chico - the one referred to as a “sapodilla” in the article, which has a granular texture like a pear and the flavour of rich brown demerara sugar (but which is also very much imbued with a sap-like latex, which sticks to one’s teeth and even clogs sawblades totally when one attenpts to saw a chico tree.). Damortis was one of my favourites - crunchy, deliciously faintly-sweet, and slightly astringent. And of course lumboy, the grape-sized “chokecherry” of the Philippines (referred to as dohat, farther south) - the town of Piddig used to have the biggest and tastiest lumboy I have ever enjoyed… mmm! And of course, the kaimeto - eating it is like going down on your girlfriend, only even sweeter! Yummy-juicy-jelly….
I miss those days.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:27 am
WHAT?! Those fruits are ordinary-everyday fruits here in the Philippines. There are lot more exotic fruits than that.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:36 am
Rambutan!
July 16th, 2008 at 4:54 am
I’ve had the Salak, they’re nice, kind of like Apple only more dry if that makes sense.
July 16th, 2008 at 5:29 am
I lived in St. Petersburg, Florida and we had this strange plant in our yard and we had no clue what it was or whether or not we should eat the fruit it produced. It turns out it was what you call the Sugar Apple.
I wish I had tried one.
July 16th, 2008 at 6:18 am
All of the above fruit can be found in Malaysia, and i have eaten all the fruit except the Ugly one..
you may add the Durian, Manggis, Rambutan, n Dokong.
July 16th, 2008 at 6:26 am
7 out of 10 fruits here are common fruits in the Philippines. maybe the reason that they are perceived to be exotic is because from the fact that they are only seasonal fruits, therefore, they are seldom to be seen in abundance, in contrast to the local fruits.
July 16th, 2008 at 8:01 am
WOW! What a fascinating list. I’ve never seen or heard of any of those fruits with the exception of one or two. I’m not very adventurous when it comes to trying new fruits and vegetables, but your list has me inspired to pick up something “exotic” next time I’m at the grocery store.
July 16th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
mangosteens should indeed be on the list - by the way you can actually get fresh mangosteens in New York City in Chinatown now
and durian should probably be on the list - it’s the durian that’s the best fruit in the world, not mangosteen
what’s funny is that both the soursop and the sugar-apple, which are related botanically, have an equally delicious cousin that can be grown in North America, in places as cold as USDA Zone 5
July 16th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Neat list. I was going to say that you forgot the durian, but fortunately I read the comments first (unlike a few other people! hehe).
July 18th, 2008 at 7:45 am
nice, healthy post.
July 18th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I agree with AJ. You left out the best, Lychee nuts!
You peel off a thin shell, and a soft, jelly-like fruit is left over, wrapped around a seed. My first try of lychee was in the Japanese soft drink, ramune, and I wasn’t too fond of it. Then, a friend of mine gave me a real lychee fruit. Let me tell you, those things are AMAZING!
If you haven’t tried a lychee, then go find some. They are AMAZING!
July 19th, 2008 at 7:46 am
Have you tried prickly pears (tunas)? Good stuff.
July 19th, 2008 at 8:56 am
These are very good looking fruits, but unfortunately most are not available in my country. may be some day i’ll have the luck to try most of these.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Most of these fruits are also very common in the Caribbean. I would like to taste the ugli, however, my favorite from the list is the guava (guayaba). This fruit tastes good and helps to relieve various health problems including an upset stomach.
July 19th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Nice post, you got some good points there - thank you.
July 20th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Hmm really nice and delicious. Every one must have
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
the sugar apples are also prevelant in India and there they call them “custard apples”. One of my favorite fruits, and, when we lived in Miami, we had a custard/sugar apple tree. the taste is awsome. I would like to try the that soursop one day, but here in Mississippi, our resources are limited.
July 24th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Lychee =) mmmmm
July 24th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
I was in India about a year and a half ago, and I believe I tried a few Sapodillas, at least I think I did. It sure sounds similar to the fruit I tried. I had the texture and taste of an Japanese apple pear, and as I ate it, it was very sticky - made my lips stick together like it did, indeed, have a lot of latex in it. The seeds also looked like little brown cockroaches (sorry if that is unappetizing - I’m just describing the color). It was really good though! If anyone can confirm what I ate was, in fact, Sapodillas, please let me know (because I am curious - I didn’t know what they were when I ate them): scottprerna@yahoo.com
Thanks.
July 26th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
You left out Brazil’s exotic fruits, and there are zillions of them
July 26th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
woah you forgot the best exotic fruit ever
dragon fruit
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/images/mizrahi-2.jpg
its the best fruit i have had and i have had most of the above
July 30th, 2008 at 8:26 am
As a curiosity, you should know Ugli is the only fruit in the world that starts with the letter U.
nein, here in italy grape is called UVA, pronounced oovah (-:
July 30th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Actually there is a brazilian fruit called “UMBU”, in Brazil’s northeast region….Starts with the letter “U”
July 31st, 2008 at 2:02 am
What about Rambutan? That’s way more exotic than Guava!
July 31st, 2008 at 2:59 am
I think my only claim to fame here is that, being Malaysian, I have tried ALL these fruits - you people have NO idea what you’ve missed!
July 31st, 2008 at 3:09 am
What about Jubotakava (sp?), Longong, mountain apples (that’s what we call them in Hawaii)
Lychee aren’t very exotic, I’ve heard of them all over and are available, at least in processed form, nearly everywhere…
July 31st, 2008 at 6:41 pm
The Sugar Apples are a common fruit in Colombia, with the only difference that here we call them “Anon” or “Anones”
August 3rd, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Hey thanks for both of the lists!
Some I have had, some I have seen and not tried (I will now) and some I will be on the look out for. I am lucky to live on the west coast of the United States in a city that has a large transplanted Asian population. Since that is the case, we to have stores that carry not-so-run-of-the-mill North American fruits catering to that population.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:27 am
I’ve had the ugli fruit, guava, and tamarind (in sauce- I LOVE Indian food!) I may have had langsat..
If I’m ever in Thailand or the Philippines, I’ll know what to look for!
August 5th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
All the fruits here you can find in Vietnam. There are so many that you haven’t listed that I think are more “exotic” than the ones in your list.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:56 am
those fruits available in malaysia except no 1.whauhaua..there are more exotic fruits here.
August 12th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
@shoes
As I walked the streets of Singapore, the smell of something fetid breezed past me. It smelled as though fruit had been left in the sun for days, and then mixed to a soupy perfection in a 10 year old seafood restaurant’s dumpster. I immediately checked my surroundings to find the source of this offensive odor. I came up short. All I could find was a table with an odd looking fruit on it and it seemed to be the direction from which the smell was coming. Later, I was informed that it was indeed the fruit that smelled of rotting garbage, and once I knew this, I began to pick out the smell everywhere. The odor of this fruit is so horrific that it is not permitted on public transportation in Singapore, lest it offend people.
One evening, while eating at a local restaurant, I saw a pastry puff and decided to eat it. It looked innocent enough there on the shelf. So, sitting at the table, I picked through the mango, guava, grapes, and apple on my plate. I assumed I was saving the best for last, that the pastry would either be sweet, or perhaps even filled with some flavorful custard. I took a bite and immediately gagged, spitting the pastry onto my plate. I turned to my wife to tell her not to eat the pastries because they had gone bad. She gave me a funny look and said, “I thought you knew. I was wondering why you got that. It’s durian puff.”
Durian is the king alright… the king of offensive fruits.
On another note, I have to agree with other posters that mangosteen should have been included. I had the pleasure of trying mangosteen juice last week and this morning a friend offered me a few of the fruits to eat with breakfast. It was very delicious.
August 13th, 2008 at 5:35 am
I absolutely love tropical fruits…
I grew up in Hawaii where some of these are common while others aren’t both well known or available. I’ve eaten all of the fruits on this list, except for the Ugli, and I wouldn’t recommend most of these as an introduction to tropical or exotic fruits. That being said, if you do get to try any of these and like them, I’m sure these here will impress you even more. If ever in the tropics or sub-tropics, these will be worth finding. FYI: The names of these fruits may be variations of the same fruit somewhere else. Some species of fruits listed here have hundreds of cultivars or varieties (except for the mangosteens and atemoyas), be sure to ask locals about favorites. Lastly try to eat fruits at their peak ripeness.
To start off the list are Papayas and Apple Bananas; the list resumes counting down to my top recommendations:
PAPAYA - Sunrise variety from Hawaii w/ red flesh, similar to a really ripe melon with a softer texture.
DWARF or APPLE BANANA - ~ 5-6 inches long and way sweeter than those Chiquitas - call that a banana?
PITHAYA - (not dragon fruit but similar) yellow or pink fruit of night blooming jasmine cactus (vine looking, segmented, and unsuprisingly, thorny); looks kind of like a succulent pineapple in shape; and is a little bigger than a large egg in size. Flesh is whitish-clear in the yellow variety and red in the red variety, flesh is similar in texture to a kiwi and also contains little crunchy edible black seeds, again like a kiwi but a little crispier. Moderately sweet but refreshing and light.
JACKFRUIT - large (up to 50 lbs., yellow, spiky (dull 1/4 inch bumbs) fruit, grows off the trunks and branches of trees; thick skin contains white latex; sweet (no acid or tart), yellow, slightly rubbery flesh which surrounds the many seeds inside, texture similar to roasted peppers, but not at all muchy; tastes resembles wrigley’s juicyfruit gum - juicyfruit got it’s flavor from the jackfruit! The milky latex is used in gum and rubber protection -
RAMBUTAN - red or yellow fruit; size of a small adult’s fist; outside covered in what looks like the hooks on a velcro strip (but about 1/2 inch long), same color as fruit; flesh similar color and texture to lychee but sweeter, milder flavor.
MANGO - not so exotic, most have tried and love it. tropical, exotic, intense flavor - no list would be complete without it.
SUGAR APPLE (included above) - this definitely belongs on this list, in addition, fruit growers have developed a hybrid called the ATEMOYA, which is a cross between the SUGAR APPLE above and it’s cousin, the CHERIMOYA - all somewhat similar in taste
LONGAN - small, round fruit, skin similar to lychee but smooth and brown, fruit size and texture also similar to lychee, but the flesh is less acidic/tart with floral tones
LYCHEE/LITCHEE - slightly tart but sweet and flavorful, strawberry-sized tree fruit; red in color; rough, thin, paper-like skin; crisp, opaque-whitish flesh with a single black shiny seed roughly the size of an almond. You can buy canned lychee in asian markets and although canned is never as good as fresh. But, in the case of lychees, substitute the lychee syrup for the olive juice in your next MARTINI - KILLER LYCHEE MARTINIS!
MANGOSTEEN - (my favorite) purple skinned with a woody, brown clover like cap and stem; opaque-whitish flesh with a smooth, creamy and fibery texture - trees take 10-20 years to fruit.
And finally, now that you’ve tried em all, and can consider yourself to be connoseuir of tropical fruits (or if you’re a good sport and up for trying new delicacies, try the DURIAN.
DURIAN looks like the medieval weapon - the mace, the spiky metal ball at the end of a stick. oblong in shape, similar to the size of a volleyball; and covered in unforgettable 1/2 inch tall woody spikes (each spike base is about the size of a nickel). However, you are bound to notice it’s smell before you even come within eye sight of this unusual exotic. It’s smell reminded me of petrol and sauteed onions and a barely noticeable perfumy floral scent. Inside, it’s flesh was an off-white, orange-yellowy color around oblong round seeds (about 2-4 per fruit). Texture like custard or foie gras - weird choice for texture comparison, but it begins to convey your initial, instinctual repulsion to it, along with the excitement of trying something new and putting an effort into acquiring the taste of it. You’ll be talking about it for years…
August 16th, 2008 at 5:10 am
Taiwan has an agricultural mission on St. Vincent and they have introduced the Wax Apple (rose apple). It is similar to the Plumrose, which seems to be native. We have one of each in our yard.
August 16th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
I think “Sea Grapes” should probably be on the list, however they are not commercially available. I live in St. Maarten in the Caribbean and they grow wild near a few of the beaches. They grow in bunches like grapes, hence the name, but have a very large pit at the center. They are about the size of marbles and are a bright green until ripe. There is very little flesh on the fruit, but when ripe they are a beautiful dark purple and absolutely delicious.
Also “Pommeserettes” at least I think that’s how you spell it, also not commercially available here, but they look like tiny apples varying in size from about a quarter to a half dollar. Eaten whole they taste fresh and clean with little sweet and a little tart.
And last, but not least “kenips”, spelling of that is probably wrong too, but you get the idea. When in season, kids pick these in bunches from the trees and sell them by the sides of the roads. They are also very tasty with a green exterior sort of soft shell like skin that you remove (usually by biting in two) and a bright peach colored interior that has a texture I find difficult to describe covering a large pit.
These all taste great, grow wild for the most part, (if you know where to look) and have been some of my favorite things since I was a little kid. I have noticed however that because of all the new construction everywhere there are less and less native trees left, and I wonder if my son will get to enjoy them on St. Maarten as much as I do.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:40 am
does anyone know the name of the limelike fruit mentioned on the philippines episode of the andrew zimmern show “bizarre foods”? the fruit is a cross between a lime and mandarin orange.