10 Must-Try Exotic Fruits
Traveling to an exotic destination is not just about swimming in the turquoise waters or sunbathing. You also have to taste some of the cuisine and sample some of the exotic fruits of the place. For those hot summers when you need something refreshing, we have collected 10 tropical fruits you absolutely must try.
1. Rambutan
Native to Malay Archipelago, Southeast Asia
Coming from an evergreen tree, the Rambutan fruit resembles the Lychees, have a leathery red skin and are covered with spines. Rambutan is a popular garden fruit tree and one of the most famous in Southeast Asia. The fruit is sweet and juicy, being commonly found in jams or available canned.
2. Jackfruit
Native to southwestern India, Bangladesh, Philippines and Sri Lanka
Jackfruit is a common fruit for Asia and Australia and considered as one of the largest tree borne fruit in the world. The juicy pulp around the seeds have a taste similar to pineapple, but milder. Apart from canned jackfruit, it is also available as sweet chips. The wood of the tree is used for making various musical instruments, while the fruit is a common ingredient for many Asian dishes.
3. Passion Fruit
Native to South America, grown in India, New Zealand, Brazil, etc
The passion fruit has a soft, juicy interior full of seeds, being commonly found in juices to boost their flavors. There are two types of passion fruit: the golden one (maracuyá), similar to a grapefruit and the dark purple passion fruit (gulupa), comparable in terms of size with a lemon. However, the latter ones have been reported as being mildly poisonous.
4. Lychee
Native to southern China, found in India, Taiwan
Coming from an evergreen tree, the lychee or litchi are small white flesh fruits, covered in a red rind, rich in vitamin C and with a grape-like texture. The fruit has started making its appearance in markets worldwide, refrigerated or canned with its taste intact.
5. Star fruit
Native to Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka
The star fruit comes from the carambola, a species of tree with pink flowers grown even in the US. The golden-yellow fruit is crunchy, sweet, with a taste of pineapples, apples and kiwis combined. There are two kinds of star fruits - acidulate and sweet, both rich in vitamin C. The fruit is particularly juice, some even making wine out of it.
6. Mangosteen
Native to the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas.
The mangosteen is another evergreen tree that produces oddly shaped fruits. The fruits are purple, creamy, described as citrus with a hint of peach. It is rich in antioxidants, some scientists even suggesting it can lower risk against certain human diseases, such as cancer. There are even legends about Queen Victoria offering a reward to the one that brings her the fruit.
7. Kumquat
Native to China
The kumquats or cumquats are small edible fruits resembling oranges that grow in a tree related to the Citrus. As with most of the fruits in the Citrus family, the kumquats are eaten raw. They are often used in marmalade and jelly but also in alcoholic drinks such as liquor. The Taiwanese add it to their teas, while others boil it and use it as a remedy for sore throats.
8. Durian
Native to Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia
Also known as the “King of Fruits,” Durian has a very particular odor, a unique taste and is covered by a hard husk. Having a disagreeable smell, compared to skunk spray or sewage, the fruit is forbidden in hotels and public transportations in Southeast Asia. Still, the whole experience is worth it, considering the absolutely divine taste of the Durian.
9. Dragon Fruit
Native to Mexico and Central and South America
Dragon fruit, strawberry pear or pitaya is a fruit of several cactus species with a sweet delicate taste and creamy pulp. The most common dragon fruit is the red pitaya, but other varieties include the Costa Rica pataya and the yellow pataya. Juice or wine can be obtained from the fruit, while the flowers can be eaten or used for tea.
10. African cucumber
Native to Kalahari Desert, Africa
The African cucumber, horned melon or melano is a fruit that can be best described as melon with horns. It originated in the Kalahari Desert and is now present in California and New Zealand. The dark green pulp reminds one of bananas, limes, passion fruit and cucumber. It is often used for decorating food but also in smoothies and sundaes.
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42 Responses to “10 Must-Try Exotic Fruits”
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May 28th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Nice. I’ve had all those excepts the African cucumber. I’ve never heard of it before.
Mangosteen and Lychees are my favorites!!!
Get them all all good fruit stores near you!
May 28th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Hey, I’m from the Philippines and we also have Lychee, Mangosteen, Star Fruit, and Durian here.
Just wanted to say (:
May 28th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I’ve eaten Durian in Bali. At first i couldn’t get past the fact it smelled like kerosene. We got it offered to us at a very popular Cafe in Ubud. I was the one to try the fruit, as the rest of the group couldn’t get past the smell, and i actually really enjoyed the taste.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Great list, love all (most) of them. However, can’t believe you forgot my favorite: soursop (or guanabana)
May 29th, 2008 at 12:38 am
Great article, nice exotic fruits. I remember tasting the Rambutan a couple of years ago. Good taste.
May 29th, 2008 at 1:09 am
Divine indeed…you have obviously never tasted durian…
May 29th, 2008 at 6:56 am
I’m in Singapore (lah!) Whenever it’s durian season I have to stay inside. You can smell it EVERYWHERE; all the shops have it. I find the taste waxy, slightly sweet and bland. And your body will remind you over and over again that you’ve eaten it recently (if you know what I mean.)
Not to my taste.
May 29th, 2008 at 7:22 am
One that should be on here is the custard apple, one of my favorites! It has a hard, kind of leathery skin, and when you cut it open the inside is white and creamy with lychee-looking seeds in it. It tastes like pear custard. Delicious!
(and I agree with the durian comment. I think it tastes like canteloupe and onion)
May 31st, 2008 at 3:11 am
I absolutely love kumquats, I buy a bunch whenever they’re available at my store (usually during spring) and they are delicious! Slightly tangy, but nonetheless.
May 31st, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I’m pretty certain that the wildly differing opinions about durian come from genetic differences in how people taste and smell. The fruit’s chemistry is incredibly complex. So it’s not very helpful to report that it smells like X or tastes like Y, because the person you’re talking to might have a completely different experience. To me it smells garlicky and tastes like a rich pineapple custard (but better).
One of my favorite unusual fruits is the tree strawberry or Arbutus unedo, popular in Greece, if I understand correctly. These little fruits have too many seeds to please everyone. But when they’re nice and ripe (late autumn), and if it’s been a good year, they’re really luscious, kind of like a peach with a tart skin. But with a million little blackberry seeds stirred in.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:31 am
The third fruit down from the top, as you call it the starfruit, is heavily used and grown in the Caribbean, where it is known as the Carambola. They are excellent, and you can just pick them off a tree like an apple.
Mike - Nevis, West Indies
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:32 am
Ooops, sorry about that, I meant the 5th fruit down, and I can’t edit the comment
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I’ve had the African cucumber. It has an interesting consistency. The taste reminds me of fresh cut grass with a hint of lemon. Not bad.
June 5th, 2008 at 7:58 am
I’ve tried all (except the African Cucumber) and love them all. I’m sure I’ll also love the African Cucumber, if I could get my hands on one!
June 5th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Pitaya is the most amazing fruit i’ve ever eaten! Wish i could include the photo of me eating it.
June 7th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
has anyone tasted the chaya leaf or fruit and knows of it ? Lychee is the best
June 24th, 2008 at 2:53 am
We have kumquats here in Florida. I enjoy them, but most people around here aren’t that crazy about them.
June 28th, 2008 at 10:32 am
…add the Ugli from jamaica…
July 1st, 2008 at 1:07 am
I like durian but I don’t like its smell
July 2nd, 2008 at 4:46 am
Yummmmy! I have tasted these fruits except for the last two: dragon fruit and african cucumber… looking forward for a taste of these fruits! Nice post!
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I like mangosteen, rambutan, jackfruit and lychee. When I was a kid I liked durain a lot but I don’t know why when I grew up I just don’t like it anymore. The smell is very strong but anyways I don’t mind eating fried durain thought. Did any of you try it before? It’s really yummy here in Thailand!
July 4th, 2008 at 3:22 am
Got to try the Rambutan for the first time while I was on Kawaii (Hawaii). We went to a little farmers market and got a bag of them
Best part of traveling is checking out the foods you can’t get at home!
July 4th, 2008 at 3:24 am
Wow, messed up that spelling. Thats Kauai
July 14th, 2008 at 2:35 am
I’ve tried about 4 of the fruits listed, but will try to find the others, now I know what to look for.
July 16th, 2008 at 3:08 am
mangosteen, best tasting fruit IN THE WORLD!!!
i don’t like the word exotic - go ask an indonesian and s/he’ll tell you a strawberry is exotic!! pick your words better, mate!
July 16th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Purple passionfruit are mildly poisonous?? They are a mainstream variety in Australia, more common than golden, sold in supermarkets and nurseries, and it’s what goes on top of the national desert - pavlova. Never heard that one about their toxicity before. I like freezing them after buying them in bulk, and then scooping out the pulp as required for smoothies.
An edible fruit I know is mildly poisonous - the alkaloids (typical of the nightshade family) in native kangaroo apple, although a traditional indigenous food. Soviet Russia used it to manufacture birth control pills. That’s an exotic fruit I don’t recommend, although I’ve grown it, the taste is sweet but sickly!
July 16th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
You may come to Indonesia if u wanna taste the original fruits of it..^^
There are a lot more unique and juicy fruit^^
if you visit the Fruit Markets here, just easily ask for the origin name of them:
1. Rambutan as Rambutan
2. Jack Fruit as Nangka
3. lychee as Lechi
4. Star Fruit as Belimbing
5. Mangosteen as Manggis
6. Durian as Durian or Duren
7. Dragon Fruit as Buah Naga
commonly, Those will be easily got durring their season. Because, most of Indonesian (saouth east asian) fruits have their own particular season, such as Musim Rambutan (Rambutan Season) or Musim Duren (Durian Season).
July 16th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
starfruit is yummy!
July 17th, 2008 at 7:51 am
Vicky, you miss Passion Fruit as Markisa
July 18th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
i’ve tried this fruits in the Philippines and i love it!
especially the mangosteen and durian
July 18th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Strawberries…exotic? Ask a Californian and he or she’ll tell you that everything on this list is exotic. Exotic, exotic, exotic. I like the word exotic.
July 25th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I have African Cucumbers growing in my garden, and i live no where near the Kalahari Desert. Im in South Africa however, i was told its poisonous and shouldt eat it lol….. Gonna try when i get home
July 27th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Durian has got to be the most foul-tasting thing ever to grow on a tree.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:57 am
I like the taste of human flesh.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Since this list was published, they become ordinary, not exotic
August 1st, 2008 at 5:47 am
I am from Mexico and we have Carambola, Rambutan and more common Chaya leaf as lulu said,
you should try the zapote, it’s a very rich fruit from here 
whenever you come to yucatan. you are welcome 
August 2nd, 2008 at 12:40 am
rambutan is indonesian fruits
August 12th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Dear fruit lovers.
I would like to say that in the case of the Cactus fruit Pitaya should be first as a common name since these is the Original name giving to several especies of the cactus family that are comercialize widely over America( I talk about the Continent). Since these is a fruit that belong to a family of plans native of these part of the world. From my humble point of view giving some exotic names. those not show the respect to those that have been ussing it for thousands of years. As a botanist and a native from these part of the world I kindly invite everybody to use the original names not only of these but also of all the other fruits we like to eat from other regions. By doing so we will contribute to protect the world
heritage. thanks and enjoy it:
yours kindly
Maguil Céspedes