10 Fruits You've Never Heard Of But Should Try
Rambutan
This crimson-red fruit doesn’t even look edible—let’s be honest, we’re kind of scared of this one. The golf-ball-sized fruit has an intimidating exterior but its spikes are actually soft. The rambutan is the flashy jewel of Southeast Asia: the flesh beneath the red peel is white, juicy and full of sweet floral flavour, like a lychee. The only difference? Lychee is both sweet and tart while the rambutan is less tart.
Mangosteen
The mangosteen isn’t anything like the mango but we want this one to become as much of a household name. Of the fruit world, it’s the underdog. It has a dark, rough exterior but beneath the rind is a white fruit divided into segments, almost like oranges are. Each segment has pit inside that’s soft but shouldn’t be eaten since it tends to be bitter. People in Southeast Asia have traditionally used the rind of the fruit as medicine to treat stomach pain.
Lanzones
Lanzones—my late grandfather’s favourite. I’m not going to do a very good job at selling this fruit to you but you have to give this one a try. This fruit is similar in size and feel to the lychee but there are many differences. Lanzones have many small soft pits within each of the fruit’s segments that you can choose to discard or swallow whole, since they are so soft and small. Don’t bite them though they’re bitter. Second, instead of a sweet and tart flavour, the lanzones is somewhat medicinal taste but they are still ultra sweet. That’s the kicker but it’s still worth a try—do it for my grandfather.
Jackfruit
“It's big and bumpy with a gooey interior and a powerful smell of decay—but it could help keep millions of people from hunger.” That’s the lead sentence from a 2012 article in The Guardian about this “miracle” fruit. Miracle because researchers say the fruit could replace crops like wheat and corn—crops that are under threat because of climate change. There is a particular “decaying” odor to the jackfruit but the flesh is beautifully sweet. It’s highlighter-yellow in colour and has a slime-like feel to it, but each bulb is satisfying, refreshing and full of nutrients.
Persimmon
This fruit has a deep orange exterior and almost looks like a tomato. It’s flesh is also bright orange, mildly sweet and when ripe, has a similar texture to a ripened tomato. Persimmons are “high in beta carotine and minerals such as sodium, magnesium, calcium and iron,”
Durian
The infamous durian. There’s no way around it. The green, spiky fruit smells bad—like a fart. I admit it. But I also think it tastes really good. The fruit is mushy, the smell is awful, but the fruit itself tastes great. Not to Andrew Zimmern though, host of Bizarre Foods. He once tried the fruit and couldn’t even get it down. “It tastes like completely mushy, rotten onions,” he said—this coming from a man who ate bats. To each his own.
Dragon Fruit
The dragon fruit or the “pitaya” looks like an exotic flower found on the shores of Hawaii. It’s stunningly pink with an interior that juxtaposes the rind—white with black specs. Some say the fruit’s pulp is “sweet” but in my humble opinion, it tastes like gently flavoured water, like rose water, with an over-ripened pear texture. So there’s that. Try it and decide for yourself.
Guava
You might have tried guava juice and have fallen in love with it. If so, then the actual fruit will rock your world. When ripe, the guava is crisp in texture with either white, pink, yellow or red flesh. The skin and seeds of this fruit are fully edible. I would describe it as an apple that got really turnt up.
Buddha's Hand
I’ve never tried this one, but I have seen it at the Asian grocery store and I’m convinced that it moves in the night. Remember when I mentioned ugly looking? But, apparently it “smells like heaven” but looks like a really handsy lemon. Smithsonian reports that it costs about $24 a pound. Worth the investment?
Pomelo
One of my all-time favourite fruits. Think a grapefruit but three times it’s size and less bitter and juicy. There’s a definite science to peeling this—it has a thick layer of pith and rind that you “have to peel away carefully,” my mom says. She’ll tell you that if you puncture the flesh while peeling the fruit the flesh turns bitter, fast. I’m not sure if this is true or not, but I can sure tell you I’ve never dared try. Mom knows best. Layer by layer, using whatever utensil gets the job done; you peel the fruit until you see the segments of the overgrown grapefruit. Like a grapefruit, you don’t eat the membrane—just the sweet juice and pulp.
Rambutan
This crimson-red fruit doesn’t even look edible—let’s be honest, we’re kind of scared of this one. The golf-ball-sized fruit has an intimidating exterior but its spikes are actually soft. The rambutan is the flashy jewel of Southeast Asia: the flesh beneath the red peel is white, juicy and full of sweet floral flavour, like a lychee. The only difference? Lychee is both sweet and tart while the rambutan is less tart.
Mangosteen
The mangosteen isn’t anything like the mango but we want this one to become as much of a household name. Of the fruit world, it’s the underdog. It has a dark, rough exterior but beneath the rind is a white fruit divided into segments, almost like oranges are. Each segment has pit inside that’s soft but shouldn’t be eaten since it tends to be bitter. People in Southeast Asia have traditionally used the rind of the fruit as medicine to treat stomach pain.
Lanzones
Lanzones—my late grandfather’s favourite. I’m not going to do a very good job at selling this fruit to you but you have to give this one a try. This fruit is similar in size and feel to the lychee but there are many differences. Lanzones have many small soft pits within each of the fruit’s segments that you can choose to discard or swallow whole, since they are so soft and small. Don’t bite them though they’re bitter. Second, instead of a sweet and tart flavour, the lanzones is somewhat medicinal taste but they are still ultra sweet. That’s the kicker but it’s still worth a try—do it for my grandfather.
Jackfruit
“It's big and bumpy with a gooey interior and a powerful smell of decay—but it could help keep millions of people from hunger.” That’s the lead sentence from a 2012 article in The Guardian about this “miracle” fruit. Miracle because researchers say the fruit could replace crops like wheat and corn—crops that are under threat because of climate change. There is a particular “decaying” odor to the jackfruit but the flesh is beautifully sweet. It’s highlighter-yellow in colour and has a slime-like feel to it, but each bulb is satisfying, refreshing and full of nutrients.
Persimmon
This fruit has a deep orange exterior and almost looks like a tomato. It’s flesh is also bright orange, mildly sweet and when ripe, has a similar texture to a ripened tomato. Persimmons are “high in beta carotine and minerals such as sodium, magnesium, calcium and iron,”
Durian
The infamous durian. There’s no way around it. The green, spiky fruit smells bad—like a fart. I admit it. But I also think it tastes really good. The fruit is mushy, the smell is awful, but the fruit itself tastes great. Not to Andrew Zimmern though, host of Bizarre Foods. He once tried the fruit and couldn’t even get it down. “It tastes like completely mushy, rotten onions,” he said—this coming from a man who ate bats. To each his own.
Dragon Fruit
The dragon fruit or the “pitaya” looks like an exotic flower found on the shores of Hawaii. It’s stunningly pink with an interior that juxtaposes the rind—white with black specs. Some say the fruit’s pulp is “sweet” but in my humble opinion, it tastes like gently flavoured water, like rose water, with an over-ripened pear texture. So there’s that. Try it and decide for yourself.
Guava
You might have tried guava juice and have fallen in love with it. If so, then the actual fruit will rock your world. When ripe, the guava is crisp in texture with either white, pink, yellow or red flesh. The skin and seeds of this fruit are fully edible. I would describe it as an apple that got really turnt up.
Buddha's Hand
I’ve never tried this one, but I have seen it at the Asian grocery store and I’m convinced that it moves in the night. Remember when I mentioned ugly looking? But, apparently it “smells like heaven” but looks like a really handsy lemon. Smithsonian reports that it costs about $24 a pound. Worth the investment?
Pomelo
One of my all-time favourite fruits. Think a grapefruit but three times it’s size and less bitter and juicy. There’s a definite science to peeling this—it has a thick layer of pith and rind that you “have to peel away carefully,” my mom says. She’ll tell you that if you puncture the flesh while peeling the fruit the flesh turns bitter, fast. I’m not sure if this is true or not, but I can sure tell you I’ve never dared try. Mom knows best. Layer by layer, using whatever utensil gets the job done; you peel the fruit until you see the segments of the overgrown grapefruit. Like a grapefruit, you don’t eat the membrane—just the sweet juice and pulp.
