One of the wonderful things about travelling is experiencing new foods. And we’ve had a great time trying both things we know, in different forms, and entirely new things. We’ve found some spectacular fruit markets in various cities (special shout-outs to Fruitopia in Limassol and Fallon and Byrne in Dublin), and we’ve taken full advantage of their unfamiliar bounty! Here are five fruits, new to us, that we’ve encountered in our perambulations. (See also the amazing fruit juices we enjoyed in Suriname, and our post on Scandinavian berries!)
Dragonfruit
We thought we’d seen this one before, but we were surprised to discover its brilliant colour; our previous experience had been with a white fruit with small black sesame-like seeds. (And we’d never actually tasted it.) It tastes like kiwi, and the seeds are very pleasing. As is its hue. We like this one a bunch, and can easily imagine incorporating it into a fruit salad, smoothie, or using for a garnish when we want a bit of hot pink on the plate. Which – let’s be honest – is all of the time.
Mangosteen
Let’s be honest: this one will never win a beauty contest. It has a hard exterior, which is unproblematic. But the interior looks like some sort of sea-creature: it has three fruits with pits. The pits are about the size of plums and the fruit attaches to them (rather like those around the – much larger – seed of a mango). The taste is floral and a little tart. All in all, interesting but a bit too much work for the payoff.
Persimmon
This one looks like a tomato, and has the consistency of one too. It’s very sweet on the inside – nearly as sweet as honey. But the skin has an acidity to it that cuts the sweetness nicely. Many people roast persimmons and/or boil them down into a chutney or marinade.
Rambutan
This hairy beast, on the other hand, is a winner! Its name comes from the Malay word for hair. The outside is inedible. The inside, a round translucent fruit, has a seed in the middle roughly the size and shape of an almond. Most people say it’s also inedible, although some eat it roasted. The fruit’s consistency is a bit like a peeled grape, though it’s more resistant to the tooth. Also sweeter. Full marks for dressing up for the occasion!
Tamarillo
This ‘tree tomato’ we first tried in the Guyanas, mostly juiced and with sugar added. The taste is a cross between passionfruit and mango (but not as sweet). The skin and outer flesh are bitter, so this is a scooping-out fruit. But the black seeds are edible, with a consistency not unlike that of tomato seeds. One juice vendor told us that her children spread tamarillos on toast for breakfast.
And there you have it – five different kinds of fruit, new to us! And at least three of them were spectacular. What’s your favourite exotic fruit, and where did you first try it?
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