[www.keralites.net] 12 Fruits You May Have Never Tasted

 

12 Fruits You May Have Never Tasted

We all know the basic fruit family that we see in the supermarket - apples, pears, oranges etc. Some of us partake in some more exotic fruits. But there are some fruits you may have never seen in your ordinary supermarket. Many of these can be found in specialized fruit and vegetables stores, while others can't be found outside their home countries (many of which are in South America). These are delicious fruits that are just as tasty and just as healthy to eat as any fruit you've had so far, so let's get to know them:

The fruit is round to conical, 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) in diameter and 6–10 cm (2.4–3.9 in) long, and weighs 100–240 g (3.5–8.5 oz), with a thick rind comprised of knobby segments. The color is typically pale green to blue-green, with a deep pink blush in certain varieties, and typically has a bloom. It is unique among Annona fruits in being segmented, and the segments tend to separate when ripe, exposing the interior. The flesh is fragrant and sweet, creamy white to light yellow, and resembles and tastes like custard. It is found adhering to 13–16 mm (0.51–0.63 in) long seeds to form individual segments arranged in a single layer around the conical core. It is soft, slightly grainy, and slippery. The hard, shiny seeds may number 20-38 or more per fruit, and have a brown to black coat, although varieties exist that are almost seedless.

The bael fruit has a smooth, woody shell with a green, gray, or yellow peel. It takes about 11 months to ripen on the tree and can reach the size of a large grapefruit or pomelo, and some are even larger. The shell is so hard it must be cracked with a hammer or machete. The fibrous yellow pulp is very aromatic. It has been described as tasting of marmalade and smelling of roses. Numerous hairy seeds are encapsulated in a slimy mucilage.

Breadfruit can be eaten once cooked, or can be further processed into a variety of other foods. A common product is a mixture of cooked or fermented breadfruit mash mixed with coconut milk and baked in banana leaves. Whole fruits can be cooked in an open fire, then cored and filled with other foods, such as coconut milk, sugar and butter, cooked meats, or other fruits. The filled fruit can be further cooked so the flavor of the filling permeates the flesh of the breadfruit.

Mark Twain called the cherimoya "the most delicious fruit known to men." The fruit is fleshy and soft, sweet, white in color, with a sherbet-like texture, which gives it its secondary name, custard apple. Some characterize the flavor as a blend of banana, pineapple, papaya, peach, and strawberry. Others describe it as tasting like commercial bubble gum. Similar in size to a grapefruit, it has large, glossy, dark seeds that are easily removed. When ripe, the skin is green and gives slightly to pressure, similar to the avocado. Many people often chill the cherimoya and eat it with a spoon, which has given it another nickname; the ice cream fruit.

The fruit of cocona is a red, orange or yellow edible berry. Cocona is native to the Andean region of South America, where it is occasionally cultivated for human consumption. Described on the Discovery Channel show Survivorman while in the Amazon jungle in late 2007, they were said to provide a "flavor explosion", with a taste between a lemon and a tomato.

This fruit is covered by thin, yellow hair giving a slightly fuzzy appearance. The skin thickness varies with the varieties, from 2 millimeters (0.079 in) to approximately 6 millimeters (0.24 in). The fruit contains 1 to 3 seeds, flat, and bitter-tasting; the seeds are covered with a thick, clear-white aril that tastes sweet and sour. The taste has been likened to a combination of grape and grapefruit and is considered excellent by most. The sweet juicy flesh contains sucrose, fructose, and glucose.

Cucumis metuliferus, horned melon or kiwano, also called African horned cucumber or melon, jelly melon, hedged gourd, or melano, is an annual vine in the cucumber and melon family. Similar to very watered-down guanabana, because the tartness is very mild. This mixes well with homemade lemon/limeade, guanabana pulp, cucumber and adds a fresh green color. Kiwano melon juice is wonderful to cleanse the palate more gently than lemon sorbet. Make ice cubes with the juice to add color contrast in drinks, or mild flavor to ice water.

The fruit is 3–4 cm in diameter with one to four large seeds, borne directly on the main trunks and branches of the plant, lending a distinctive appearance to the fruiting tree. It has a thick, purple, astringent skin that covers a sweet, white or rosy pink gelatinous flesh. Common in Brazilian markets, jabuticabas are largely eaten fresh; their popularity has been likened to that of grapes in the US. Fresh fruit may begin to ferment 3 to 4 days after harvest, so they are often used to make jams, tarts, strong wines, and liqueurs.

It is round or slightly irregular, with a brown or grey-brown 3 mm (0.12 in) thick rind. In fact, the rind consists of the exocarp and mesocarp of the fruit, while the pulp is formed from the endocarp. The stem is thick and short. The mammee apple has more or less visible floral remnant at the apex. Mammee apples' diameter ranges from 10 cm (3.9 in) to 20 cm (7.9 in). When unripe, the fruit is hard and heavy, but its flesh slightly softens when fully ripe. Beneath the skin, there is a white, dry membrane, whose taste is astringent, that adheres to the flesh. The flesh is orange or yellow, not fibrous, and can have various textures (crispy or juicy, firm or tender). Generally, the flesh smell is pleasant and appetizing. Small fruits contain a single seed, while larger ones might have up to four. The seeds are brown, rough, oval and around 6 cm (2.4 in) long. The juice of the seed leaves an indelible stain.

The fruits which ripen between December and March have a light yellow skin, with white flesh, rich in vitamin C—about eight times the amount found in an orange—are succulent and tart with a strong distinctive flavor. Inside is a walnut-sized, thick-walled stone. These stones, when dry, expose the seeds by shedding 2 (sometimes 3) small circular plugs at one end. The seeds have a delicate nutty flavor and are much sought after, especially by small rodents who know to gnaw exactly where the plugs are located.

Synsepalum dulcificum, also known as the miracle fruit, is a plant with a berry that, when eaten, causes sour foods (such as lemons and limes) subsequently consumed to taste sweet. This effect is due to miraculin, which is used commercially as a sugar substitute. The berry itself has a low sugar content and a mildly sweet tang.

The fruit is a round to oval drupe 3–6 cm (rarely to 8 cm) tall and 3–4 cm broad, borne in a loose pendant cluster of 10–20. The leathery skin is reddish (rarely orange or yellow), and covered with fleshy pliable spines, hence the name rambutan, derived from the Malay word rambut, which means hairs. The fruit flesh is translucent, whitish or very pale pink, with a sweet, mildly acidic flavor very reminiscent of grapes. The single seed is glossy brown, 1–1.3 cm, with a white basal scar. Soft and crunchy, the seeds may be cooked and eaten. Some folklore regard the seeds as poisonous, but tests of seed extracts reveal no toxicity to mice, even in doses up to 2500 mg/kg. The extract does show some analgesic activity, however. The peeled fruits can be cooked and eaten, first the grape-like aril, then the nutty seed, with no waste.

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Posted by: Pramod Agrawal <pka_ur@yahoo.com>

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