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In some of the world’s most lush tropical landscapes, there is a vibrant tapestry of flavor that is waiting to be explored. Tropical fruits not only have a way of tantalizing your senses, but they also have many health benefits. Yet there are some exotic fruits that many people have never heard of!
Curious? Click through this gallery to discover some strange fruits from around the world.
The star apple–also called cainito by the locals–is a purple or green fruit that appears star-like when cut open. It was domesticated in the Isthmus of Panama before it spread to the West Indies and Southeast Asia.
Also known as pitaya, the dragon fruit is possibly one of the more commonly known tropical fruits, with its visually striking appearance and mild, sweet flavor. They are most indigenous to the region of southern Mexico and along the Pacific coast of Central America.
Although the chayote is legally classified as a fruit, its mild and slightly sweet taste means that it is most often used in savory dishes. It originated from Mesoamerica and has since spread to many other parts of Latin America.
Often called the "queen of fruits," the mangosteen has been cultivated in Asia since ancient times, and was later introduced to Colombia and Puerto Rico. The fruit is known for its deliciously sweet and tangy flavor.
This fruit is a hybrid of cherimoya and sugar apple, both of which are native to the American Tropics. It has a sweet, custard-like flavor that has become popular in Taiwan, where it is known as the "pineapple sugar apple." This moniker has led some people to falsely believe that atemoya is a cross between the sugar apple and the pineapple.
If you were to compare this entry to a tomato, you would not be wrong. This small, egg-shaped fruit has a tart, tangy flavor that is most reminiscent of tomatoes. It can be found in many countries around the world, and is a popular addition to any garden.
In Southeast Asia, the santol has been cultivated for the purpose of candy and even marmalade. Its sour-sweet taste has also made it a perfect fruit for preserves.
The sapodilla is a brown, pear-shaped fruit with a sweet, caramel-like flavor. It is native to southern Mexico and Central America, where it is known as manilkara zapota.
This addition to the list is from the same family of fruit-bearing trees that coffee comes from. Noni is known for its pungent odor, and is believed to have various health benefits. The fruit is native to Southeast Asia. Polynesian sailors are responsible for their spread across the Pacific and the rest of the world.
The rambutan fruit is similar to the lychee, but only if you open it up. On the outside, it is entirely different, with a shockingly red and hairy exterior. It is quite a sweet and juicy fruit, and has been primarily grown in Southeast Asia.
This is the edible fruit of the Brazilian grapetree. As you can see from the image, this fruit grows directly on the trunk of the tree, and its sweet, grape-like flavor makes it the perfect fruit for jams, juice, or wine.
This is quite possibly one of the strangest additions to this list. The fingered citron–more commonly known as Buddha’s hand–is a fragrant citrus fruit that is most strikingly noted for its unique shape.
Here is another entry that is native to Brazil. The mangaba has an unassumingly yellow skin and a sweet, acidic taste that makes it perfect for juices, ice creams, and candy.
The national fruit of Jamaica, ackee comes from the same family as the lychee. It has had a long-held reputation for being toxic in its raw state, but is delicious when cooked.
This addition is also known as the waxberry. It is commonly found in forests and mountain slopes in south-central China, Japan, and the Philippines. The name of the fruit comes not only from its small, red appearance, but also its slightly sweet flavor and waxy texture.
This purple, sausage-shaped fruit has entirely different flavors depending on the plant species on which it grows. Most commonly, the flavor has been attributed as sweet and slightly tart. Interestingly, the name "akebia" is a Latinization of the fruit’s Japanese moniker.
The mangosteen is known as the queen of fruits, and the durian is known as the king! This fruit from Southeast Asia has a particularly strong smell and unique taste that have elicited a variety of reactions... Some say that the flavor is pleasant, while others have expressed disgust.
If you are in the Caribbean, you will most likely eat one of these. Soursop is known in Latin America as guanábana, and it has a sweet, tangy flavor and an aroma similar to pineapple.
Cuisines around the world will find familiarity with this fruit. The tamarind is pod-like in shape and contains a sweet, tangy pulp that is often used in cooking and beverages. It is most indigenous to tropical Africa, but has been naturalized in Asia.
The distinctive orange spikes on this fruit have given it the appropriate common name of African horned melon. The kiwano is a staple of Southern Africa and, when ripe, it has a jelly-like interior and tart taste. During the dry season in the Kalahari Desert, the melon is one of the few sources of water for animals and locals.
In Latin American countries, the mamey sapote is most commonly mixed into milkshakes and ice cream. It has a sweet, creamy flesh and is technically classified as a berry.
Native to tropical South America is this species from the custard-apple family. The rollinia fruit is spiky and green in appearance, and is similar in taste to a lemon meringue pie!
The pungent smell that people often attribute to the cempedak is usually likened to that of durian. But unlike durian, this fruit has a vividly sweet, tropical flavor and a fibrous texture similar to mangoes.
This fruit is the same as dragon fruit, but it is a rare variety with yellow skin! And whatever anyone may try to make you believe, there is virtually no difference in taste between the two. It is merely unusual and rare because of its color.
This fruit is also quite common, and is known for its unusual star shape when sliced. The carambola has a sweet and tangy flavor that makes it perfect for relishes, garnish, and preserves.
This entry is more commonly known as snake fruit, named for its reddish-brown scaly skin and sweet, acidic taste. The salak fruit comes from a species of palm tree that is native to parts of Indonesia.
Here is another pod-like fruit that can be found in South America, specifically the Amazonian region. Inside is a fluffy, cotton candy-like pulp that surrounds large seeds.
This fruit is brown and egg-shaped, with a custard-like texture and a sweet, earthy flavor. It is grown in parts of Mexico and Central America, where the fruit is used in milkshakes and ice cream.
This fruit’s plant was once thought to be parasitic, as it grows on the trunks of other trees in the wild. The langsat’s exterior looks very much like small potatoes, while its translucent, juicy flesh resembles peeled garlic. The fruit is often bottled in syrup, owing to its sweet-tart flavor.
The last entry on this list is certainly not as ugly as you might think. The ugli fruit–more commonly known as the "Jamaican tangelo" due its native location–is a hybrid of the grapefruit, orange, and tangerine, with a wrinkled skin and sweet-tart flavor.
Sources: (Live Eat Learn) (Banner Health) (Mashed) (WebMD)
See also: Do you know how to pick the best fruits and vegetables?
The world's most colorful and flavorful exotic fruits
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FOOD Curiosities
In some of the world’s most lush tropical landscapes, there is a vibrant tapestry of flavor that is waiting to be explored. Tropical fruits not only have a way of tantalizing your senses, but they also have many health benefits. Yet there are some exotic fruits that many people have never heard of!
Curious? Click through this gallery to discover some strange fruits from around the world.