EXOTIC FRUIT &

Tropical Fruit

There are so many luscious unusual and sometimes striking fruit that we have yet to taste.  We stand there staring, frozen, afraid, not knowing how it tastes, how to attack it, how to serve it, what to do.  We want to, but we just don't know how, so we pass it by, all the while wondering what we were missing in that mysterious looking specimen, wondering where that tropical fruit might take us, missing the luxury of the new taste and a new experience.  We want to to take a bite.  We want to reach out and grab the fruit with reckless abandon.  We want to exude sheer confidence as we put it into our cart, only to have others stare and wonder how it is that WE know about it.  But, alas, we are frozen in the unknown.  We didn't grow up like that, so we pass it by.  But what if we did?

Well, sit back, allow us to introduce you to a gastronomical world you might not have even known existed.  We'll explain how they taste, how to open them, how to serve them, and how to eat them.  Sink your taste buds into these unusual delicacies.  There is such a wonderful variety of tasty fruit in the world; try something new!  You owe it to yourself to step out of the box.

Bananas actually grow on giant herbs and are related to the orchid family.  Low in fat and calories, easy to digest, high in vitamin B6, and a good source of fiber, vitamin C, magnesium and potassium.  The perfect first food for babies, they can be easily mashed and later handheld and they come in their own convenient carrying case!  They are also one of the few foods with serotonin that can help overcome depression.  Bananas can help if you have diarrhea (so can plain white rice).    Bananas are an important food to eat organic since they are sprayed, they are commonly eaten by children, they are a favorite first food of babies, we don't wash them before peeling, and many times we break off a piece once we peel them. 

How to tell if it's ripe:  Store on the counter, never in the refrigerator.  To ripen more quickly, place them in a closed paper bag with a couple of apples.  They will be a glorious yellow instead of green once ripe.  Brown spots indicate a sweeter banana!

How to use it: Eat it as a snack.  Add to fruit bowls (they start to mush once cut so they aren't good candidates for a fruit salad), add to cereal.  Mash and add to pancake batter or muffins instead of sugar.  Once they get ripe and have brown spots (that's when they're extra sweet) or even if they get really brown, freeze them in pieces.  Then add to smoothies when they instead of sugar.  Or later defrost them to make banana ice cream.

Nutrition:  High in potassium, vitamins A & C, folate, calcium and magnesium and a good source of antioxidants (eat your colors) like polyphenols.  Bananas can help reduce our risk of kidney cancer.

Berries - Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries

Raspberries are quite aromatic and a real treat.  Decadent, fragrant, sweet and tart with a burst of antioxidants, fiber (that reduces cholesterol), and Vitamin C.  Enjoy them immediately or use your evert-fresh bag.  When you get berries home you should open them onto a paper towel and remove any wet ones.  Make sure they are dry before storing.  Don't get them wet until you're ready to eat them.  These berries also top the list of fruits with the most contamination of pesticides and therefore should only be eaten if organic.  Try them topped on mascarpone cheese and honeys with hazelnuts - yum!  If you don't have a chance to use them, freeze them for use later!

Sweet Blackberries from Costa Rica are a delicious way to add a healthy dose of antioxidants.  A good source of vitamins C & E and ellagic acid, they may protect against cancers and chronic disease.  They also contain salicylate, the active ingredient in aspirin and are a source of fiber.  This ancient berry has been used medicinally for centuries.  The tannins lesson bleeding, and help cure stomach problems.  They are also a good source of manganese.  Eat them out of the container, add them to yogurt or a fruit salad, or make a Healthy Blackberry Tart.
 

Black Sapote is not a Sapote at all.  It is also called Chocolate Pudding Fruit or Black Persimmon and is indeed part of the persimmon family.  It has green skin like the white sapote, but the skin is tougher than the white Sapote.  Inside it is a dark brown color moist consistency.  It tastes like a exotic chocolate and is slightly sweet with a nutty undertone and a little flavor of the tropics. 

How to tell if it's ripe:  It is bitter if not ripe so make sure it is ripe first.  The skin will become dark (almost black) and dull and when ripe.  It will be soft when ripe and mushy.  Almost to the point where it looks like it's gone bad, that's when it's perfect!  It can be hard one day and soft the next so watch it as it ripens on your counter.  The inside will be dark and gooey and creamy like chocolate pudding!  Refrigerate once ripe.

How to use it:  Cut the sapote in 1/2 and and eat it right out of the shell or scoop out the pulp and discard the seeds.  You can freeze the pulp or eat it or use it to make a dessert like a Chocolate Sapote Mousse:  Puree the pulp with a little (orange or lemon) citrus juice and zest, a splash of vanilla, and honey and then chill like a pudding or fold in some whipped cream for more of a mousse.  In the Philippines, they remove the seeds and serve it as dessert with a little milk or juice poured over it.  Others add lemon or lime juice and use it as a filling for pies or pastries.  Others use it to flavor ice cream.  In Mexico they mash it with orange juice or brandy or wine and spices like cinnamon and sugar and sometimes pass it through a sieve and serve it like pudding with a dollop of whipped cream.  Floridians have been known to whip it with milk and freshly ground nutmeg and serve it like pudding.  Others make a drink by blending it with pineapple or blending it with milk.  And it can be fermented into a tropical brandy.  Try these Black Sapote Recipes

Nutrition:  A good source of vitamin A, C, potassium and other vitamins and minerals with only 1 gram of fat and 130 calories per serving and 35 carb grams.

Breadfruit tastes and looks like bread if cut open before it has a chance to ripen.  It is a melon and is more like a mango consistency once ripe.

The history of breadfruit

Coconuts, Young Thai Coconuts are ripe when you get them.  Keep them in your refrigerator.  Coconuts are actually used at varying stage of ripeness. 

How to use it:  Young Green Coconuts have a clear juice that is sweet, refreshing, and aromatic.  Young coconuts have a jelly-like meat which can be eaten or used in smoothies.  As they mature the meat turns hard, the meat firms up and can be used to make shredded coconut or coconut milk.  We use coconut milk for soups, curries, desserts, and drinks.  Shredded coconut can be added to smoothies or used in meals or desserts.  The coconut can also be used to make coconut oil (the oil content increases as it matures), soaps, candles, and skin care products.

How to Open a Coconut  Drink the juice out of the coconut or add the jelly to a smoothie with the juice.

Nutrition:  Highly nutritious, high in electrolytes, high in minerals, vitamins and amino acids, yet low in fat and with no cholesterol, coconuts have gotten a bad rap but are refreshing, delicious, and nutritious!  Coconut milk contains lauric acid.  Young coconuts are more nutritious than older coconuts.  They are good for our heart, liver and kidney.  They are known for their medicinal qualities including their ability to relieve headaches, cure upset stomachs, stop diarrhea, reduce fevers, helping the fetus grown strong in a pregnant woman, and strengthening the heart.

Try and Old Fashioned Coconut Custard Pie
 

How to tell if it's ripe:  Choose a fruit that is light for it's size and whose stem is big and solid.  The sap coming from the fruit stem should be clear and sweet.  When you shake it, you should hear the seed move and if you hit it with a stick, it should give a "thunk" hollow sound.  It should have a strong smell.  When you insert a knife, it should come out sticky.  The rind will naturally split open from the bottom to the top exposing the fruit once ripe.  Once open, if the casing around the custard is wrinkled and a darker yellow, you will be rewarded.  That is a sign that the tree was more mature and you will have a sweeter fruit. 

How to use it:  The rind is thick and tough.  It's less smelly once you remove it from the skin.  Surrounding a seed there are five sections of a luscious, rich, satiny, white to cream colored, custard-like pulp.  They are sweet and buttery with a hint of vanilla.  Some enjoy durian with coffee.  Some use it as a relish with rice, while most just eat it immediately upon opening the ripe fruit.  Once open, plan on finishing it because it will go bad quickly.  Add it to a fruit salad with pineapple and coconut or make a smoothie of tropical fruit.  It can also be cooked and used for desserts or even fermented.  Freeze it and later mash it for a Durian ice cream!

Nutrition:  Highly nutritious and complete with protein, fat, minerals, carbs, antioxidants, and vitamins.  It is also said to be an aphrodisiac.

Tips:  Use the husk as a cup and mix with water and drink to remove any lingering odor.  Remove odor from hands and fingers by rinsing under the water with the husk.

More on the All-Mighty Durian and the last 3 pictures courtesy of this great site.

Feijoa is quite sweet, thick, and juicy.  It is white to cream inside.  The seeds are tiny and are also edible.  The skin itself is not edible raw but can be used in jellies and preserves.  Also known as the Pineapple Guava, Guvasteen, it is quite fragrant

How to tell if it's ripe: :  Keep on counter until they are slightly soft and you should be able to smell when it's ripe.  Keep in the refrigerator once ripe.  Cut them in 1/2 and scoop out the seeds.  Then scoop out the meat.

How to use it: Add to fruit salad.  Also used in puddings, pies, jams, jellies and can be mixed in the blender to make juice.

Jackfruit is the largest fruit on the planet reaching up to 100 pounds!  It is in the same family as the breadfruit and the fig.

How To Tell if it's Ripe:  It has a prickly exterior that is green or greenish yellow once ripe.  When ripening it can have a strong smell, some describe it as rotten onions so a good whiff will tell you when it's ripe, but you might have to get very close to smell it and those prickles are sharp so be careful!  Once cut open, that bad smell goes away and a sweet tropical fragrance of pineapples, bananas and "juicy-fruit" emanates from the golden to orange colored fruit.

How to Use It:  Practically all parts of the Jackfruit can be eaten!  The pulp of the Jackfruit can be eaten raw as a fruit once ripe or cooked as a vegetable when unripe.  Once cut, a sticky latex substance is present that can stain your clothes and stick to everything so wear latex gloves and an apron.  You may also want to have oil for the knife so the latex doesn't stick all over it too.  First Cut it in 1/2 crosswise, then cut out the hard center core.  You'll note the bulbs of fruit amidst a sea of seeds which are easily separated.  The seeds are easier to remove when cut crosswise.  The meat is thick, firm, and sweet.  It will continue to ripen even after being opened.  Once separated from the skin and the seeds, wash and dry the fruit.  Since they are so big, it's nice to know that you can store the fruit in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a year (though, the texture may change so it's best to eat it fresh if eating it as a snack or in salads.) 

Fresh ripe Jackfruit can be eaten as a snack, added it to fruit salads, smoothies, used it to flavor popsicles, desserts, and ice cream (try these recipes.)  Sometimes it is soaked and boiled in milk or coconut milk and then the fruit is removed leaving a custard (from the gooey latex-like substance) of pretty orange-salmon color and a pleasant flavor. 

The (50-500 starchy) seeds called breadnuts in each Jackfruit can also be eaten and are nutritious being high in calcium and a good source of protein.  They can be boiled for 5 minutes and then roasted.  Then eat them like chestnuts or cut them up and add them to stews, tomato sauce, or curries.  In Thailand, the seeds are pounded into a flour.

When unripe, the Jackfruit can be cut in slices crosswise and boiled in salted water with the seeds still intact.  Then the meat is separated from the skin and the seeds, and the meat and seeds can be eaten. 

Traditionally, recipes (or try or these recipes or these recipes) using Jackfruit as a vegetable mix it with coconut milk or rice or fish, in soups or stews.  It is commonly used in Indian and Asian cuisine.  You can find Jackfruit canned in sugar syrup, which is the traditional way of preserving it, or frozen usually at an Asian or Indian Grocery Store.  For more details  and pictures on how to cut and use a Jackfruit see:  http://www.fairchildgarden.org/research/jackfruit_how-to-use.html

Jackfruit can also be fried into chips, candied, pickled, dried, or fermented and distilled into a liquor.  The rind is used to make jelly and can be pickled.  I even saw recipes using the leaves!

Nutrition:  Low in fat and a good source of Vitamin C and Manganese.  The seeds are even more nutritious offering calcium and protein.

pictures courtesy of fairchildgarden.org

Kiwi have a fuzzy brown skin (much like their namesake, the flightless bird from New Zealand that has fuzzy feathers.) They are either yellow (Golden Kiwi) or most probably green inside with lots of tiny edible black seeds.  The yellow kiwis are a bit elongated at the ends while the green is a smooth oval shape.  They have a smooth texture against the interplay of crunchy little seeds.  They are a bit tart and a bit sweet; they are sweeter as they ripen.

How to tell if it's ripe:  Choose plump Kiwi.  Ripen them on your counter.  They should give when pressed and be soft but not mushy.  Once ripe, store in the fridge and away from other fruit and plan to eat them soon after ripening.

How to use it:  Simply cut off the stem ends and then use a spoon (grapefruit spoon is best but any spoon will do the job) all around the inside edge to free it from the skin and slip it out.  Then cut into rounds so you can see the pretty black contrasting seeds and design.  They look like a burst of sunshine (if the sun was green, of course!) and are a wonderful addition to breakfasts!  Add to your fruit platter, fruit salad, fruit tart, or enjoy at breakfast or anytime!  Or cut them in half and scoop out and eat with a spoon!  If you rub the fuzz off the skin, you can actually eat the skin too!

Nutrition:  They are delicious and highly nutritious with a good dose of folate, potassium, and vitamins C and E.  Loaded with antioxidant polyphenol, a kiwi a day may help lower triglyceride levels (which wards off arterial plaque build-up and therefore heart disease), as well as protect against cancer, diabetes and can even help us look younger!

Lychees are gorgeous succulent fruit.  They have a hard bumpy outer shell that is simply peeled away to reveal a juicy translucent sweet exotic tasting fruit that you pop in your mouth and eat around the seed, that is pretty large compared to the size of the fruit.

picture courtesy Ian Maguire
http://tfphotos.ifas.ufl.edu

How to tell if it's ripe:  They should be ripe when you purchase them as they are picked ripe.  The skin is a raspberry red and should be moist when it tears away easily if ripe.  Eat them once ripe as they will dry out.

How to use it:  Use your fingernail or a knife to cut the skin a little and then peel off the leathery skin and pop it in your mouth!  Add them on top of ice cream or fruit platters or fruit salad.

Nutrition:  A good source of vitamin C and phosphorus.

Mamey, also called the Mamey Sapote has bark like brown rough skin and is orange inside.  It is soft, smooth, thick, and creamy.  Very popular with Cuban-Americans, it's like a sweet potato and avocado in texture.  It has a hint of almond to it and is slightly sweet.  It is quite dense and therefore quite filling.  It is almost like a sweet potato pie with a dash of almond extract.  There is usually one seed and it is smooth, shiny and dark. 

How to tell if it's ripe:  Look near the stem for a small cut.  When the flesh is green, it is not ripe, leave it on the counter until you can peek through the skin to see that the flesh has turned salmon-pink in color.  It will be soft when ripe.  Keep it in your refrigerator once ripe.  You can also scoop out the fruit and freeze it to use in smoothies.

How to use it:  Spoon it out and eat it.  Add it to fruit salad.  Make a super creamy smoothie by adding it to your blender with a dash of vanilla, milk or juice, maybe some ice, and maybe some honey.  Use it to make ice cream.  Add it to salads or use it to make a chutney.

Nutrition:  High in vitamins A, C and potassium and an excellent source of fiber.  One cup is a serving with 135 calories.

Mango

How to tell if it's ripe: The skin of the papaya turns yellow to yellow-orange from green when ripe.  Once ripe, they will be soft, not hard.  They are sweet and creamy once ripe; dry, hard and tasteless if not ripe.  Ripen at room temperature and then store them in the refrigerator.  You can speed the ripening by placing them in a paper bag with an apple or a banana.  There may be some black spots on the skin as it ripens, those can be easily cut away.

How to use it: Cut in half, scoop out the seeds, peel them, slice or dice.  They are sweet and creamy and exotic in flavor.  Though the seeds are actually edible, most people scoop them out because of their crunch and bitterness.  The seeds can be pureed and used in a salad dressing.  Add papaya chunks (even frozen chunks) to strawberries and yogurt for a smoothie.

• Papaya, Avocado, Grapefruit Salad

Nutrition: With it's deep orange color, papaya are high in antioxidants, including carotene, flavanoids, and Vitamin C.  Also high in folic acid, vitamin E,, and a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamins A and E.

How to tell if it's ripe:  Leave them on your counter for up to a week to ripen or use the apple trick and place them in a paper bag with an apple.  Fuyus will still be pretty firm when ripe and are crisp and can be sliced, as opposed to the Hachiya which are acorn in shape and must be soft to be enjoyed (see below).  But if they get soft, they are oh so delicious too, just can't be sliced which is the unique pleasure of this persimmon.

How to use it:  Fuyus can be eaten like an apple or peeled and sliced like a melon or into rounds and added to fruit platters, tarts since they hold their shape.  They have a beautiful flower design inside when cut in rounds and it adds an attractive delicious elegance to platters with fruit.  You can also use them in ice cream and sherbet, puddings, jams, breads, and cookies.

Recipes:

• Fuyu Persimmon Blossom with Tangerine Sauce
• Poached Persimmons
• Persimmon Avocado Salad

Nutrition:

Hachiya are the more traditional Persimmons that are acorn shaped a

How to tell if it's ripe:  These should be soft verging on what you might consider overripe or ready for the garbage.  They must be really soft to be at the height of sweetness and fully enjoyed.  Leave them out on the counter until they are good and soft.  What a sweet, creamy, delicious treat. 

picture courtesy of chocolate and zucchini.com

How to use it:  Turn it upside down so the stem is on the bottom, and cut open the skin, open it up and eat it with a spoon for dessert or scoop it out!  Hachiyas have sections in them and are sweet and delicious!  A real treat!

Recipes:

• Persimmon Oatmeal Cookies

• Persimmon Pudding

How to tell if it's ripe: :  Plantains can be used even unripe so they are a very versatile fruit.  They start out green, then turn yellow an finally turn completely black.  Like bananas, they get sweeter as they ripen. 

How to use it:  Plantains can be pan fried, deep fried, boiled, chopped and cooked, sautéed, caramelized, grilled, and baked.  Eaten as a side dish and used as a vegetable when green.  It is used as a dessert when black.  Can be enjoyed at each stage of ripeness.  Green, they are firm and starchy, they can be cooked and mashed, added to stews or soups.  Soak peeled plantains in salted water and drain well before using green plantains.  Yellow are still firm with some black specs.  They are sweeter.  Slice thin and fry.  You can also cook and mash them at this stage (sweeter) or baked until tender and served as a side dish.  Black, they are sweetest and can be soft.  Use them to make bananas foster or in another dessert.  picture of plantain stages courtesy and copyright Turbana

Peel them by cutting off the top and bottom and then score the skin which is thick and peel it off.  They are quite sticky when green so it's a good idea to wet your hands and use a little salt on your hands.

Recipes:

• Tostones,  Mofongo,  Aranitas,  Amarillos
• Fried Plantains,  Sopa de Platano,  Plantain Pancakes, Cozido, Plantain Gingerbread, Plantain Omelet
• Fried Plantains, Boiled Plantains, Fufu, Kelewele
• Cooked Plantains
• Fried Plantains, Alton Brown Food Network
• Roasted Plantain and Sweet Potato Soup, Bobby Flay
• Plantain and Black Bean Fritters, Sue Torres
• Plantain Recipes, Food Network
• Plantain Recipes by Turbana
• Nutrition Facts, Usage Tips for each stage of ripeness, more by Turbana

Nutrition:  Virtually fat free and low in calories, plantains are a good source of potassium like bananas.  They are also a good source of vitamin A

Sapodilla are a sweet creamy fruit with brown skin about the size of a small tomato.  It has a unique fruity and spicy flavor like cinnamon, pear, banana, melon and apple when ripe.  They are like a mini-Mamey.  The Chinese call them "the fruit of life" and their flavor lives up to the name.  The sap is used to make chicle, chewing gum.

How to tell if it's ripe:  It will be soft when ripe.  Leave it on your counter; it may take 5 days or so.  Keep it in your refrigerator once ripe. 

How to use it:  Simply cut and enjoy.  The skin is tough and cannot be eaten, nor can the seeds.  But the meat is juicy and sweet and very unique and delicious in flavor.

Nutrition:  They are delicious and a good source of fiber and Vitamin C while being low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.

Sapote is either white or black.  About the size of an orange and shaped like a tomato, this is tropical delight.  White Sapote has green skin a vanilla custard-like flavor and creamy texture.  This sapote is actually a member of the citrus family unlike the other sapotes.  Also called Zapote Blanco, some say it taste like peaches with a hint of lemon; some say it has a taste of pineapple; others describe it as a mix of mango, coconut, caramel and vanilla; and others say it's like orange sherbet.  I think it tastes a little like a creamy vanilla caramel pear.  It's very unique and quite delicious!  Better get two because you won't want to share yours, especially if it's really soft.  It's not sweet sweet but has a pleasant sweet flavor.  It gets sweeter and more flavorful as it gets softer.  The consistency is wonderful - almost like a pudding.

How to tell if it's ripe:  It is bitter if not ripe so make sure it is ripe first.  It will be soft once ripe (like a ripe plum) so leave it out on the counter until it turns soft.  It will also ripen in the refrigerator and can be eaten even when it looks over the hill and soft and mushy - it's got a more intense caramel flavor then!  The skin is thin.  In the center are about hard 5 lima bean shaped seeds of varying thickness that stand upright.  You can eat all around it; there are no parts that you throw out around the seeds. 

How to use it:  The skin is a little bitter so just wipe off the skin with a spoon or a towel or use a knife to cut it off.  Then scoop the meat out of the fruit and remove the seeds.  Enjoy it like that or add it to fruit salads, or blend it for a wholesome pudding or use it to make sherbet.  Squeeze a bit of lemon or lime juice on it to enhance the flavor.  Some people eat the whole thing like a plum, skin and all.

Nutrition:  1 cup is 200 calories and is a good source of potassium as well as offering some vitamin C.  A nice way to get to your 5-9 a day!

Star Fruit  Also called Carambola, they are juicy, crisp, and sweet yet slightly tart. 

How to tell if it's ripe: There are actually two varieties, one sweet and one tart.  To make sure you are eating the fruit at it's sweetest, allow it to ripen at room temperature and then store them in a plastic bag or container in the refrigerator. 

How to use it: No need to peel them, they have a very thin skin that can be easily eaten.  Simply slice it across for the fun star shape!  Kids love the shape.  An attractive addition to fruit tarts, fruit salads or decorate any plate from breakfast to dinner salad, they are also used in tropical exotic drinks, smoothies, chutneys, and curries. Why not splurge on a star fruit for fun?!

Nutrition: High in Vitamin C and a good source of fiber and Vitamin A.

Sugar Cane is fun, especially for little ones, to see where sugar comes from and as a fun treat to peel and suck on.  You can also put it through your juicer and use it to make a green sugar cane juice that you can drink as is, add to a smoothie or add to other vegetables that you juice!  Delicious and fun treat!  Symbolically eaten at the Chinese New Year because the tiers represent an upward path - they place sugar cane at their door at the New Year based upon the legend that the sugar cane saved the Hokkien race.  Cut it in half and use it as to serve Hors d'Oeuvres or make it into skewers for chicken or shrimp kabobs!  Try Shrimp Mousse and eat it with Sugar Cane Sticks! or use them as skewers and make Skewered Shrimp on Sugar Cane with Mango Lime Salsa, Spicy Tarty Shrimp on Sugar Cane, Shrimp Paste on Sugar Cane, Sugar Cane Skewered Shrimp with Rum Scotch Bonnet Dipping Sauce  picture courtesy of tntisland

General Tips on Exotic & Tropical Fruits:

• Allow fruit to ripen, usually on the counter. 

• Store ripe fruit in the refrigerator.

• Store cut or opened fruit in a sealed container in the refrigerator and eat within a few days.

• Bananas are America's favorite fruit!
• Pineapple is America's 2nd favorite fruit.
• A New Zealander is commonly known as a Kiwi.

• Fruit Lover's
• Cook's Thesaurus
• Australian Tropical Fruit