Oranges, tangerines, kiwi and other fruits have become as familiar to us as apples or pears. There you can buy more exotic fruits, for example, pomelo or mango.
But there are more than 200 types of fruits in the world, some of which have a special taste and aroma, and they are worth a try.
10. Carambola
This evergreen tree can be seen in India, Indonesia, Brazil. Its fruits are yellow or green. In shape and size, they look like sweet peppers.
If they are cut in half, the cut will resemble a star in shape. Therefore, this fruit is sometimes called "tropical stars."
Ripe fruits are crispy and juicy, not very sweet. The taste is light, floral, peculiar. The aroma is similar to the smell of jasmine.
They are put in salads, decorated with cocktails. In unripe fruits there is a lot of vitamin C. They smell, like cucumbers, taste slightly sour. The length of the fetus is from 7 to 18 cm, they weigh up to 135 g.
9. Pitahaya
Trying this fruit in Russia will not work, because they are easily damaged and do not tolerate long transport. And they can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 4 days.
Other names for this fruit are pitaya, lun yang. It is also called "dragon fruit", because according to legend, he appeared from the mouth of a dragon. When a monster could not spew flame during battles with people, a pitahaya flew out of his heart. Its skin is covered with large scales resembling dragon armor.
These are the fruits of epiphytic lianiform cacti that grow in Mexico and America. White flowers of this plant open on days 1 and 15. After 35-50 days, fruits are formed.
Up to 6 crops can be harvested per year. Most often, red pitahaya is found, in which the fruit is red with white flesh. There are also fruits with red flesh. But the sweetest ones are yellow, with white flesh, they have a unique aroma.
Inside the fruit are many small seeds. It is similar in size to a large apple, but some specimens can weigh from 600 g to 1 kg. It tastes like kiwi with a hint of banana or wild strawberry.
8. Papaya
The tree on which the papaya grows is like a coconut tree. Ripening, they become amber or yellow in shape, similar to a melon, but smaller (up to 50 cm).
Various dishes are prepared from it, for which papaya is fried or stewed, added to soups, meat and fish dishes. Her taste is characterized in different ways. Some tourists are sure that it resembles a boiled sweet carrot. Others describe papaya as a ripe melon. Someone thinks that to taste it is a cross between a melon and a pumpkin.
Unripe fruits are not so tasty, they are used for cooking various dishes, for example, when stuffing meat. Ripe fruits can also be eaten raw, like pieces of melon.
7. Passion fruit
The fruits of tropical vines, round or oval, can be red, greenish or yellow. It can not be tasted in Russia, because it spoils quickly.
Passion fruit is sometimes called a large grape, because in shape, it resembles these berries. It has a dense peel, under which a jelly-like pulp is located.
Do not have an alluring smell. The taste is sweet and sour, tart. But you should not eat too many fruits, because they want to sleep from them.
Usually it is cut in half and the pulp is pulled out with a dessert spoon. If it is sour, add a little sugar. Pies, jams, juices are usually prepared from it, added to ice cream and yoghurts.
6. Kumquat
It is also called a golden apple or Japanese orange. It has oval fruits, similar to a large plum, up to 5 cm long. Kumquat has a sweet edible skin, under which there is a little pulp. Fruits of different colors, from light yellow to orange.
This is the only citrus fruit in which there are no nitrates. And he is the smallest citrus. Kumquat smells like lime. It tastes like an orange, but slightly acidic.
5. Feijoa
This is an oblong green berry, not more than 7 cm in diameter. It weighs from 20 to 120 g. The fruits are eaten completely, with a peel. She is thick and tart. And the flesh of the berry is soft and juicy, tastes sour-sweet.
Feijoa in shape resemble a plum, but, unlike it, they are bright green. On the surface of the peel there are small tubercles, like lemons.
Compotes, preserves, salads, wine are made from it. If the inside of the berry is hard white flesh, then the fruit has not yet ripened. In ripe fruit, it is translucent, and brown color indicates that feijoa is overripe. There is a lot of iodine in these berries.
4. Lychee
It is also called Chinese plum. At first, an evergreen tree 10-30 m long was grown only in China, but gradually it spread to neighboring countries.
It grows in clusters, the diameter of the fruit rarely exceed 4 cm. This fruit is always sold along with branches, because without them, it quickly deteriorates.
Lichi are oval, their length is from 2.5 to 4 cm. They have a bright red peel with many tubercles. Under it is a white pulp. It is watery, jelly-like, very sweet, with a slight wine flavor. Inside there is a brown stone.
They taste like grapes with strawberries. They can be a little astringent if you collect unripe fruits. They can be eaten fresh. To do this, cut the peel with a knife and separate the pulp.
Jelly, ice cream, wine are prepared from it, canned in sugar syrup. You can’t eat a large number of these unripe fruits on an empty stomach, because this can cause poisoning.
3. Jackfruit
This close relative of breadfruit has the largest edible fruits. They grow up to 20-110 cm, can weigh up to 34 kg. The peel of this fruit does not smell very nice, but the flesh has a sweet aroma, similar to the smell of banana and pineapple.
Unripe fruits are green, they are cooked like vegetables, stewed or fried. Ripening, they turn yellow. The pulp consists of lobules, inside of which you can find seeds. She, too, is either yellow or orange.
At the first tasting, you may not like the taste, but then you get used to it. The flesh is sugary sweet, something like a melon. It is eaten fresh, added to desserts and salads.
2. Guava
From one tree you can collect up to 100 kg of fruits. In appearance, they resemble a lemon, pear or apple. They are about 10-15 cm in diameter, covered with wrinkled peels. Its color depends on the variety: green or raspberry. The pulp may be white or red.
Unripe fruits are used to prepare some dishes, sprinkled with salt or pepper. The ripened guava tastes like a mixture of pineapple and wild strawberry. It is eaten along with the peel.
1. Mangosteen
It is also called mangosteen or mangosteen. This is a round fruit, the diameter of which is from 3.5 to 7.5 cm. It has a thick purple peel, which is considered inedible. Under it there are several cloves resembling cloves of garlic.
There is little pulp in it, but it is very juicy, tender and elastic. The taste is difficult to describe, because it is peculiar: sweet, but with a slight sourness. Everyone describes it in their own way: someone thinks that it resembles grapes, to someone it seems like strawberries.