Ever Heard of These Fruits?

LYCHEE – Valued by successions of Chinese emperors for their sweetness, these showy fruits resemble raspberries in their bright red, bumpy skinned clusters, but that’s where the similarity ends! Beneath the skin is a succulent, translucent-white to pinkish flesh surrounding a large grape-sized seed.

CHERIMOA – Called the “love fruit” because of its heart-like shape, cherimoya comes from the Andes between Columbia and Bolivia. The taste is a blend of pineapple, mango and strawberry. Cherimoyas are vulnerable and exported on a small scale. The California cherimoya season is from October to May.

BABACO – Cultivated in Ecuador since before the arrival of Europeans, babaco is now grown commercially in Israel, other parts of the Middle East and New Zealand. No seeds are present in the unusual fruit, which is typically 12 inches long, eith inches wide and five-sided. The unique flavor has been described as having overtones of strawberry, pineapple and papaya.

CARAMBOLA – The carambola originated in Sri Lanka and the Moluccas, but has been cultivated in Southeast Asia and Malaysia for many centuries. Its shape is oval with five prominent longitudinal ribs, which results in star-shaped slices when the fruit is cut in cross-section. The flesh is light yellow, translucent, crisp and very juicy, without fiber. The flavor ranges from very sour to mildly sweet.

FEIJOA – Also known as the Pineapple Guava and Guavasteen, the feijoa is native to Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The small, roundish fruits emit a strong, long-lasting perfume even before they are fully ripe. The flavor of the juicy white flesh is a combination of pineapple and guava or strawberry, with mint overtones.

JABOTICABA – Native to Brazil, some varieties are also indigenous to Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Peru. Jaboticaba is similar in appearance, texture and flavor to certain dark purple grapes, but with a thicker, tougher skin.

JACKFRUIT – Indigenous to the rain forests of India, jackfruit has since spread through Asia, Brazil, and some parts of Africa. Jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world, reaching weights of 80 pounds, lengths of 36 inches and diameters of 20 inches! The interior consists of large bulbs of yellow, banana-flavored flesh enclosing a seed, with anywhere from 100 to 500 seeds in a single fruit. The ripe, unopened jackfruit emits a strong offensive odor of vegetable decay, while the opened fruit smells delightfully of pineapple and banana.

SAPODILLA – Native to Yucatan, Mexico, Belize and Guatemala, sapodilla was subsequently introduced throughout tropical America, the West Indies and Florida. The fruit is pear-like in its size (but not in its shape), with yellowish-brown skin, sweet, pleasant flavor and several small black seeds found in its center.

(This article comes from CARBLITE Magazine June 2005)