Most of the inhabitants of Russia and Europe can no longer see bananas, pineapples and coconuts, as well as kiwi, avocado, mango. But still, not everyone is familiar with the look, smell and taste of fruits that are not exported from places of growth on a large scale.

Sugar Apple (Annona Scaly) This fruit is native to tropical America, but is also grown in Pakistan, India and the Philippines.

Fruit is somewhat similar to pine cone, their diameter is about 10 cm. In the fruit, which has a light taste of custard, white pulp inside and not a large number of seeds.

American Mamea (American Apricot) An evergreen tree native to South America, artificially planted in other regions of the world, including West Africa and Southeast Asia.

The berries, which are about 20 cm in diameter, have a thick outer rind and soft orange flesh inside - sweet and aromatic. In the center of the fruit there are up to 4 large grains.

Cherimoya (Cream Apple) Cherimoya is a deciduous plant native to the high mountainous regions of South America. The fruit of the tree is rounded with 3 types of surface (lumpy, smooth or mixed).

The pulp of the fruit is of a creamy consistency, very aromatic, white and juicy. The fruit is said to taste like a combination of banana, passionfruit, papaya and pineapple. Mark Twain in 1866 said: "Cherimoya is the most delicious fruit known."

Platonia wonderful Platonia is a large tree (reaches a height of 40 meters), growing in the rainforests of Brazil and Paraguay.

The fruit grows to the size of an orange and when pressed, a yellow liquid oozes out of it. Inside the fruit, there is a white flesh enveloping several black seeds, which has a pleasant sweet and sour taste.

Cocoon Another tropical fruit that can be found in the mountainous regions of South America, grows on small shrubs, and grows very quickly: in 9 months you can get fruit from the seeds, and after 2 months they will finally ripen.

The fruits are very similar to berries and come in red, orange and yellow colors. Outwardly, they are very similar to tomatoes, but they taste like a cross between tomato and lemon.

Breadfruit Breadfruit belongs to the mulberry family and is native to the Philippines and the islands of Southeast Asia. The fruit tastes like a banana and can be eaten raw when fully ripe.

The ripe fruit is soft and sweet, unripe - dense and starchy, but it got its name due to the fact that when preparing an unripe fruit, it tastes very much like freshly baked bread.

Langsat Langsat or dooku are two very similar fruits that can be found throughout Asia. They come from the same family, are almost the same in appearance and taste, with only one difference.

The langsat peel contains a latex substance, it is not poisonous, but it is difficult to remove it, while the dooku peel is easily peeled off. The very sweet fruit has 5 segments inside, some of which contain several bitter seeds.

Dacriodes edible (African pear) An evergreen tree native to the tropical rainforests of Africa, northern Nigeria and southern Angola. The fruits, which range in color from dark blue to purple, are oblong in shape.

These fatty fruits, it has been argued, could end hunger in Africa, as 48% of the essential fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins and triglycerides.

It is estimated that 7-8 tons of oil can be obtained from one hectare planted with these trees, and all parts of the plant can be used.

Jaboticaba (Brazilian grape tree) This is a very strange plant native to Southeast Brazil. The weirdness of the tree is the way the fruit grows on it.

Initially, yellowish-white flowers appear on the entire trunk and large branches, then the flowers turn into fruits, 3-4 cm in diameter.

Inside purple round shape fruit contains soft gelatinous flesh with 1–4 black seeds. The fruit is very sweet and can be eaten just like that, however, it is most often used for making wine or liqueur.

Rambutan A strange looking fruit that looks like a fluffy strawberry. Its homeland is Southeast Asia, but it is widespread in other regions, especially in Costa Rica, where it is called the "Chinese sucker"

Fruits, 3–6 cm in diameter, are oval in shape. The flesh is a little tough, but peels off easily, and the rambutan tastes sweet and sour.

Noni This fruit is known by many names, including large moringa, Indian mulberry, etc., it is native to all of Southeast Asia and Australia, and it is also widely cultivated in the tropics.

The tree bears fruit all year roundbut generally, when the fruit is ripe, the fruit has a very pungent odor. They can be eaten cooked or raw with salt.

Despite the smell, the fruit is rich in fiber, vitamins, proteins, iron and calcium, and is also a staple food in many Pacific countries.

Marula The deciduous tree is native to Africa today, as its fruits are an important food source for the Bantu peoples, and trees have appeared throughout their migration route.

The green fruit ripens and turns yellow, while the white pulp inside is very juicy and has a pleasant aroma. After falling from the tree, the fruits begin to ferment almost immediately.

Cloudberry A source of vitamin C, which is 3 times more in the berry than in oranges, grows in middle lane the European part of Russia, Siberia, the Far East, Belarus and the western coast of North America.

The fruit is similar to raspberries, however, it is more orange in color. They are very sweet and are eaten both raw and processed into juice, wine, candy and preserves.

Baltic herring (snake fruit) Fruits native to Indonesia grow in clusters, and got their nickname because of the red-brown scaly skin, which is easily removed.

Inside are 3 white sweet "segments", each containing small black inedible seeds. Fruits have a sweet and sour taste, they resemble apples in consistency.

Bail (Stone Apple) Bail is a smooth fruit with a woody skin that comes in yellow, green or gray colors - native to India, however, it can be found throughout Southeast Asia.

The tough outer rind is so hard that the fruit can only be accessed with a hammer. Inside is a yellow flesh with a few hairy seeds, which can be eaten fresh or dried.

Ripe fruits are often used to make a drink called sharbat, which also contains water, sugar, and lime juice with pulp. You only need one large fruit to make 6 liters of sharbat.

Chrysophyllum (star apple) This fruit is native to the lowlands of Central America and Western India. The undersides of the leaves of this evergreen tree shine with a golden color, while the white or lilac flowers have a sweet scent.

An integral part of any trip is foreign cuisine, special dishes and unusual tastings. And if you choose such a type of tourism as gastronomic, then atypical treats are literally obligatory to eat. In particular, we are talking about fruits. But not everyone, going somewhere in a warm region, knows exotic tropical fruits and their names well. We will try to introduce you to the most interesting desserts of the foreign world.

Guava is the sister of the Ukrainian pear

Very similar to our pear and slightly sour in taste, guava is a fruit that grows in the tropical zone, in Mexico, South America, India and parts of Southeast Asia. Outwardly, it looks like a 10-14-centimeter yellow-green oval. The fruits ripen on small deciduous shrubs.

Eating stale guava is just as dangerous as eating other fruits. At the very least, you are at risk of indigestion. In addition, underripe guava is quite sour and unpleasant, astringent in taste. When are these exotic fruits will reach the "desired condition", they will become tasty and healthy enough.

Guava is recommended for use in case of intoxication, as well as for weight loss and all sorts of minor inflammatory processes of the gastrointestinal tract. Freshly squeezed guava juice and its seeds have a positive effect on the stomach. You can eat the fruit along with the peel, but with this we recommend that diabetics be careful, as it increases the level of glucose in the body.

Dragon eye is a fruit with an abundance of vitamins

This exotic name was given to an unusual-looking and slightly melon-like fruit. In everyday life, the dragon's eye is called longan, which grows in Thailand on high 10-meter trees. Lush crowns of trees hide round yellow fruits... If you peel them off, you will see white flesh inside. It is extremely useful in connection with great content microelements. In particular, we are talking about organic acids, protein, calcium, copper, zinc, phosphorus, iron and much more.

Thanks to the original sweetish taste, the fruit is extremely popular with local residents and tourists. It is either peeled and eaten raw, or cooked in rice dishes. Served together with stewed groats and coconut milk. Also, local craftsmen make sauces from longan, and even ice cream. Negative properties the fruit was not noticed, but we do not recommend overeating the dragon's eye.

Carambola is a star on your plate

Carambola is an extremely popular and well-known fruit not only in Asian countries, but also in Ukraine. Thanks to its unusual sight carambola is used as an element of the decor of dishes haute cuisine... The size of the fruit is a large goose egg, the color is yellow, and in the context of the carambola it resembles an asterisk.

You can eat both the pulp and the peel. This fruit is useful both raw and fried. It tastes either slightly sour or sweet. Tourists cannot agree on what kind of carambola tastes like, what it looks like. Someone reminds of a plum, someone grapes, someone an apple. But everyone says that the fruit is extremely tasty. The fruit contains sodium, iron, calcium, phosphorus, vitamins of groups B and C. Carambola is either served raw or deep-fried, and can also be boiled in sweet syrup.

Eggplant or mangosteen?

This fruit has several names - mangkut, garcinia, mangosteen and, of course, mangosteen. It grows in South Asia, on the territory of Vietnam, Thailand, India. This berry looks like a rounded purple-burgundy eggplant. It weighs 200 grams, and when cut looks like white flesh. The inside of the fruit is soft, melting and zyphyre. Very sweet in taste, mangosteen is a fruit that serves as the basis for various jams, desserts, nectars, syrups and juices. Also, the popularity of the fruit is based on the versatility of flavors - chefs note echoes of peach, pineapple and lychee in garcinia.

Also popular is the peel, which is used in folk medicine... But we strongly advise against eating fruit during pregnancy and breastfeeding. And also in case of illness gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and liver.

Noyna's sugar apple

Another name for the fruit is sugar apple, which is really very sweet. However, the taste is more reminiscent of late apricot, which does not make this treat less popular and tasty. Noina grows in the tropical zone, and is used from roots to fruits. Decoctions and tinctures of leaves, roots and bark help with fever and even dysentery.

When choosing noyna on the market, be careful, it is important to buy ripe fruit, otherwise you run the risk of poisoning. Noina should be greenish, heavy in feel and soft to the touch. Well, of course, the fruit should smell very good and delicious. When eating the fruit, do not eat seeds - they are useful only in the field of cosmetology and exclusively in the form of oil.

This thorny bump may not be seen on the branch, but it is very popular with Asian foodies. Another name for this tropical delicacy is sour cream. It has a sweet and sour taste and contains many beneficial elements. Researchers massively claim that sirsac is capable of treating cancer. IN chinese medicine add powders from dried fruits to medicines and tablets.

European scientists in the course of research found that the fetus actually stops the spread of the disease and reduces the activity of cancer cells. Sirsac cannot fully replace chemotherapy, but it can help prevent the disease. But, despite the pleasant taste and useful properties, do not overdo it with tasting. An excess of fruit can lead to intoxication and even hallucinations.

Chocolate Chiku

The chiku fruit has a second name - sepodilla. It looks like beige or brownish balls, inside - orange pulp and large black oblong seeds. Chiku is eaten raw, separated from the bitter rind and hard seeds. The fruit has a caramel flavor, and some varieties have a coffee and chocolate flavor.

Chiku is soft in consistency and should be large enough. Before use, sepodilla is recommended to be cooled, cut in half or into slices. The pulp can be eaten with a spoon, or simply bite off the peel like a watermelon or melon.

Pitahaya - dragon fruit

Unusual, beautiful, bright, called the heart of the dragon, the fruit is widely known to the public. But few people know what it tastes like. Depending on the variety, the pitahaya looks different. White has pink peel and white pulp, red has pink peel and red pulp, yellow has a yellow peel and white pulp, respectively. All of them are popular and unusual in their own way, and they are also extremely useful. Particularly due to its high fiber and antioxidant content. And also pitahaya is recommended for diabetics, as the fruit lowers the level of sugar in your blood.

Desserts and juices are prepared from the fruit, and the pulp is added to salads and light dishes. Can be eaten raw by cutting in half and eating the flesh with a spoon. The rind is beautiful but not edible. Fruit rind "bowls" are often used as decoration.

Of side effects there is only an allergic reaction, as well as indigestion when overeating.

Exotic Lychee Fruit

It is a Chinese plum that grows in clusters and has a pinkish-reddish color. The fruits are covered with a peel with convex pimples, inside there is a soft light pulp and a small stone. The lychee tastes like grapes, and the consistency is like hardened jelly.

You can eat these fruits, they are delicious and memorable. When choosing a plum, be sure to touch the berries themselves, they should not be too soft or darkened. If the lychee is dark burgundy, it means that it has been on sale for a long time and is no longer particularly fresh. Alternatively, you can try dried lychee. Syrups are made from it, jelly is rolled up and even added to ice cream.

The abundance of potassium, magnesium and C vitamins helps to strengthen the cardiovascular system. Also, Chinese doctors recommend eating lychee for those who suffer from high cholesterol levels.

Kiwano cucumber melon

Horned melon ranks high on the list of the most beautiful tropical fruits. Yellow-green prickly peel and green pulp, similar in consistency to citrus fruits. This fruit is definitely worthy of a place both on your plate and in the Instagram feed.

Another variant of the name Kiwano is horned or Antillean cucumber. It grows in New Zealand, central Africa and California. The melon has a cucumber-banana-melon flavor to taste, with a light kiwi flavor. Agree, this is definitely an unforgettable combination!

Do not overdo it with tasting, and at the same time remember that, within reasonable limits, the melon enriches the body with vitamins B and C. Cut it in half and eat the pulp right along with the seeds.

Ripe black sapote

Unusual in appearance, but original in taste, the fruit is extremely popular in Central America and Mexico. The ripe fruit reaches ten centimeters in diameter. Inside there is a sticky, slightly viscous pulp, as well as several large seeds. The main feature of the sapotas is the chocolate flavor. Really chocolate!

The peel of the fruit is green, while the inside of the flesh is black-brown. This fruit is rich in vitamin C and calcium, and it is also very good for those on a diet, as it contains almost zero fat content.

Thorny snake fruit

Another black and strange fruit that protects itself from unwanted hands. The fact is that the fruit is tasty and soft inside, from the outside it is covered with snake skin - a prickly brown-black skin. This is exactly what he is, an unusual herring or snake fruit.

Be careful when peeling the fruit. Small scales can cut yourself. But the pulp itself contains calcium, phosphorus, iron and beta-carotene.
But do not eat too much herring, despite the pleasant pineapple taste, if overeating, it can cause allergic reactions and poisoning.

Jaboticaba tree fruit

This fruit grows directly on the tree, even on the bark. The main area of \u200b\u200bits growth is Brazil. It is here that the fruit is used as an ingredient for desserts, as well as raw materials for liqueurs and wine. Jaboticaba also helps with asthma, dysentery and disorders.

The peculiarity of these black fruits is that they spoil quickly enough. You need to eat the fruit within two to three days after it was picked. That is why you can mainly find jams, preserves and jaboticaba syrups in shops and restaurants in Brazil.

Chocolate liana

It is a truly waste-free fruit that is used to its fullest. Chocolate vine or more scientific name Akebia is literally eaten all over. The pear-shaped fruit is cut in half or a small incision is made. The white, slightly pearlescent pulp is taken out with a spoon and served as a dessert together with the seeds. And the purple rind is stuffed with meat or seafood, and then baked and served. Even dried fruit leaves are served as tea or seasoning.

The chocolate liana tastes like raspberries, but the smell of chocolate remains here. Flowers also smell like chocolate fruit tree... Therefore, it is worth taking a walk near the akebia tree during the flowering period to enjoy the aromas.

Finger lime

This fruit reminds many of rolls with red caviar. But in fact, this is lime caviar, which tastes absolutely identical to regular lime. It is the appearance that attracts tourists.
The oval dark fruits contain reddish and pinkish caviar balls inside, filled with juice. It is the caviar itself that is used in the preparation of desserts and dishes from fish and meat. The fruit is remarkable for the fact that it contains many useful, tonic and regenerating enzymes.

But be careful, as overeating can cause allergies. Also, finger lime is not recommended for those who suffer from ulcers, pancreatitis, gastritis, colitis and other bowel diseases.

Melotria rough

The peculiarity of melotria is that it looks like small watermelons. But the taste is more like a sour cucumber with a lemon aftertaste. It grows on climbing bushes and is a good cancer prevention.

The skin of the fruit is hard, and the flesh really resembles a cucumber. It is important not to let the melotria overripe, fresh and timely picked fruits are very tasty and healthy. You can also pickle or pickle melotria like a regular cucumber. It is pickled that it is most often served in Asian restaurants.

Little by little, it is recommended to consume this fruit every day, since it is useful for losing weight and is perfect for diabetics. But beware those who suffer from diseases of the cardiovascular system and intestinal tract.

Musical biriba

The fruit looks like a yellow, slightly blackening ball. The peel has scales, inside the flesh is white, the bones are small and black. Biriba tastes like lemon meringue, and it is harvested in the early stages, without waiting for full ripening. It matures already in boxes and on counters.

Biriba is mostly grown and sold in South America. The main indicator of maturity is a yellow, blackening peel. If it is overripe, the pulp will not be edible and bitter.

Ripe fruit is eaten raw, and sometimes juices, syrups, and even wine are made from it. And musical instruments are made from dried fruits!

Wonderful berries

These berries are similar to barboris, they are red and large enough. They are called miraculous due to their unusual effect on taste buds... After tasting the berries, any food you eat will taste sweet to you. All this is due to the content of glucol-protein. It desensitizes the receptors for all flavors except sweet. The effect of sweetness lasts up to two hours.

Don't overeat, of course. But some bizarre, miraculously useful and medical properties have not been found. At the same time, the miracle berries are good for those who are now on a diet, it will reduce the consumption of sugar in your diet.

Tamarillo or tomato?

Despite the fact that tamarillo is a fruit, it is similar in appearance and taste to a tomato. It has a red-orange skin color, and a red-burgundy pulp color. The bush itself, on which tamarillo grows, also looks like a tomato bush that has surpassed its size.

Depending on the species, the fruit has different taste and is used in different variations... Red is the widest distribution and has orange sweet flesh, and is used as a decoration and additions to main dishes. Yellow is sweeter and smaller in size, orange is less sweet and juicy of all.

The skin of the fruit is not eaten, it is too tough and bland. The pulp has a juicy consistency of sweet taste, contains vitamins of groups A, B and C. It is also low in sugar, so the fruit is suitable for diabetics. Peeling tamarillo will not be easy, it is recommended to put it in boiling water for a few seconds or just cut it and eat it with a spoon.

Tropical fruits offer an incredible variety of flavors, shapes and appearances. It is always very exciting to discover new and amazing dishes. But we recommend not only choosing the most rare fruitsbut also make sure you are tasting in the right and proven place.

The countries of Southeast Asia are a paradise for tropical fruit lovers. Dragon fruit, mangosteen, tomarillo, durian, snake fruit, and many other exotic names cease to amaze and become the norm here.

Surely in Russia, in large supermarkets, there are many of these fruits, only, firstly, the prices for them can differ by an order of magnitude, and secondly, in order for them to appear on the shelves in an attractive form, they are pretty stuffed with chemicals or are sent unripe, which cannot but affect the taste and useful qualities.

But in Southeast Asia, at home, many of these fruits cost a penny - for example, ripe and juicy mango in the season you can buy for 5 rubles, and large (3 kg), sweet papaya for 30 rubles. As for the usual apples and pears, here they, on the contrary, are one of the most expensive fruits. In addition, there are almost no berries here, the exception is strawberries, which sometimes please us.

We have been living in Bali for the sixth month now, and every day we enjoy the diversity fruit flavors... There are several dozen tropical fruits here, and if you consider that each of them, as a rule, has several varieties, and the taste of each variety is unique and inimitable, it becomes clear how well fruit lovers live here.

The same fruits we tasted in Mexico, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia often differ not only in flavor, but also in name and shape. Eyes in the market or in the store keep running up, it is difficult to choose a particular fruit, so we buy huge boxes that can hardly fit on a bike.

We deliberately do not write about prices, since they are different everywhere, depend on the country, seasonality, variety and ability to bargain. So, we begin our acquaintance with tropical exoticism.
Snake fruit, the Balinese call it salak

The fruits are round or pear-shaped, tapering to the top in a wedge, covered with a scaly brown skin resembling snake skin, from which the name of the fruit comes.

The peel is thin and easily removable, it is enough to cut or tear it at the edge, and then remove it, like a shell from an egg. The flesh is white or beige, and consists mainly of three segments. If the fruit is unripe, then due to the high content of tannin it knits the mouth, this is how we first tried it in Malaysia in the spring - we did not like it, and we safely forgot about it.

Here in Bali, Baltic herring, as one of the most common fruits, quickly became familiar, we tried it again, and, one might say, fell in love.

Bali has 2 varieties. One, more elongated, consists of 3 identical segments, has a pleasant refreshing sweet taste, reminiscent of pineapple and banana with a slight nutty flavor. The second, more rounded, with two large segments and the third small without pits, tastes similar to gooseberries and pineapple. Both varieties are quite interesting, we buy different ones with equal success.

Baltic herring contains tannin, which removes it from the body harmful substances, has astringent, hemostatic and antidiarrheal properties.

In the north of Bali, in the forests, we somehow found a wild herring. Unlike the garden one, its peel is prickly in small needles, no more than 1mm long, and the fruits themselves are smaller in size. They taste sweet, but they are not very pleasant to peel because of the thorns, so we fed them to the monkeys, who were not hindered by the thorns, and they coped with the cleaning as quickly as they do with bananas.
Tamarillo

The fruits of tamarillo are egg-shaped, about 5 cm long. The shiny peel is hard and bitter, inedible, and the flesh has a sweet-sour, tomato-currant taste, almost without aroma. The skin color can be orange-red, yellow, or violet-red.

The color of the flesh is usually golden pink, the seeds are thin and round, black, edible. The fruits resemble long-fruited tomatoes, which is why they christened it the tomato tree. Tomarillo can be cut into 2 halves and just squeeze the pulp into your mouth, or peel it with a knife holding the tail - you get such a flower

Tamarillo contains a large amount of vitamins A, B6, C and E, as well as trace elements - iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and calcium. The fruit will be useful for those who suffer from migraines.

We fell in love with this fruit because of its berry-currant flavor - there are very few berries in Bali, mostly all imported (with the exception of strawberries).

Tamarillo makes an excellent sauce when you add lemon juice, ginger and honey to it. The sauce is suitable for both spicy dishes and desserts.
Mango

Of the many tropical fruits, mango is still one of our favorites - it seems that you can eat as much as you like and never get bored. In Russia, we sometimes bought them in a store and the concept of different varieties did not exist for us - there is just mango and that's all, what was our surprise that, it turns out, there are several dozen species of them.

India collects about 13.5 million tons of mango fruits a year (just think about the figure!) And is thus the main producer (the most famous variety is mangifera indica 'Alphonso'), China is in second place in terms of productivity (just over 4 million tons) , on the third - Thailand (2.5 million tons), Indonesia 2.1 million tons.

Ripe fruit different varieties they taste very different, most often they are sweet and have pleasant aromas of different shades from honey even to ginger

Arriving in India in early November, we were very surprised not to find mango on sale - it turned out that the season begins in April. They flew away at the end of March, and literally in the last week the first harvest appeared on sale - these were small red mangoes, very fragrant and sweet, for several days we could not tear ourselves away from them.

We really liked the variety of mango varieties in Malaysia - from Thai light yellow, with beige flesh inside, to green thick-skinned, unripe in appearance, but with bright orange, sweet flesh.

But for real, we gorge ourselves on mangoes in Bali. In May and June, the choice was not very large, but in August, September and, especially, in October, the variety of varieties and prices never ceases to please us. Our favorite Harumanis is a green mango with orange, sweet, honey flesh.

Mangoes are high in vitamins and fructose, and low in acids. Vitamin A has a beneficial effect on the organs of vision, helps with "night blindness" and other eye diseases. Regular use mango improves immunity and protects against colds. Green mango it is also rich in vitamin C.

Mango fruits are often used in home medicine, for example, in India, mangoes are used to stop bleeding, to strengthen the heart muscle, and to improve brain function.
Jackfruit

Everyone who sees jackfruit for the first time is very surprised, and there is something - this is the world's largest fruit growing on a tree. The length of the fruit is 20-90 cm, the diameter is up to 20 cm, and the fruits weigh up to 35 kg (in the photo, for comparison, there is a mandarin duck). The thick rind is covered with numerous cone-shaped spines. Young fruits are green, when ripe they become green-yellow or brown-yellow.

If the fruit has fallen, and not ripe, it is eaten as a vegetable, in India we have repeatedly tried jackfruit curry. But fresh was first tried in Sri Lanka at the end of April, where the season had just begun.

You can find a ripe fruit between May and September; when tapped, it emits a hollow sound (unripe fruit is deaf). Internally, the fruit is divided into large lobes that contain a sweet yellow flesh composed of juicy, slippery fibers. Each lobe contains an oblong seed 2-4 cm long, one fruit can contain up to 500 seeds

The peel and seeds of a ripe fruit have an unpleasant putrid smell, while the pulp smells nice, there is something in common with banana and pineapple, but the taste is still specific, for an amateur, we liked it very much.

All parts of the plant, including the peel, contain sticky latex, so it is recommended to cut the fruit with grease on your hands. sunflower oil or wearing rubber gloves The fruit can be kept in the refrigerator for 1-2 months. In supermarkets and markets, jackfruit is sold mainly already cut, since whole fruits, firstly, scare away with their thorns, and secondly, not everyone is ready to overpower such a giant.

Due to its weight, jackfruit often falls from the tree and breaks. Due to the strong smell, animals can easily find it, which carry seeds throughout the forest, which contributes to its active distribution.

Jackfruit is very nutritious and contains about 40% carbohydrates. In particular, therefore, and also because of its low cost and general availability, jackfruit in India is called "bread for the poor" or breadfruit. The seeds are also nutritious - they contain 38% carbohydrates, they are fried and eaten like chestnuts. It tastes a little dry, but goes well with salads.
Dragon fruit or dragon fruit, also known as pitaya or pitahaya

Belongs to the cactus family. Due to its interesting and unusual shape, as well as its bright pink color, the fruit cannot go unnoticed. The fruit has a white or red (depending on the variety), creamy pulp and a delicate, slightly perceptible aroma. The pulp is eaten raw, the taste is sweetish. It is convenient to eat it by cutting into 2 halves, scooping out the pulp with a spoon. To some, dragon fruit may seem bland and not very tasty, but if you taste it properly, you will definitely like the fruit (like, for example, Mozzarella cheese, which also does not have a very pronounced taste).

The fruit grows on cacti and blooms only at night. Flowers are also edible and can be brewed into tea. The fruit is low in calories, helps with stomach pains and has a beneficial effect on the quality of vision.
Rambutan

Fruits are round or oval, 3-6 cm in size, grow in clusters of up to 30 pieces, sometimes they are sold right on the branch. As they ripen, the fruits change color from green to yellow-orange and then to red. If you want the most enjoyment, choose bright red fruit. Juicy white fruits are covered with a dense rind, covered with curved, hard hairs of yellow-brown color, 1-2 cm long.The pulp is gelatinous, white, very aromatic and pleasant sweet and sour taste... The inside is an inedible oval seed, up to 1.5 cm long. Raw seeds are poisonous, but if they are fried, they can be eaten.

The seed oil is used in the production of soaps and candles. Rambutans contain carbohydrates, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, niacin, and vitamin C.

The fruits are eaten mainly in fresh, sometimes canned with sugar. Moreover, in Malaysia, these canned fruits are sold on every corner, as a snack, and also make refreshing drinks.

For the first time we met rambutans in their homeland - in Malaysia. From Malay, rambutan is translated as "hairy".

Fruits are very light in weight, so several dozen of them can be contained in 1 kilogram. By the way, after the bananas, which we pretty much got hooked on in India (not only because of taste, but also for health reasons), this is fruit number 2, which you can easily and safely eat while traveling. A bunch of rambutans can be bought at the market or on the side of the road and eaten right away, which cannot be done with the same papaya or mango, let alone fruit that is eaten with the skin.

You just need to tear the peel in the middle and remove the top half (the hairs are not prickly at all), then send the pulp into your mouth and stay in your hand with the other half of the peel - you don't even need to wash your hands.

We got to Malaysia just in the rambutan season (May) and the cost for 1 kg was the same as for 1 kg of mango (about $ 1), but in Bali, they turned out to be 3 times more expensive, although in October they already fell in price to $ 1.5 ...
Mangosteen (mangostin), aka mangosteen, mangosteen, garcinia, mangkut

The fruit is round, 4-8 cm in diameter, covered with a thick (1 cm) burgundy-purple inedible rind, under which there are 5-8 segments of white, very juicy pulp, with large seeds inside each segment. We met mangosteen in Sri Lanka - when we saw them for the first time, we thought that there was some strange persimmon here.

We were not going to buy them, but the seller at the last moment held us back, showing a clever trick, opening this fruit in a second. Seeing the juicy pulp, we could not resist the desire and tried it, and then of course we bought it. The fruit has a very pleasant taste, creamy sweet and slightly tart.

IN hot weather this is great fruit to quench your thirst.
Melody (melodi), aka pepino, melon pear or sweet cucumber

The fruits are varied, differing in size, shape, color and taste. Some have an exotic color - bright yellow, others purple, which resemble eggplant. Pulp ripe fruit light yellow or completely colorless. Melody tastes like a melon-flavored mixture of pear and cucumber. It can be added to both sweet desserts and salads (depending on the variety). Here in Bali, we love to add it to salads - the fruit costs about the same as cucumbers, and the taste is softer and more interesting.

Shades of taste, by the way, are different - from sweet and sour to sweet. The melody itself is very juicy, it is 92% water, so it is great for quenching your thirst. Vitamin C gives acidity to the fruit, and the fruit is also rich in iron, keratin and a large amount of vitamins A, B1, B2 and PP.
Longan or dragon eye

The first name comes from the name of the Vietnamese province of Longan. And the second from the structure of the fruit - if you break the "berry" in half, then a black bone appears, which, against the background of transparent beige pulp, resembles Longan's eye, growing in clusters on evergreen trees, the height of which can reach twenty meters. Over 200 kg of fruit are harvested from each tree over the summer.

Outwardly, the fruits are similar to nuts, easy to clean. The color of the inedible outer shell of the fruit is spotty yellowish. Lognan tends to ripen after being removed from the tree. Under the peel, there is a transparent juicy pulp - sweet and very aromatic with a musky aftertaste. One large bone is located under the pulp.

Longan is quite rich in vitamins, it contains a lot of vitamins C, B1, B2 and B3, as well as micro- and macroelements such as phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, calcium, copper, iron, zinc, manganese and, in addition, many bioacids, useful for the skin. With this wealth, the fruit is low in calories. Longan can be eaten fresh, or as an appetizer with hot and spicy dishes, a drink from it perfectly quenches thirst and improves appetite

For the first time we tasted the fruit in Bali - once walking around the market with our Balinese friend Budi, we asked him about our favorite fruits and he, without delay, pointed to this rather inconspicuous fruit. Be a native of Java, and Longan is very popular there.

The first time we didn’t really like it, the aroma was not as pronounced as expected. We decided that we just hadn't tasted it, and after a couple of days we bought it again - this time the longan turned out to be very tasty and juicy.

Against the background of other exotic, more appetizing-looking fruits, outwardly, of course, it loses, but here is the palette of its included useful components and the refreshing taste is pushed to buy again and again.

Longan is used in traditional Chinese medicine as a tonic for weakness, fatigue, tachycardia, dizziness and impaired vision. Also, the pulp of the fruit is used to treat gastrointestinal disorders, lowering body temperature with fever, calming down with unreasonable anxiety, normalizing sleep and improving memory, focusing attention.
Kepundung or Asian gooseberry

It looks very much like Longan in appearance, but the taste is completely different. The rind is firm but easy to peel. The fruits inside are white-pink, have a viscous jelly structure, there is a stone that is difficult to separate from the pulp - this is one of the reasons why kepundung is easier to use for making syrups and sauces, and not fresh. The fruit tastes very pleasant, sweet and sour, refreshing with light thin aroma. Kepundung is a well-known source of vitamin C in Asia, making it useful for treating throat and respiratory problems.

The fruit is considered sacred among Indian and Tibetan healers who use dried fruits for a wide range of problems such as indigestion, high fever, liver problems and anemia. Kepundung is good for the prevention and treatment of stress, fever, arthritis.
Tamarind or indian date, he is asam, asem, sampalok

It is actually a legume, but it is sold in the fruit department, and because of its sweet taste, many people really consider it a fruit. The fruit is hidden under the shell - a brown pod-like bean, similar, sorry, to "poop", consisting of soft pulp and many dense seeds.

The pulp can be eaten fresh, like a fruit or sweetness for tea. It is also widely used as a spice in both Asian and Latin American cuisines.

The pulp of green fruits is sour and is used in cooking spicy dishes, but ripe fruits are sweeter, with a fruity taste, they are used for making desserts, drinks, snacks.

In Latin America, especially in Mexico, this fruit is very popular and is used in all kinds of ways. It was in Mexico that we first got acquainted with its taste - we tried the Tamarindo sweets - hard candies with seeds, with a characteristic aroma and taste.

We didn't like the sweets, but here, in Bali, we bought fresh tamarind, not even suspecting that we had already tried it before - this time we liked it.

Thanks to its healing properties, pulp, leaves and bark are used in medicine. In the Philippines, the leaves are traditionally used to make herbal tea to relieve fever in malaria. And in India, in Ayurveda - for the treatment of diseases of the digestive tract. Tamarind contains a large amount of vitamin C, as well as vitamins A and E. Protects against colds and heart disease.

Tamarind is the official Santa Clara tree in Cuba and is featured on the city's coat of arms.
Papaya

Sweet juicy pieces of papaya melt in your mouth. The fruit is extremely nutritious, and what is most interesting is that papaya does not get boring at all, we enjoyed eating it very often in India and Sri Lanka, and in Bali it has been our traditional breakfast dish for the sixth month. In India and Bali, papaya is very sweet, we especially like the California variety, and in Thailand, as our friends say, it is more watery. In Mexico, we liked it only in combination with yogurt or honey - there it is more customary to eat it a little unripe and even with salt and chili.

Papaya is a valuable source of beta-carotene, a third of an average fruit satisfies the daily requirement of an adult for vitamin C, and also provides required amount calcium and iron.

The fruits of papaya, not only in appearance, but also in chemical composition, are close to melon, contain glucose and fructose, organic acids, proteins, fiber, vitamins and minerals, so that papaya is sometimes called "melon tree".

They say that when baked over a fire, papaya fruits smell like fresh bread, which gave this plant another interesting name - "breadfruit".

Green papaya has contraceptive and abortifacient properties - Asian women wanting to terminate pregnancy ate in large quantities unripe fruit.

In tropical countries, papaya juice is used for diseases of the spine, as it contains an enzyme that regenerates the connective tissue of the intervertebral discs. Perhaps it is because of frequent use for eating papaya, the inhabitants of Asia are less susceptible to diseases of the musculoskeletal system, even despite the tradition of wearing weights on the head.
Coconut (cocos, coconut)

Although they are often called “coconuts,” they are not actually nuts, but drupes - stone fruits (like peaches). The weight of the coconut is 1.5-2.5 kg, its outer shell is green, brown or yellow, depending on the variety, is permeated with fibers, and the inner, hard shell is the same "shell" that many are accustomed to seeing on store shelves. In a young coconut, the liquid (coconut water) is clear and tasty, it is these coconuts that are bought as a drink. Gradually, with the appearance of oil droplets inside, secreted by the bark, the liquid turns into an emulsion milky, then thickens and hardens, freezing on the walls of the shell.

In Mexico, we mainly bought already hard, sliced \u200b\u200bcoconuts. When eaten with chocolate, they are very reminiscent of Bounty bars.

But coconut water was first tasted in India. There, young coconuts are sold on every corner, and they are very cheap ($ 0.3 versus $ 1-1.5 in Bali). They are sold not in fruit trays, but often just from a cart. Sometimes, right under a tree on the ground, there is a mountain of fresh coconuts and split bones. Sellers deftly, in 2-3 steps, cut off the top and insert a tube - the drink is ready

A young coconut contains about 2 cups of "coconut milk". After the natural container is emptied, you can ask to split it into 2 parts and use a spoon, made right there by the seller from one incision along the outer layer, to scrape out the pulp - a translucent jelly slurry.

In Bali, various varieties of both young coconuts and hard coconuts are abundant, and the latter are sold already peeled from the shell, which is very convenient.

1st place in the world for the production of coconuts, and this is about 20,000 thousand tons of fruit per year is occupied by the Philippines. Indonesia and India are in 2nd and 3rd places, respectively.

Coconut is a strong aphrodisiac, it normalizes the reproductive system. Milk and coconut pulp are good for restoring strength and improving vision.

Coconut oil is generally a versatile product; it is used in cooking, medical and cosmetic purposes.

Strengthens and nourishes the hair, as well as moisturizes and softens the skin, smoothing out wrinkles; improves the functioning of the digestive system and liver; normalize the function of the thyroid gland; relaxes muscles and helps with joint problems; increases immunity and resistance to various infections, reduces the adaptability of bacteria to antibiotics.

The pulp normalizes blood cholesterol levels; helps with colds, diarrhea, and gallbladder disease; has antimicrobial, antiviral wound healing effect; reduces the risk of atherosclerosis and other diseases of the cardiovascular system, and oncological diseases and degenerative processes. Hard coconuts contain B vitamins and vitamins C and E, as well as various mineral salts.

In general, not a fruit, but a whole natural pharmacy.
Pineapple (ananas, pineaple)

The largest pineapple plantations are concentrated in the Hawaiian Islands, accounting for about 30% of world production. Did you know that pineapples grow on bushes, not on a tree? For the first time as they grow, we are in Sri Lanka, and we were very surprised. Pineapple, along with bananas, is one of the most popular fruits in Asia, they are found in every country - of different varieties and sizes. The most delicious pineapples we ate in Sri Lanka - bright, sweet and juicy, with a rich aroma, just paradisaic delight... Our friends even took such pineapples from Sri Lanka home to Russia as souvenirs.

And in India, we liked the way pineapples were peeled on the beaches. In the states of Kerala and Goa, saleswomen carry fruit for sale in large basins on their heads, including pineapples. They are turned over with their "tail" down, dexterously peeled with a knife, and literally a minute later they are handed over like an ice cream cone.

Pineapple is low in calories, and a high content of potassium salts helps to get rid of excess fluid and even several kilograms of weight. Pineapple dessert improves the digestion of fatty foods and improves metabolism. Thanks to the complex biologically active substances, pineapple stimulates digestion and reduces blood viscosity.

Pineapple contains vitamins A, B and C, as well as numerous trace elements, including bromelain, which improves the absorption of protein by the body.
Passion fruit (marakujya), it is also edible passionflower, or edible passionflower, or purple granadilla

For the first time we tried this passion fruit in Bali, and I must say that from the first time it did not make a special impression on us, but the second time we tasted it - passion fruit is really very tasty and unusual. The color of the fruit, depending on the variety, varies from light yellow to maroon, the jelly-like pulp can be transparent, beige, greenish. The flavors are also quite different - from sweet and sour to very sweet. We are not yet addicted to a particular variety, we are trying different ones. It is enough to cut the fruit in half, after which the fragrant sweet pulp can be eaten with a spoon. Passion fruit seeds are also edible - they are used to decorate cakes and other confectionery products.

Sweet and sour passionfruit juice is appreciated in cooking, and since it also has good tonic properties, it is used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetology.

The fruit is very effective in relieving headaches, muscle tension, and insomnia.
Guava or guava

The fruit is usually round, oval or pear-shaped, with a pleasant musky scent. The colors of the fruits are very different - yellowish-white, bright yellow, reddish, greenish-white or even green, the skin is always very thin. Fruits are different in size - from very small to large, depending on the variety. The pulp is white, yellow, pink or bright red, filled with tough seeds. The number of seeds ranges from 112 to 535 (and some fruits do not contain seeds at all). Guava produces one main crop, up to 100 kg per tree - and 2-4 additional much smaller ones. The best mature trees yield 200-250 kg. per year.

The first time we tried guava in India, they prefer to eat it unripe, green, cut it in half and sprinkle it with pepper (we abstained from this addition). The taste is unusual, we liked it, but the stomachs didn’t like the unripe fruit very much. In Bali, we tried another guava, and this time we ate ripe fruit. These fruits are similar in size and color to Asian lemons, and the pale pink tender pulp tastes like strawberries.

Guava is a treasure trove of health, it is the only fruit that contains 16 vitamins, minerals, salts and trace elements. Interesting fact: Guava is 5-10 times more vitamin C than orange.

Guava fruits are widely used not only in food (jellies, jams, sauces, marmalade, juices), but also in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages.

Guava juice has a psychostimulating effect, in ancient times it was added to the drinks of warriors and hunters to give them vigor and strength, and Cuban women fed these fruits to their lovers, they contain aphrodisiacs - substances that strengthen "masculine strength" and enhance sexual desire.

Guava is also used as an air freshener - if the cut fruits are brought into a smoky room, then after 10 minutes the smell of tobacco will disappear.
Yellow watermelon

It looks ordinary striped watermelon, only inside it is unusual, bright yellow color... Such a watermelon was born as a result of crossing a wild watermelon (which is exactly yellow) with an ordinary one. In addition to the unusual color, this watermelon contains very little, in comparison with red, seeds - sometimes we come across completely without seeds.

The first time we tried yellow watermelon in Malaysia and it turned out to be not very sweet, but in Bali we buy them often and always come across sweet ones. Once we bought both red and yellow for comparison of tastes, and so red turned out to be less sweet, even seemed watery, although if it is separate from yellow, it is quite fragrant and sweet

Despite the fact that it is a hybrid, yellow watermelon, like ordinary watermelon, contains many vitamins and perfectly contributes to the regulation of the excretory system.
Sapodilla (sapodilla) aka savo, aka chiku, aka achra

A brown-green egg-shaped fruit, up to 5 cm in size. The smaller fruits look like small potatoes, and those that are larger are like kiwi. The skin is soft and easy to peel with a knife. The pulp is yellow-brown, juicy, very sweet with a caramel-date flavor, sometimes even sugary sweet if the fruit is ripe.

It is better to choose soft fruits, even if they are a little "wrinkled", they will definitely be sweeter. We tried this fruit for the first time in India and it immediately became our second favorite (after bananas). In India it is called "chiku", so we are more accustomed to this name. In Bali, it is known as "savo" or "Balinese kiwi". The fruit is eaten both raw and cooked - in the form of jams and salads, it is also stewed with lime juice and ginger, put in pies and even made wine based on it.

Chiku is rich in vegetable proteins, carbohydrates, iron, potassium and calcium, as well as vitamins A and C. The beneficial properties of chiku are used by cosmetics manufacturers - the fruit has antiseptic and regenerating properties.
Durian

In the countries of Southeast Asia, durian is considered the king of fruits. It is ovoid or round in shape, about 15-30 cm in diameter, weighing from 1 to 8 kg. Durian is covered all over with pyramidal hard thorns-thorns and is somewhat similar to Jack Fruit, many tourists, out of inexperience, even confuse them.

The fruit is a five-leaf capsule, each of the 5 chambers of the fruit contains one pale yellow seed with pulp, which has the consistency of a pudding and an incomparably "delicious" aroma. The smell of a ripe fruit is really peculiar, very corrosive, sweetish-putrid. The raw pulp of ripe durian fruit is considered a delicacy, the fruit is eaten by hand, breaking them at the seams and removing the pulp with seed from the chamber

It tastes like sweet almond cream with the addition of cream cheese, onion gravy, cherry syrup and other difficult to combine products.

Durian, if not overripe, smells only when cut, and the smell appears only half an hour after the fruit has been cut. The scent of durian is sometimes described as a mixture of rotten onions, cheese and turpentine.

Because of this, in many countries of Southeast Asia, it is forbidden to bring durian into public places and transport, in many hotels in those countries where durian grows, even a poster with a crossed-out image of a fruit hangs, especially we saw a lot of such posters in Singapore, there is even a fine for it is supposed to.

Durian contains a rich set of minerals - potassium, calcium, magnesium and zinc, these are vital elements for the work of the cardiovascular, nervous, immune and other systems of the body. A decoction of the leaves and roots of durian is used as an antipyretic agent, and the pulp is used as an anthelmintic.

It is eaten fresh, added to confectionery, as a filling in chocolate candies, ice cream, drinks, fried as a side dish, or mixed with rice.

For the first time, we decided to get to know the taste of durian in Malaysia by trying ice cream with this taste. We absolutely did not like it, although it hardly had anything in common with the taste of a real fruit - it contained soy milk and a dozen flavors, stabilizers, etc.

We have not met those indifferent to this fruit - we either love it dearly or disgust it. Previously, we avoided even talking about trying durian, but recently we decided to do this feat. Our verdict is that durian has a very rich taste with many shades, we liked it very much, so in the future we will certainly buy it.
Carambola or star fruit

There are mainly 2 types: sour, as a rule, green and sweet - yellow. The fruits of both varieties are very juicy and slightly herbal. Sour varieties have a pronounced tonic effect, we first tried them in Bali, these varieties are ideal for preparing salads.

We met sweet varieties a long time ago, while traveling around Europe, we especially fell in love with them on Canary Islands... The juicy pulp most of all resembles a harmonious combination of gooseberry, apple and cucumber. The sweet varieties are delicious raw, and can also be added to fruit cocktails, or used as an edible decoration for ice cream and cakes to make cute stars when slicing.

Thanks to its juiciness, carambola is ideal for quenching thirst. The mineral and vitamin complex of the fruit is represented by calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium, beta-carotene and vitamins B1, B2, B5, and C. The aroma of carambola is significantly enhanced if it is slightly boiled in syrup until soft.
Asian lemons (lemon)

Of course, lemons are everywhere, and they can hardly be attributed to tropical fruits, but we decided, nevertheless, to write about them, because in appearance they are very different from the usual ones. Asian lemons are small, round, yellow-green or green, which gives them a similarity to lime, with which they are often confused by tourists.

By the way, lemon changes or transforms the taste of familiar fruits very cool. For example, try sprinkling papaya with lemon juice and you will get an unusual taste, the papaya will seem even sweeter.

We also often use lemons to make lemon-ginger-honey tea. Lemon contains so much vitamin C that even with short heating lemon juice up to 100 ° C, the content of vitamin C almost does not decrease, which allows you to add it to tea and not lose useful properties at the same time (the main thing is not to boil it).

Lemon juice is a prophylactic agent against heart attacks, strokes, and is also capable of killing dozens of viruses.
Chomphu, jambolan, yambosili or Malay apple, also called waxy, pink, mountain or water apple

Fruits are oblong, bell-shaped. Although the fruit is called an apple, outwardly it looks more like a small pear 4-8 cm long.The fruit has a pink-red or dark red, sometimes red-green waxy skin, inside is a white juicy crunchy pulp and 1 or 2 inedible brown seeds, although there are fruits and no seed. The ripe fruit has a pleasant, sweet aroma, and the fruit itself is good for quenching thirst. For the first time we tried it in Bali - we bought it several times, and each time the tastes are different, from very sweet to tasteless watery, apparently we have not yet learned how to determine the ripeness of the fruit.

Ripe wax apples are edible not only fresh, but also stewed with cloves and other spices, in cream. Unripe fruits are suitable for making jams, jams and marinades. Also, white and red wine is made from these fruits.

The Malay apple contains bioactive substances that help lower blood sugar levels, so it is very beneficial for diabetics. It is also actively used in traditional medicine in many tropical countries. For example, a decoction of the bark of a tree is used for intestinal disorders, the decoction of the root as a diuretic, and the juice from the leaves is used as a lotion for the face, or take a bath with it. The fruit has antimicrobial properties and is used to regulate blood pressure and treat colds.
Sirsak, guanabana, annona prickly or sour cream apple

Fruits are heart-shaped or oval, irregular, 15-20 cm long and weighing up to 3 kg. The peel is thin and tough, has small fleshy spines, located in a net pattern, the color is dark green, sometimes with black splashes, the ripe fruit turns slightly yellow. The pulp is juicy, fibrous, light creamy, similar to custard, divided into segments, has a fragrant unique smell reminiscent of pineapple, the taste is sweet with slight sourness, nutmeg.

The fruit is eaten both fresh and used to make drinks, desserts, fruit salads, and ice cream. The fruits are harvested, not ripe, firm, because if they are allowed to ripen on the tree, they fall and become damaged. At room temperature, they ripen and become soft. In Indonesia, unripe fruits are used as vegetables.

We eat it fresh, we tried it for the first time in the Canary Islands, but then we did not appreciate the taste and for a long time did not buy. And more recently, when they wanted exotic things and bought sirsak, I liked the taste. We just cut it in half, by analogy with pitaya, and eat the pulp with spoons, but you can cut it into cubes and eat it with a fork, whichever is more convenient.

Sirsak contains important minerals - calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, as well as vitamin C and vitamins of group B. The fruit is good for intestinal microflora, improves liver function, normalizes stomach acidity, removes uric acid from the body, therefore it is recommended for people suffering from such diseases like rheumatism, arthritis and gout. In folk medicine, the bark and leaves are used as antispasmodic and depressant, they are used for insomnia, cough, flu, asthenia, asthma and hypertension.
Bananas

This is by far one of the most popular fruits on the planet. It's hard to believe in looking at a pile of identical bananas in Lenta or Auchan, but there are more than 40 all over the world different types... Most of the varieties, at the same time on sale, we saw in India (about a dozen). Bananas of different colors, shapes and sizes are sold there, from very small ones with a little finger, to giant ones under 30 cm, and of course, each of them has its own unique taste.

Bananas were our number one fruit in India. Firstly, they are incredibly tasty, most of all we fell in love with yellow, finger and red, they are very sweet. Secondly, because of the convenience of their cleaning and safety in unsanitary conditions. Thirdly, they are very cheap - $ 0.3-0.5 for a large bundle weighing 1.5 kg.

By the way, red bananas are practically not exported, since they are very soft and tender, and it is quite easy to damage them during transportation.

Ecuadorian bananas, to which everyone is accustomed in Russia, cannot be compared with Asian varieties in their sweetness and aroma.

Bananas are conventionally divided into two main groups: dessert, which are consumed, raw or dried, and plane trees, which require heat treatment.

The flesh of dessert varieties is very sweet in taste, contains a large amount of sugars, carbohydrates and a small amount of proteins and fats, so they are often used in sports nutrition.

Platanos are fruits with green or red skin, with starchy, tough, often unsweetened pulp, which are fried, boiled or steamed before eating. Most often in the markets and in cafes they are sold as a snack - banana chips or dessert "bananas in batter".

Bananas contain more vitamin B6 than other fruits, this vitamin is responsible for good mood, and because of its high phosphorus content, banana is called a fruit for intelligence.

By weight, the banana crop ranks second in the world, ahead of grapes (third) and behind oranges (first). India grows the largest number of bananas in the world.

Dried bananas - "banana figs" can be stored for a long time. In addition to fruits, young shoots of plants can be eaten, for example, in India, curry is prepared from them. In Bali, we tried to make curry from young shoots on our own, but apparently we did not take into account something - it turned out to be very bitter in taste.

By the way, you can buy bananas unripe and they will ripen at home, but you shouldn't store them in the refrigerator, there they quickly turn black.

Banana leaves serve as decorative elements in the ceremonies of Buddhist and Hindu cultures. They are also used as plates for traditional South Asian food in India and Sri Lanka.

In Kerala, we have eaten from such a leaf many times, the Indians believe that the leaf on which lunch is served gives food a peculiar taste.

Fun fact: The world record for the consumption of bananas is 81 bananas per hour!

The largest collection of bananas in the world, which includes more than 470 varieties and about 100 species, is located in Honduras.
Cocoa (cacao)

Now we are not talking about dried cocoa beans, but about the plant itself and its fruits. We first encountered it in Bali, sometimes it can be found in a fruit shop or on coffee plantations.

The ripe fruit is bright yellow in color, large, 15-20 cm, shaped like a lemon, equipped with longitudinal grooves, inside there are many large seeds arranged in several rows and surrounded by white juicy pulp, which you can enjoy. We wrote more about the cultivation, drying and production of cocoa butter and cocoa powder, which are later used to make chocolate, in the article "Chocolate trees or how cocoa is grown in Bali."
Conclusion

In this article, we told you only about those fruits that we ourselves managed to get to know quite well and how to taste them. There are still so many interesting fruits in Asia, which we are only looking at or tried once, but have not yet understood the taste, that the fruit topic has not yet been closed on this

What kind of fruit do you like? Or maybe you've tried some interesting exotic fruit that we haven't written about? Share it in the comments, we'll be happy to read it!
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On store shelves, but usually there is a smaller part of all the exotic. Some of them have an unusual taste and color, which is why you really want to try them.

Encyclopedia of exotic fruits: Russian and foreign names

Did you know that thai name pineapple - "sappalot"? In the countries where it grows, this fruit is unusually tasty and differs significantly from its counterparts brought to Russia. It is eaten raw, canned and used in salads, main courses and desserts.

Watermelon, or dengmo, comes in red and yellow, but these differences do not indicate maturity. The first variety is very sugar and sweet, while the second has a less pronounced taste. Thais believe that they bring happiness and wealth, moreover, in it fewer seeds... It is especially beneficial for diabetics due to its lower sugar content. This variety is bred by crossing a red and wild watermelon.

Thai melon is called Deng Tai. In Russia, no more than three varieties of this plant of the Pumpkin family are known, and all of them are imported from Tashkent. In Thailand, melons are more abundant, but they are all less sweet and more watery.

Mango, or ma-muang, is eaten in the countries of Southeast Asia in a green form with spices. This fruit is yellow in color with large seeds and is recognized as one of the best in the world. In Russia, its taste is less pronounced and sometimes even resembles green grass. When in Thailand, be sure to bring a few fruits home - they can be stored in the refrigerator for almost a month.

Maprao is a coconut that is exotic countriesah is of two kinds. The so-called "hairy" fruits are used to make shavings, while the large and green ones are eaten whole. Coconut milk is especially useful: its constituents normalize cholesterol levels. Sometimes women strengthen their hair with this liquid and improve the skin of the face.

Citrus companions

Nowadays, grapefruits can hardly be called exotic fruits, because all Europeans are familiar with their sour-bitter taste. Its pulp may sound unpleasant, but this citrus makes an excellent tonic drink that can be drunk like lemonade or combined with strong alcohol.

Pomelo has less juicy pulp, but more pleasant taste. The thick peel is easy to clean, and under it there are medium-sized slices, separated by partitions. Russians consider this fruit exotic and eat it naturally, while Asians season it with salt, pepper and other spices before eating it. Pomelo grows in the USA, Israel and the countries of Southeast Asia all year round, so the cost in Europe is low. Thanks to the great content essential oils, fiber and vitamins, this yellow fruit is very useful and is widely used in cosmetology and cooking.

Scary delicious

The curly bunks, or "pomegranate apple", resembles a cucumber with pimples in its shape. The outer shell, which beckons with its unusual appearance, is not eaten, but you will be surprised to find small under it.They taste a little tart and resemble ordinary peas. This miracle can be found in Turkey.

Many have long heard the name "Buddha's Hand", but if you do not even imagine what yellow fruit might look like that, go to China or Japan to see this miracle in person. In appearance, the plant really resembles human fingers. Such a miracle costs a lot of money, however, its taste does not meet expectations. The Buddha's Hand consists entirely of an inedible bitter-sour rind. The fruit smells like violets and is more like a souvenir than a food product. The maximum that can be made from it is to make jam or jelly.

Thai analogues of all known fruits

If you've ever wondered what kind of yellow fruit resembles an orange, here's a hint. It is called a kumquat and is native to China. The rind of these citrus fruits is very thin and edible, and the size does not exceed four centimeters. The kumquat tastes like an orange, only more sour and bitter. Save a few seeds and try planting them in a pot, and you may soon have a small tree. In China, it ripens in the last months of spring and early summer, and you can find it on the market all year round.

The yellow nispero fruit is similar to an apple, and some people call it "Japanese plum" by analogy. The plant is grown in Spain and is rarely exported abroad - the fruits are very perishable. While in this sunny country, be sure to make jam, marmalade or jam from nispero - its sweet and sour taste will pleasantly surprise you.

The Mariana plum resembles the gifts of the plum tree in size and shape. The fruit has a sweet and sour taste, reminiscent of apple jam... The tree is also called plum-mango. In Thailand, this delicacy is sold at a price equal to 100 rubles per kilogram - now imagine how much Russian suppliers would ask for. The mariana plum is harvested only in spring.

Mafai is a yellow fruit with a seed inside, which in its appearance resembles a light grape, however, its pulp structure is different. The inner cloves are similar to garlic cloves, and they taste sweet and sour. The stone is bitter and does not detach from the pulp. The mafai's rind is very thin and smooth, but inedible.

Giant yellow fruit: what is it called and eaten

Exotic plants amaze not only with their unusual taste, color and shape, but also with their weight. In countries with a tropical climate, due to high humidity, real giants grow. The record holder among woody fruits is considered kanuun, or - a yellow fruit with miniature spines. Its weight reaches 34 kilograms - it is amazing that the thin branches can withstand this giant. In terms of taste, it rather resembles not bread, but a melon or marshmallow. The whole kanuun is sold, and skilled Thais skillfully cut it right in front of customers, weighing the juicy pulp. Some people may have an allergic reaction with a spasm in the throat, but this goes away after a couple of hours. By the way, Thais sometimes call this plant a jack fruit.

Spiky but tasty

Durian - unusual fruit yellow with dark pimples, the second largest after kanuun. Many contrast it great taste and an unbearable smell, and only the most daring dare to try it. Insist that the vendors cut up the durian in front of your eyes - the flesh that has already lain a little is less sweet. Despite its pleasant taste, the smell of this fruit is simply unbearable, which is why it is forbidden to enter hotels and planes with it. It is not recommended to drink durian with alcohol, otherwise there will be a possibility of an increase in blood pressure.

Kiwano's skin is covered with small horns. It tastes like cucumber, melon and banana. Kiwano is eaten fresh, and because of its amazing taste it can be combined with salt. Biologists are still arguing about whether this fruit should be attributed to fruits or vegetables. Kiwano grows on vines mainly on the African continent, America and New Zealand. The bones are soft, so they can be safely eaten with the pulp. The fruit tastes good both ripe and unripe. Unripe fruits are paler, orange is indicative of medium ripeness, and red is fully ripe. Some exotic yellow fruits are poisonous, so before eating, ask the seller how edible their peel and bones are.

And Thai bananas are different!

In European countries, one variety of banana is known, which has an elongated shape and can be green or yellow in color. This delicacy is imported to Russia from Southeast Asia or Spain at a price of just over eight rubles per kilogram, including all taxes. In Moscow, the cost in various retail outlets may be different. You will give the least for a kilogram of bananas in the Auchan hypermarket - 21 rubles; in "Pyaterochka" and "Kopeyka" - from 30 to 40 rubles; and in the network "My store" this exotic fruit can cost more than 60 rubles.

Thai delicacies are full of their diversity, and upon arrival in exotic countries, Russians forget about rest and begin to feast on juicy fruits. Several types of bananas are grown in Southeast Asia. The "nam va" variety looks three times smaller than its usual size. It is surprising that the name of the fruit is given in Arabic by analogy with human limbs. According to many scientists, this yellow fruit was the first that ancient people began to cultivate. The first mentions of it can be found back in 600 BC. Baby bananas are shaped like an elongated egg. They are very sweet, have a honey taste and are much more expensive in Russia. It takes several hours to transport bananas from exotic countries to Russia, so in most cases they are picked green - they ripen on the way. If you can find ripe and unripe bananas in the store and you do not know which fruit to buy - yellow or green, do the experiment and choose the second option. Place your purchase in the closet for a few days. You will be surprised when you get a fully ripe banana.

Everyone has long been accustomed to the fact that fruits and vegetables should have the usual aroma - juicy sour, sweet or bitter pulp, which has nothing to do with other products. There are several exclusive plants, by trying which, you will change your idea of \u200b\u200bthe gifts of fruit-bearing trees. Anona tastes like condensed milk - it is a real paradise for diabetics and those with a sweet tooth. Under the outwardly unattractive skin, similar to the scales of a reptile, there is a white pulp with small black seeds. If in the crossword puzzle you come across the task "which fruit of yellow color (5 letters) tastes like condensed milk", you will know that this is anona.

The cocoon looks like an apple and a persimmon. The fruits of this tree are considered fruit, while they taste like a mixture of tomato and lemon. The core of the cocoon is the same as that of a tomato, only yellow: small bones are surrounded by a jelly-like pulp.

Longan is a yellow fruit with a black stone inside, for which the plant is called " dragon eye". In taste and shape, the fruit is similar to lychee and mafai, the pulp is very sweet and aromatic. The bowels of longan contain vitamin C, iron, calcium and many acids useful for the human body.

What yellow fruit resembles a star?

Often in best restaurants desserts decorated with exotic vegetation are offered. Their cost is much higher than an ordinary serving of ice cream or cheesecake, but visitors to the establishment get real pleasure from eating beautifully decorated dishes. Carambola, or "star fruit", with its outer shape resembles a cucumber with several faces, and in the cut it becomes like a five-pointed star.

Carambola can taste bland, sour, or slightly sweet, so it is not eaten raw. If you were offered a dessert or a main dish decorated with this fruit, do not deny yourself and try it anyway, because the pulp is a source of vitamin C. contained in carambola, is contraindicated for people with malfunctions in the kidneys and urinary system. In the store, this fruit can be bought at a price of 500 rubles per kilogram. Carambola grows in Brazil, Ghana, India, Thailand, Southeast Asia, the states of Florida and Hawaii and Sri Lanka. It is curious that this yellow fruit can be in the shade, unlike other tropical plants.

Physalis is often used to decorate desserts - a berry in a so-called "box", which resembles a cranberry in its external shape, only has a golden color. The composition includes B vitamins and other useful substances that strengthen human health. Physalis helps in the fight against endocrine and circulatory system... It improves digestion and strengthens the immune system, making it useful for people who have undergone surgery. Some varieties of this plant are inedible, so it is used most often for decorative purposes. In cooking, bright yellow fruits are often used for decoration. Photos of ready-made dishes with their use can enchant even the most demanding gourmet.

Quince jam - sweet, tasty, yellow!

In the Asian countries of the former Soviet Union, there are not many fruits, vegetables and berries that can surprise a Russian. It is much more interesting for European residents to feast on fruits of a bizarre shape, such as carambola, kiwano or eve. Exotic yellow fruits are more often consumed raw, but due to their high cost they are rarely used in cooking, which cannot be said about quince. It tastes like dry apple with an astringent effect, but the jam from it turns out to be excellent.

For cooking, you need a kilogram of quince and sugar, a glass of water, citric acid and vanillin to taste. The fruit must be washed, cut into several pieces and the seeds removed. The pieces are placed in a saucepan and filled with water, after which they can be boiled. When the fruits become soft, take them out and continue to boil the water, adding sugar to it. After that, quince slices can be put back in the broth and boiled. The next day, continue cooking the jam until the fruit turns red - only then can you add vanilla sugar and citric acid. Ready jam poured into sterilized jars and rolled up for the winter.

The countries of Southeast Asia are a paradise for tropical fruit lovers. Dragon fruit, mangosteen, tomarillo, durian, snake fruit, and many other exotic names cease to amaze and become the norm here.

But in Southeast Asia, at home, many of these tropical fruits are cheap - for example, ripe and juicy mango in the season can be bought for 40 rubles, and sweet papaya for 50-60 rubles. As for the usual apples and pears, here they, on the contrary, are one of the most expensive fruits. In addition, there are almost no berries here, with the exception of strawberries, which sometimes pleases us.

We enjoy a variety of fruit flavors every day. There are several dozen tropical fruits here, and if we consider that each of them, as a rule, has several varieties, and the taste of each variety is unique and inimitable, it becomes clear how well fruit lovers live here 🙂

The same tropical fruits we tried in, and often differ not only in flavor, but also in name and shape. Eyes in the market or in the store keep running up, it is difficult to choose a particular fruit, so we buy huge boxes that can hardly fit on a bike 🙂

We deliberately do not write about prices, since they are different everywhere, they depend on the country, seasonality, variety and ability to bargain. In general, most tropical fruits are cheaper than our usual ones in St. Petersburg, even seasonal ones.

So, we begin our acquaintance with tropical exoticism.

Snake fruit ( snake fruit), the Balinese call it salak

The fruits are round or pear-shaped, tapering to the top in a wedge, covered with a scaly brown skin resembling snake skin, from which the name of the fruit comes.

The peel is thin and easily removable, it is enough to cut or tear it at the edge, and then remove it, like a shell from an egg. The flesh is white or beige, and consists mainly of three segments. If the fruit is unripe, then due to the high content of tannin it knits the mouth, this is how we first tried it in Malaysia in the spring - we did not like it, and we safely forgot about it.

Here in Bali, Baltic herring, as one of the most common tropical fruits, quickly became familiar, we tried it again, and, one might say, fell in love 🙂

Bali has 2 varieties. One, more elongated, consists of 3 identical segments, has a pleasant refreshing sweet taste, reminiscent of pineapple and banana with a slight nutty flavor. The second, more rounded, with two large segments and the third small without pits, tastes similar to gooseberries and pineapple. Both varieties are quite interesting, we buy different ones with the same success

Baltic herring contains tannin, which removes harmful substances from the body, has astringent, hemostatic and antidiarrheal properties.

In the north of Bali, in the forests, we somehow found a wild herring. Unlike the garden one, its peel is prickly in small needles, no more than 1mm long, and the fruits themselves are smaller in size. They taste sweet, but they are not very pleasant to peel because of the thorns, so we fed them to the monkeys, who were not hindered by the thorns and they coped with the cleaning as quickly as they do with bananas 🙂

Mango ( mango)

Of the many tropical fruits, mango still remains one of our favorites - it seems that you can eat as much as you like and never get bored 🙂 In St. Petersburg, we sometimes bought them in a store and the concept of different varieties did not exist for us - there is just mango And that's all, what was our surprise that, it turns out, there are several dozen types of them.

India collects about 13.5 million tons of mango fruits a year (just think about the figure!) And is thus the main producer (the most famous variety is mangifera indica 'Alphonso'), China is in second place in terms of productivity (just over 4 million tons) , on the third - Thailand (2.5 million tons), Indonesia 2.1 million tons.

Ripe fruits of different varieties taste very different, most often they are sweet and have pleasant aromas of different shades from honey even to ginger

Arriving in India in early November, we were very surprised not to find mango on sale - it turned out that the season begins in April. They flew away at the end of March, and literally in the last week the first harvest appeared on sale - these were small red mangoes, very fragrant and sweet, for several days we could not tear ourselves away from them.

We really liked the variety of mango varieties in Malaysia - from Thai light yellow, with beige flesh inside, to green thick-skinned, unripe in appearance, but with bright orange, sweet flesh.

But for real, we gorge ourselves on mangoes in Bali. In May and June, the choice was not very large, but in August, September and, especially, in October, the variety of varieties and prices never ceases to please us. Our favorite Harumanis is a green mango with orange, sweet, honey flesh.

Mangoes are high in vitamins and fructose, and low in acids. Vitamin A has a beneficial effect on the organs of vision, helps with "night blindness" and other eye diseases. Regular consumption of mango improves immunity and protects against colds. Green mango is also rich in vitamin C.

Mango fruits are often used in home medicine, for example, in India, mangoes are used to stop bleeding, to strengthen the heart muscle, and to improve brain function.

Dragon fruit or dragon fruit ( dragon fruit), he is pitaya or pitahaya

Belongs to the cactaceous family. Due to its interesting and unusual shape, as well as its bright pink color, the fruit cannot go unnoticed. The fruit has a white or red (depending on the variety), creamy pulp and a delicate, slightly perceptible aroma. The pulp is eaten raw, the taste is sweetish. It is convenient to eat it by cutting into 2 halves, scooping out the pulp with a spoon. Dragon fruit may seem bland and not very tasty to some, but if you taste it properly, then this unusual tropical fruit will definitely like it (like, for example, Mozzarella cheese, which also does not have a very pronounced taste).

The fruit grows on cacti and blooms only at night. Flowers are also edible and can be brewed into tea. The fruit is low in calories, helps with stomach pains and has a beneficial effect on the quality of vision.

Mangosteen ( mangostin), aka mangosteen, mangosteen, garcinia, mangkut

The fruit is round, 4-8 cm in diameter, covered with a thick (1 cm) burgundy-purple inedible rind, under which there are 5-8 segments of white, very juicy pulp, with large seeds inside each segment. We met mangosteen on - seeing them for the first time, we thought that some kind of strange persimmon here))

We were not going to buy them, but the seller at the last moment held us back, showing a clever trick, opening this fruit in a second. Seeing the juicy pulp, we could not resist the desire and tried it, and then of course we bought it. The fruit has a very pleasant taste, creamy sweet and slightly tart.

In hot weather, it is a great thirst-quencher.

Papaya ( papaya)

The fruits have a pink-orange or golden flesh with seeds in the middle - they are removed when slicing. Sweet juicy pieces of papaya melt in your mouth. The fruit is extremely nutritious, and what is most interesting is that the papaya does not get boring at all, we enjoyed eating it very often in India, Bali and Thailand - this is our traditional breakfast dish for the sixth month. In and in Bali, papaya is very sweet, we especially like the California variety, and in Thailand, as our friends say, it is more watery. In Mexico, we liked it only in combination with yogurt or honey - there it is more customary to eat it a little unripe and even with salt and chili :).

Papaya is a valuable source of beta-carotene, a third of an average fruit satisfies the daily requirement of an adult for vitamin C, and also provides the required amount of calcium and iron.

The fruits of papaya, not only in appearance, but also in chemical composition, are close to melon, contain glucose and fructose, organic acids, proteins, fiber, vitamins and minerals, so that papaya is sometimes called "melon tree".

They say that when baked on a fire, papaya fruits smell like fresh bread, which gave this plant another interesting name - "breadfruit".

Green papaya has contraceptive and abortifacient properties - Asian women wanting to terminate a pregnancy ate large quantities of the unripe fruit.

In tropical countries, papaya juice is used for diseases of the spine, as it contains an enzyme that regenerates the connective tissue of the intervertebral discs. Perhaps it is precisely because of the frequent consumption of papaya that the inhabitants of Asia are less susceptible to diseases of the locomotor apparatus, even despite the tradition of wearing weights on their heads.

Other fruits

We talk about the rest of the fruits in our book " Asian exotic. 30 must-try fruits in Asia". To get it (for free), just follow this link, enter your e-mail, and in a few minutes the link to download the book will come to your mail.

From the book you will learn about the following tropical fruits:

Jackfruit	Rambutan
	Cocoa
Coconut	A pineapple
Durian
		Bananas