Exotic Tropical Fruit Category

Exotic Tropical Fruit
plantain, Adam's fig, cooking banana, macho banana, platano, platano macho
plantain
These look just like large green bananas, and they're usually cooked before eating. Hispanic and Caribbean use them like potatoes, either frying them or boiling them in stews. Different recipes may call for plantains in varying stages of ripeness, with their skins either green, yellow, or black. A green plantain will first turn yellow and then black if allowed to ripen at room temperature. As it ripens, the pulp becomes sweeter and less starchy.
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prickly pear, barbary fig, cactus pear, Indian fig, Indian pear, tuna
prickly pear
The pulp of these cactus fruits is a brilliant red or, occasionally, a yellowish green, and it tastes a bit like watered-down watermelon. Cooks exploit the color by adding slices of the pulp to fruit salads, or by puréeing it and straining out the seeds. They're quite popular in Hispanic countries and around the Mediterranean.
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rambutan
rambutan
These are similar to litchees and longans, but they're covered with soft spines. Peel before using.
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rose apple
rose apple
These rose or green fruits are pear-shaped and are said to taste like rose water. The seeds are poisonous.
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rosella
rosella
This is grown in Africa.
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salak
salak
These are about the size of a plum and are covered with brown scales.
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sapodilla, naseberry
sapodilla
This fruit looks like a bald, brown kiwi fruit.
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sapote, black sapote, Mexican custard apple, sapota
sapote
This is a family of sweet, tropical fruits. Varieties include the black sapote = chocolate pudding fruit, the brown-skinned, pink-fleshed mamey sapote = mammee = mamey, and the white sapote = zapote blanco.
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soncoya
Soncoya is a somewhat obscure tropical fruit in the Annona genus. It is similar to the soursop and ilama.
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soursop
soursop
This large, dark green fruit is covered with soft prickles. The pulp has a slightly acidic, tropical flavor. Don't eat the seeds or peel.
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star apple, caimito
star apple
These are similar to star fruit, only with purple skins.
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sweetsop, sugar apple
sweetsop
This sweet tropical fruit looks a bit like a small cherimoya. It's great for eating of hand or for making shakes. It's available in the fall, but it's hard to find outside of Florida.
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tamarillo, tomate de árbol, tree tomato
tamarillo
This fruit is notable more for its ravishing beauty than its flavor. It's about the size of a oblong plum, with a smooth peel that can be purple, red, orange, or yellow, with the yellow variety tending to be a bit sweeter. Slicing it in half reveals black or orange flesh (the darker the peel, the darker the flesh) surrounding a nest of seeds. It's more acidic than sweet, and tastes a bit like a tomato. It's best if it's peeled and cooked before eating.
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tamarind, asam jawa, Indian date
tamarind
The pulp from the tamarind pod is used as a souring agent in Latin America, India, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. To extract the pulp, shell the pods, put them in a saucepan, then add enough water to completely cover the pulp. Simmer for about half an hour, then strain out and discard the seeds. It's a nuisance to do this, so many cooks simply buy the extracted pulp in bricks, jars, cans, powders, or bottles. There's also a sweet tamarind, which looks like the sour variety and is used primarily to make drinks.
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tapereba
tapereba
Tapereba is the yellow fruit of the mombin tree. The fruit is eaten fresh or made into juice.
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toddy palm seeds, loog than, Plalmyra plam seeds, tad gola
toddy palm seeds
These are seeds from the toddy or jaggery palm. Sap from the same tree is used to make jaggery (a kind of sugar), wine, and vinegar. You have to cook them before you can eat them. People in Indian and Southeast Asia roast and split the seeds, then suck out the yellow gelatinous pulp inside. It's available frozen or canned in Indian and Southeast Asian markets. Be careful if you pick your own: the red fruit surrounding the seeds contains oxalic acid, which can burn your skin and do even more damage if eaten.
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white sapote, casimiroa, custard apple, matasano, zapote blanco
white sapote
This tropical fruit has sweet, creamy pulp that's wonderful in fruit salads or shakes. They arrive in the summer. Since they bruise easily when ripe, they're usually sold while they're still hard. Take them home and let them ripen on the counter for a few days until they yield to a gentle squeeze. Remove the peel and seeds before serving.
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