Fruit Category

Fruit

Includes berries, citrus fruit, melons, tropical fruit, and tomatoes

Fruits are the matured ovaries of plants, containing the seeds for the next generation of plants. Many plants cunningly make their fruits sweet, the better to attract animals like us to eat them and disperse the seeds. Fruits are often delicious enough to eat out of hand, but they can also be made into tarts, compotes, shakes, juices, preserves, liqueurs, and many other things.

halawi date

These amber-colored sweet chewy halawi dates are grown extensively in Iraq.

Hass avocado, California avocado

This is available year-round and has a rich flavor and creamy texture. The skin turns almost black when the avocado is ripe, which can camouflage bad bruises. This is the best variety by far for guacamole, but it turns a bit mushy in salads.

Hawaiian eggplant

Hawaiian eggplant Learn more

Holland bell pepper

Holland bell pepper

These are like bell peppers, only they're sweeter and have thicker walls. They come in different colors.

Holland chili, Dutch chile

These are hot.

Holland eggplant

Holland eggplant Learn more

Hondroelia olive

Hondroelia olives

This is a juicy, meaty olive.

honeyball melon

This is just like a honeydew melon, only it's smaller, rounder, and covered with netting.

honeycrisp apples

honeycrisp apples Learn more

honeydew melon, green melon, honey dew melon

These large, choice melons have either green or orange flesh. As honeydews ripen, they turn from green to creamy white to yellow. Avoid green ones, but a creamy white one will (unlike other melons) ripen on your counter in a few days. A perfectly ripe honeydew will yield just a bit to pressure at the blossom end and have a sticky, velvety rind.

hontaka pepper - fresh

hontaka pepper - fresh Learn more

Hubbard squash

This variety has tasty flesh, but it's too large for many families to handle and the rind is hard to cut though. Some grocers cut them into smaller pieces before putting them out.

huckleberry

These are similar to blueberries, and they're great for making preserves and syrups. Some specialty markets carry them in the summer.

Ilama are hard to find outside of Mexico or Guatamala. There are two types of Ilama fruit; white and pink.

Indian bitter melon, balsam pear, bitter apple, bitter melon, bitter squash

Indian bitter melon

This is fairly bitter. Choose melons that are bright green. They turn tough and yellow as they age. You can eat the peels and seeds, or scrape out the seeds to reduce the bitterness.

Indian eggplant, baby eggplant

Indian eggplant Learn more

Italian eggplant

Italian eggplant

These are smaller than American eggplants, but they're otherwise very similar.

jaboticaba

These resemble large, dark purple grapes, and they're very popular in Brazil. You can eat them like grapes, though you'll have to contend with thick, tart skins. You can also make delicious jams, jellies, and wines from them.

jabuticaba

Jabuticaba fruit is grape like about 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Under the thick skin is the sweet pink or white flesh.

jackfruit, jak, jakfruit, nankga

This is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world--it weighs up to 100 pounds. It's hard to find fresh in the United States, but Asian markets sometimes stock canned jackfruit. The yellowish pulp tastes a bit like banana. The seeds can be boiled and eaten. Watch out for the sap--it can stain your clothes.

jalapeno pepper , jalapeño Pepper

jalapeno pepper

These popular chilis have a good amount of heat and rich flavor. Green jalapenos are best in the late summer, while red jalapenos appear in the fall. Canned jalapenos aren't as fiery as fresh. When dried and smoked, this pepper is called a chipotle.

Japanese chili, chile japones

These small red chilis are hot, and similar to the chile de arbol. Before using them, soak them in warm water for a few minutes.

Japanese cucumber

Japanese cucumber

These are just like English cucumbers, only with bumps. Like English cucumbers, they don't have to be peeled or seeded.

Japanese eggplant, nasu, nasubi

Japanese eggplant

Like other Asian eggplants, Japanese eggplants have thin skins, and a sweet, delicate flavor.

Jonagold apple

This crisp, juicy apple is a Jonathan-Golden Delicious cross. It's a bit tart and good for eating out of hand.

Jonathan apple

This tart apple is good for eating out of hand, though it has a fairly thick peel.

juneberry, chuckley pear, saskatoon, serviceberry, shadberry, shadbush

These are very similar to blueberries.

kabocha squash, Japanese pumpkin, Japanese squash, kabachi, nam gwa, sweet mama

This orange-fleshed winter squash has a striated green rind. It's sweeter, drier, and less fibrous than other winter squash, and it tastes a bit like sweet potatoes.

kabosu, kabosu lime

kabosu Learn more

Kadota fig

This has green skin and pinkish-white flesh.

kaffir lime, jeruk purut, leech lime, limau purut, magrood, makroot, makrut

Thai cooks use these golf ball-sized limes to give their dishes a unique aromatic flavor. Kaffir limes have very little juice, usually just the zest is used. The leaves are also used in Thai cooking.

kalamansi, calamansi, calamansi lime, kalamansi lime, musk lime, musklime

The very sour kalamansi looks like a small round lime and tastes like a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. It's very popular in the Philippines.

kalamansi juice, calamansi juice, musk lime juice, musklime juice

kalamansi juice Learn more

Kalamata olive, Calamata olive

Kalamata olives

You can find these popular Greek black olives in most large supermarkets. They're salty and have a rich, fruity flavor. These can be eaten out of hand, or used to make tapenades.

Kashmiri red chili dried

Kashmiri red chili dried

This mild Kashmiri chili is used in Indian cooking to add flavor and color.

keriberry

These large berries taste like a cross between blackberries and raspberries.

kershaw squash

Kershaw squash is an heirloom squash. It is mostly grown in the American south. Kershaw squash was cultivated by native Americans.

key lime, bartender's lime, Florida key lime, Mexican lime, Omani lime

These are smaller and more acidic than the more common Persian limes.

key lime juice, Mexican lime juice

Freshly squeezed lime juice is vastly superior to what you'll find in bottles. Key limes and bottled key lime juice are widely available in the Southeast, and in specialty markets elsewhere. Liquor stores sometimes carry Rose's lime juice, which is sweetened key lime juice.

khalas date

Khalas dates originated in Saudi Arabia.