Nine Tropical Fruits and Facts That You Might Not Know
These fruits are juicy and sweet, and some of them really smell bad.
-
The King of Fruits – Durian
This fruit is seasonal, so we can only get it from June to August.
Either you love it or your hate it. You will be able to smell the durian at least 100 meters away! Here in Singapore we are the second largest importer, after China, of this fruit. After you eat this fruit, the smell clings to your breath, fingers and even the car will have it’s smell (for days!) if you use it to transport the fruit to your home!
Here in Singapore, we love this fruit so much that we have a building that looks like it! Don’t you think so?
-
The Queen of Fruits – Mangosteen
Where there is a king, there is usually a queen. This is a photograph of the fruit not ripened yet. When it ripen, it changes to a dark purple color.
This fruit is also another seasonal fruit and the season coincides with the durian. Can you see the “flower” shape at the bottom of the fruit? When you peel the fruit, the number of segments inside will be the same! Amazing.
When peeling the fruit to get to its sweet, juicy and fleshy meat, you have to be careful as the purple stains from the peel will stay on your hands for a couple of days, and if you stain your clothes, it’s there to stay as a reminder of your adventure for trying this fruit!
-
Rambutan
The skin of this fruit is covered in “hair”.
The fruit is very sweet. Peel the skin to expose the white fleshy fruit which we will consume. There is one seed in the centre of this fruit.
-
Lychee
This is another sweet, juicy, fleshy fruit.
Some varieties of this fruit has different seed size.
-
Monk’s Fruit or Arhat Fruit
In Chinese it is known as luo han guo or longevity fruit. This fruit is traditionally used in soup or herbal tea.
The extract of this fruit is 300 times sweeter than sugar! This fruit is also used to cure sore throat, stop chronic cough and even aid digestion.
-
Ciku or Sapodilla
There are many names to this delightful fruit. It was a native fruit from Mexico and was brought to the Philippines.
The taste of this fruit has been compared to cotton candy or caramel. Did you know that this fruit only ripens if picked?
-
Mango
The mango is the most popularly exploited fruit for juice, food, flavour, fragrance and color.
When the sap on the fruit crystallizes, it means the fruit is ready to be picked.
-
Banana
This fruit is usually exported as desert bananas. It is very popular as it is a fruit that is available all year round.
This is such a great way to get kids to take fruits in their diet. However ever in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, we have another way to eat this fruit – fried in batter. Yummy!
-
Jackfruit
This unopened ripe fruit can have an unpleasant smell like rotting onions!
This jackfruit tree is the larges fruit borne tree in the world. Its fruit tastes similar to the pineapple but less juicy and milder. Even the seeds can be eaten after cooking it either in a curry or steamed. The seeds taste like chestnuts.
I hope you get to enjoy these delicious fruits.
Liked it
43 Responses to “Nine Tropical Fruits and Facts That You Might Not Know”
On July 2, 2008 at 10:47 am
Some of those creep me out, lol. My Vietnamese friend brought some durian in to our chemistry class, and the teacher had to put it under the fume hood, it was so nasty!! He tried to get me to try it but I totally chickened out.
On July 2, 2008 at 11:00 am
Hi Autumnrose,
LOL… yeah, when I was younger, I’d have a headache when my mom came home with durians!!! Did you know that we are not allowed to carry durians in our public transport???!!! The smell is that STRONG!!! lol…
Thanks for your support
On July 2, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Good list. Most of them grow the Philippines.
On July 2, 2008 at 6:45 pm
love jackfruit
On July 2, 2008 at 7:20 pm
It would be so cool to get to try all of those fruits at least once. It might be hard if the one smells as badly as you and others are saying it does. LOL
In which case I will take the banana split for sure. Great article!
On July 2, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Hi Unofre,
Yep, you grow them, we eat them … lol
Hi lo, me too
Hi Mystical,
)… LOL,
If you take all these at the same time, you’d be a fruit basket
Thank you, my friends, for your support
On July 3, 2008 at 7:58 pm
I apologize to all Durian lovers out there, but I cannot handle the smell. My wife in Pinay and loves it, but I cannot convert
On July 4, 2008 at 2:19 am
I tried jackfruit during my month-long trip to Cebu. I’m not sure if I could ever describe it to someone…you just have to try it for yourself. I would eat it again, that’s for sure!
On July 4, 2008 at 6:58 am
cool list and a lot of cool memories for me.
just let me add this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carambola
On July 5, 2008 at 10:55 am
hi rachel..because i live in Indonesia, most of that fruits I already tried it. Most of them, I like mango and ciku verymuch…thanks for the information
On July 5, 2008 at 6:07 pm
I thought bananas were the most well known fruit everywhere. Weird.
On July 5, 2008 at 8:54 pm
yah, most of them grow in the philippines.
the batter-coated banana, we have a version of it here, it’s called
]
banana-cue [analogous to the barbecue.
On July 6, 2008 at 8:46 am
I knew of most of these having grown up in South America in the Amazon basin. I had forgotten a lot of them though, so thanks for reminding me about these really delicious fruits.
On July 6, 2008 at 9:55 am
Hi Rachel.. hehe.. this articles is so great.. we have all of that fruits in our country Philippines.. thanks for this. i rely appreciated it.
On July 6, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Interesting piece.
On July 6, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Jackfruit is awesome
On July 6, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Excellent article. Some great pictures too.
On July 6, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Nice I only knew the bananas and the mango’s
but that’s because there more common here.
Good article, you should take a look at mine
you will like it.
-=koyin=-
On July 6, 2008 at 11:58 pm
I’m very uneducated about the fruits of the world. Living here in America, it’s peaches and pears and bananas. I can’t even imagine eating something that smells so bad that you can’t carry it on public transportation.
This was a great read.
On July 7, 2008 at 10:16 am
hi Leviticus
sure bananas are popular, but have you tried eating them DIPPED, THEN FRIED IN BATTER??
)
To all other readers who have left your comments, THANK YOU for dropping by.
On July 7, 2008 at 12:35 pm
These fruits seem delicious I wish I could try them, but unfortunately, I have never even heard of them, we do not find them here. I love bananas dipped and fried in batter, it’s one of my favourites. yummy!
On July 8, 2008 at 6:35 am
Hi Carmen
)
Ahhhh, then you have tasted one of my favourites too
On July 8, 2008 at 7:54 am
Delicious looking pictures of fruits! I’m with you on durian fruit though…I get headache instantly!!!
On July 9, 2008 at 9:25 am
Most of the fruits we get it here in India. Durian is a rare one here. It tastes good smmells bad.
On July 10, 2008 at 12:17 am
I am Canadian but my daughter lives in Indonesia. If you can get past the smell, durian is actually very good!
On July 10, 2008 at 4:01 am
What a terrific article! I have been hearing a lot about the Mangosteen and how healthy it is! I too love the battered bananas and have them frequently. Great job on this one, thanks!!
On July 10, 2008 at 4:18 am
The second picture of Durian is copyright protected and came from flickr. You need to credit the original author under the terms of the creative commons license used (and any others that came from flickr).
On July 10, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Mangosteen is absolute heaven. Yes, yes, YES.
On July 13, 2008 at 2:33 am
I detest jackfruit, love mangosteen and durian but can rarely get them here in the northern US. Luckily, there is an awesome Vietnamese market around the corner from my house and quite often they have mangosteen there. I have even tr4ied to grow it indoors. If anyone has any hints for me please send them to my SU site(same name). Did I mention that I think mangos are the besr fruit in the world?
On July 14, 2008 at 7:33 pm
I have seen some of these fruits in Chinatowne, here in Toronto. I really do want to get brave and try them sometime…
On July 15, 2008 at 2:59 am
I don’t want to tell you what pops into my head when i see these fruits. OMG.
On July 15, 2008 at 12:51 pm
actually…all those fruit are grow in malaysia… i have tried all of them,,lalal…btw the banana coated batter is called “pisang goreng” in malaysia
On July 17, 2008 at 10:06 pm
HI ALL
Thanks for all your comments
Seriously, some of these fruits have a really ’strong’ smell… it’s like senses overload… lol… be brave and take a bite!!! you’d be surprise what your taste buds can handle…LOL
On July 26, 2008 at 10:59 am
It is inexplicable why the Durian plant has not been driven in to extinction, such is its vileness! Thanks for the read, will keep the others I haven’t tasted in mind!
On July 27, 2008 at 10:13 am
All of those fruits are found in the Philippines. Actually, we have those fruits in our farm except for lychee and arhat. Hehe.
On July 27, 2008 at 11:40 pm
Hi RJ and Jade
LOL, RJ, the durian tree will NEVER be extinct!!! lol as long as China and Singapore keeps eating them
…
Jade, you are so fortunate! Fresh fruit!!! Yummy.
On July 29, 2008 at 4:51 am
jeez, love’m all………..but durian (duren) is the true king of fruits, it’s really addictive. It’s a sin that they are so expensive here in The Netherlands, sometimes €30/pce…..
On August 3, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Hi Erwin
Wow!!! It’s the durian and mangosteen season here in Singapore now (Aug)… yummy
On August 13, 2008 at 10:33 pm
a very interesting article Rachel! As I live in Indonesia, someday I will take a photograph of a market that sell those fruits and show it to you
On August 28, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Saw the Festival of Ghosts, enjoyed pictures and story. The fruits” story and pictures were yummy ! Some of them like Jackfruit, Mangosteen, Lichies, Chikoo (Sapota) etc. are found in India. I’ll keep in Touch with Rachael from Singapore.
On November 2, 2008 at 10:40 pm
You have to try the jackfruit in the banana wrapped in batter. It’s my favorite. Also, banana and chocolate syrup in batter is my favorite dessert of all time. We have all these fruits in the Philippines, and I’m glad for that.
On February 11, 2009 at 7:52 am
THAT’S VERY NICE
WE’VE ALMOST ALL THOSE FRUITS IN PAKISTAN EXCEPT ONE OR TWO FROM THE LIST
WE’RE BLESSED
On September 8, 2009 at 10:02 am
good article about tropical fruits…. this is really interesting. Here is the three clicks and thumb up to you. keep posting.
Post Comment