Alien Fruits and Vegetables
Photograph from Travis Hornung on Flickr
Our Snapshots from Asia correspondent Wan Yan Ling has already done a great job hipping us to odd produce, like red-fleshed dragon fruit, dried dragon eyes, pulasans, and rambutans.
The Web Ecoist reminds us that some things look more science fiction than edible. For example, the Kiwano melon has monstrous green goo in its center, Romanescu broccoli looks like it hosts a tiny civilization on its bright green peaks, and the dragon fruit appears to have just come out of a video game. (In case you don't know how to eat these foods, check out Weird Food.)
So what's the most exotic fruit or veggie you've eaten?
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18 Comments:
Durian...I loved it but my whole family, except my Thai sister-in-law, cringed and gagged. Tasted to me like almond flavored custardy yogurt.
SueZeeQ at 8:08PM on 11/13/08
Strange as dragon fruit maybe, it's a fabulous superfruit, and if you want to learn more about dragon fruit, here's a great post http://www.newrinkles.com/index.php/archive/did-you-know-guavas/ . Guavas are also great for beauty http://www.newrinkles.com/index.php/archive/fyi-beauty-secrets-guavas/
GeriLW at 10:03PM on 11/13/08
Mangosteens... the queen of fruit just tastes weird.
wanderingfoodie at 10:45PM on 11/13/08
Wish you would identify what's in the pic. Kinda useless unless we know.
pthom at 11:34PM on 11/13/08
I second mangosteen - maybe it was because they looked like garlic cloves inside, or maybe it was just their bizarre sweetness. I still don't even know whether I like them or not. Definitely weird.
marsbar at 11:56PM on 11/13/08
The kiwano melon is very, very cool. Can't wait to get my hands on it one day to try.
My most exotic fruit taste to date would have to be the noni fruit that I had in Mexico and some sour, tart fruits of a special palm tree from Viet-Nam. My mom calls it the Vietnamese "strawberry".
If I could add another exotic one, it would be the spiny cherimoya. It's a variety of cherimoya in South East Asia that is very large, rough and spiny looking on the outside. But on the inside, it is very much like a cherimoya, but very tart. We mash it in a cup, add sugar, ice and water and make a shake out of it!
White On Rice Couple at 11:59PM on 11/13/08
The most exotic is probably rambutan - I lived in Kuala Lumpur as a kid. I actually like mangosteen better but it seems less "exotic" since I've been reading about people buying it in Canada. Does the US embargo it for some reason? Does anyone know?
Stephanie at 12:14AM on 11/14/08
umm.... I don't eat alien food! If it looks too weird, you probably can't get me to eat it, especially fruit. It took me the longest time to try kiwi and I'm still not that fond of it. Give me an apple or orange any day.
jaywarner at 8:33AM on 11/14/08
@pthom The photo is of a kiwano melon.
@ Stephanie The US embargo on mangosteens was lifted last spring.
Linnea Covington at 8:40AM on 11/14/08
guanabana from costa rica... Or water apple.
mikemcl55 at 8:42AM on 11/14/08
apple custard..yum..its custardy and appley...but too many seeds!
kanwal81 at 8:53AM on 11/14/08
The oddest fruit I had was durian. I was lucky enough to find a fresh whole sample and got to crack it open myself. I think it was a little old, though, because it was rather dry on the inside. The flavor was nice, but I have issues with the texture. My gag reflex kicks in horribly due to things my throat does not believe should slide down easily.
Jikuu at 9:33AM on 11/14/08
I've had that one in the picture! It's a kiwano melon?
I found it tasted like a cucumber but more sweet and sour.
Interesting...I might use it in a salad next time I guess.
hungrychristel at 10:51AM on 11/14/08
Durian for me. It smelled bad, to be sure, but it tasted ok. I agree with SuzeZeeQ that it was very custardy. I commented to my friends that it might be nice inside some kind of pastry. Some death-smelling pastry.
Later while watching Andrew Zimmern spit out a piece of Durian on TV
schwartz at 2:00PM on 11/14/08
Another durian person here. My vegan friend at work came back from NY with a whole durian and brought some in for us to try. I only had a little bit, but that was more than enough.
Ours wasn't so bad...okay, the smell was bad, but the taste was equal parts onion and melon. Not overwhelmingly horrible.
maryofdoom at 2:37PM on 11/14/08
Durian completely freaks me out now that I've tried it twice. I was hoping the first time was a fluke, but the second time confirmed it - I can't eat durian.
jangkaeng at 3:44PM on 11/14/08
Funny Durian story: My husband works for the airport here in Atlanta, and one day there was a curiously heinous smell being reported in one of the terminals, and it was so pungent and offensive that he received several complaint calls from workers and travelers alike...they had no idea what the source of the stank was and some even worried that something had died and was rotting in the walls or that some sort of chemical had been deployed. The police and TSA were called in to investigate (in case of foul play or terrorist activity). After several minutes and much ado, an older gentleman was discovered sitting in the corner, happily slurping on his Durian.
juliebugsmama at 4:11PM on 11/14/08
I've had that Kiwano melon. I found the taste to be a cross between a cucumber and a banana.
sulin at 1:06PM on 11/19/08