The world is full of exotic fruit.
The world is full of exotic fruit, which mostly come from the tropics. Of course, if you live in one of these regions, some fruits will not be exotic at all. Fortunately, there are tropical regions all around the world, so most everyone can experience the delightful tastes of exotic fruits. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Exotic Fruits from the Islands
Some of the most exotic fruits in the world grow on islands. The salak and the santol certainly fit the description. Salak, or snake fruit, is a native to Malaysia and Indonesia. Its name comes from the snakeskin appearance of its skin. When peeled, there are three lobes about the size and shape of garlic cloves. The taste is both sweet and acidic. The santol is popular in Borneo and Indonesia, and is used to make a popular Filipino dish with pork and peppers. The fruit is tasty but difficult to separate from the seeds, which should not be eaten. It grows as golf-ball sized fruits inside a thick spiny melon that grows high in very tall trees.
Exotic Fruits of Asia
From all over southeast Asia comes the rambutan. It is somewhat similar to the Chinese lychee in that is has a leathery red skin, which is peeled away to reveal a moist white fruit. The difference is that the rambutan can be either red or yellow, and is extremely hairy. The taste is a combination of grape and gummy candy. Another Asian favorite is the sugar apple, which is popular among Thai children. The fruit is apple sized, with a thick, knobby dull green exterior. It is easy to open, and has soft and sweet flesh. Rose apples are popular all over Asia. They grow in clusters of red, pink or yellow berries. They smell like roses and bring a rose-like fragrance to everything. Rose water is made by boiling rose apples.
Exotic Fruits of Africa
One of the most exotic fruits in the world is the African cucumber. It looks like a yellow melon with spikes. The interior features a bright green, jelly-like flesh with large white seeds. The taste is a combination of lime, banana and passion fruit. Another exotic fruit from Africa is the akee. It is almost as famous as a poison as it is as a fruit. The seeds and the unripe fruit are both poisonous, causing it to have been banned from many countries. The fruit must be harvested after it has split open on the tree and the shiny black seeds discarded. It is a key ingredient in many tropical dishes, including a fish, tomato and onion dish called akee-rice, which is practically the national dish of Jamaica.
Exotic Fruits of the New World
Dragon fruit are native to Mexico. They have bright red skins with elaborate dragon-like spikes. The flesh is white with hundreds of tiny white seeds. It has a creamy, delicate taste. The guanaba is another favorite from Mexico. The outside looks like a large pear with reptilian-looking scales. The flesh looks like the flesh of the dragon fruit but the taste is more acidic and starchy. The Lamut, or sapodilla, is used all over South America. It looks like a potato, but the taste is somewhere between caramel and cotton candy. It ripens only after being picked, and the seeds are lethal, if swallowed.
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