Some fruits that us Brits might not be familiar with!!!

Rambutan (Ngor)

Break into the fruit casing with your fingers and peel it away to reveal the fruit. A sweet, sticky, white fruit with a single stone in the middle. Either nibble the fruit off the stone or open it with your fingers and remove the stone.

Phat thu

This is weird fruit, commonly picked up during Tet in Hanoi, and used as an offering to family ancestors. In Vietnamese, it is known as phat thu.

mangosteen

The mangosteen is a tropical evergreen tree, believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas. The tree grows from 7 to 25 meters tall. The rind of the edible fruit is deep reddish purple when ripe. the fragrant edible flesh can be described as sweet and creamy with some peach flavor.

Kiwano Horned Melon 

Kiwano Horned Melon  - is a member of the cucumber family and not of the kiwi family. Looks like an oval melon with horns and is very decorative. Picked green, the kiwano horned melon tastes like a mix of lemon and banana.

Milk fruit

Milk fruit is known to be a popular tropical fruit indigenous to Cambodia (phlai teuk-doh koh) and Vietnam (vú sữa). The underbelly of the leaf is a greenish purple hue, while the top is a deep green. The smooth, round plant contains sticky white latex and can grow to about 200 grams in weight.

Jack Fruit


These big fruits are ugly and smelly. They are the largest tree borne fruit in the world growing in excess of 30 kilos. Despite their unappealing outer appearance the fruit inside is crisp, crunchy and fresh tasting. Cut open the main fruit and inside are a multitude of yellow fruits. Each fruit is a flattened apple shape containing a single stone. You can buy jack fruits whole or buy the yellow fruits cut out and ready to eat.

Custard Apple or Sugar Apple

This fruit is the size of a large apple and covered in green scales. You can peel it or cut it open with a knife. The fruit inside is white, soft and sweet. You can pick the seeds out with a spoon or just suck the fruit off the seeds and spit the seeds back out.

Dragon Fruit

This spectacular looking fruit is best eaten chilled. Use a knife to cut the fruit in half lengthways and scoop the fruit out with a spoon. The centre is a solid mass of white flesh with lots of tiny black seeds. There is a slightly smaller version of the fruit with red flesh. One of the pleasures of this fruit is that you can eat the entire centre leaving just the casing. If the fruit is not fully ripe then it tastes a little bland and disappointing. When they are fully ripe, they are sweet and flavoursome. Look for fruit with rich red and pink colours.

Kiwano Horned Melon 

 
Once grown only in New Zealand, Melissa’s Kiwano Melons are now grown in California as well. Consumers are drawn to these intriguing, yet versatile tropical fruits whose look easily captures attention.

Snake Fruit (Ragam)

A member of the Salacca family this fruit grows in tight clusters. It is reddy brown with lots of sharp little spines. Pinch off the tip of the fruit and then peel from there. There are usually two or three sections of fruit inside. The fruit is firm rather than juicy

There is not a lot of flesh as each section contains a sizeable stone in the middle. Nibble the light brown flesh from the stone.

Pomello (Som-oh)

This large, round, green fruit is similar to grapefruit but it is not as juicy or sour. Remove the thick peel with a knife and then you can cut out the segments. The flesh is pink to green, crisp and refreshing to eat.

Langsat (Longkorng)

This fruit grows in bunches and from the outside is similar in appearance to Longons. Break into the leathery casing with your fingers to reveal the creamy grey flesh which is split into segments.
It has a sweet taste with a sour edge and is very sticky. Some of the segments have seeds which should not be chewed as they are very bitter.

Santol (Gratawn)

This round yellow to green fruit should be peeled with a knife. The fruit has an outer layer that is firm and slightly sour. The centre is soft and sweet. You need to suck this sweet centre from the seeds.