Exotic Fruits you’ve probably never tried before 🤔
In Malta we’re quite limited to the tropical fruit that we can get our hands on, and there are many different exotic fruits that aren’t available anywhere close by.
Here are 5 fruits that you probably haven’t tried before, with some tips on how you can get a taste of them - if at all.
Durian
Native to South East Asia, you’ve probably heard of this fruit’s infamous stench. The durian is a large fruit with a spiky exterior that has a pungent aroma and an equally strong taste, that makes it pretty hard to stomach if you’re not used to it. It’s so stinky, that travelling with durian on public transport has been banned across the continent. 🤢
You can get frozen durian and durian pulp from Wenzhou Asian Supermarket. If you want a more mild taste of the fruit, you can try their durian-flavoured snacks and sweets. 🍡
Dragon Fruit
This fruit is probably the most known, most available, and most visually pleasing on this list, yet many people still have never tried dragon fruit. This fruit is also known as the pitaya and has leafed exterior that looks like the scales of a dragon.
There are three varieties of pitaya: one has purple skin and white flesh, one has red skin and deep purple flesh, and the other has yellow skin and white flesh. In all varieties the flesh is laden with small, edible black seeds. You can easily get your hands on some dragon fruit here, and get ready to show off your colourful smoothie bowls and fruit platters. 🐉
Ackee
Ackee is native to tropical West Africa and Jamaica. It is not sweet in flavour and so it is used in savoury cooking, more like a vegetable than a fruit. Ackee pods open when ripe to reveal black seeds and a cream-coloured flesh, which is the part that should be eaten. The interesting thing about ackee is that it is extremely poisonous, to the point of causing death.
Poisoning can occur when the fruit is eaten unripe, or when the seeds or pods are eaten. In fact, importation of ackee is illegal; which is why you won’t be able to get your hands on any outside of its native lands. Jamaicans don’t seem to mind though - one of their favourite dishes is ackee and saltfish. 🇯🇲
Jackfruit
Jackfruit is a large green fruit with a spiked exterior, belongs to the fig family and grows in south India and Malaysia. It is the largest fruit that can be found on a tree, and the flesh is contained in bulbs that have seeds on the inside.
When ripe, the fruit is sweet and tropical in flavour, but when unripe the flavour is neutral and the texture is fibrous and firm, which allows it to be used in savoury cooking as an excellent vegan meat alternative. 🍖
You can get dried, canned, or frozen jackfruit at various supermarkets and health shops. It’s also been making appearances in many vegan and vegetarian menu items across Maltese restaurants in recent years - a personal favourite is the Dr. Juice Chipotle Jackfruit Melt. 🌶️
Black Sapote
This strange fruit is known for its soft, black flesh that at first glance resembles something like chocolate pudding. 🍫 It is a species of persimmon, which is easy to see from the outside, but on the inside it’s quite different from any other fruit. Its creamy texture and sweet taste when ripe makes it good for baking, and for eating with a spoon like pudding in a bowl. This fruit is pretty rare, and so it’s no surprise that you won’t be able to get your hands on one.
Rambutan
A relative of the lychee, the rambutan is a small, red fruit with long fuzzy hairs covering its exterior. It’s native to South East Asia, but is also grown in South America and Australia. When you peel the skin of the rambutan, the fruit inside is smooth, sweet and white, and looks like a ping-pong ball. They’re a great ingredient in desserts and can be used to replace lychee in anything from ice cream to cocktails. 🍹
You can get your hands on some rambutan at Greens Supermarket.
Who knew there were so many strange fruits out there? Comment down below.. tell us which one you’re really interested in trying 👇
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