A Taste of Something New...

If you're sick of sprouts and Satsuma’s in all their guises, perhaps it's time to try some other fruit and veg. For all I'm keen to promote seasonal fruit and veg grown close to home, there are occasions when you fancy something different or something that reminds you of sunnier climes when it's still gloomy outside. We've already covered some more unusual fruits - remember guavas and pomelos - but what else is lurking on the supermarket shelves or even those of your local greengrocer?

Dragon fruit

These are the fruit of various cacti, predominantly found in Central and South America, as well as parts of Asia; if you holiday in Cyprus, Australia or Hawaii you may also see them growing there. You can't help but notice these fruit with their pink exterior from which green leaves jut. Once you cut them open what lies beneath is somewhat disappointing - a white pulp with small black seeds, which has a mild flavour - but still worth it for a totally new fruity experience. As with a kiwi or passion fruit you eat the seeds and indeed you can just scoop the fruit from its shell and eat it as it comes. Alternatively, use dragon fruit as part of a dessert; here are a few ideas http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/dragon_fruit.

Rambutan

I came across these years ago in tinned tropical fruit salad, but until recently wasn't aware what the whole fruit actually looked like or that it was a close relative of lychees. A clue as to their appearance is in their name, which is derived from the Malay word - they are native of Southeast Asia - for hairs; they are small circular fruits with a red outer covering of hairs. Inside you will find a sweet white flesh. Peeled you can eat them as grapes or add them to a mix of other chopped fruits. I struggled to find recipes for rambutan, but here are a selection for lychees http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/lychee.

Mangosteen

Not a relation of the mango, this fruit grows in Indonesia and South America, and while its thick purple rind is inedible, its white flesh is sweet and juicy with a bit of a tang. Its juice is popular and bottles of this are available to purchase; the fruit is rich in antioxidants and is also thought to have anti-inflammatory properties, so may help to protect against heart disease, cancer and arthritis. Fresh mangosteens are difficult to come by in the UK, but they are available canned from traditional Asian food stores. From the recipes here it looks like mangosteens work well in savoury dishes too http://www.recipebridge.com/r/mangosteen.

Does anyone have any more unusual fruits or perhaps just novel ways to serve more common fruits that they would like to share?

Happy experimenting!


Attributions:
Dragon Fruit - by _e.t via Wikimedia Commons
Rambutan - by Forest & Kim Starr via Wikimedia Commons
Mangosteens - by Hans B via Wikimedia Commons