Hello all,
In an effort to eat healthier and help my family make good choices I have been keeping a large variety of fruits and veggies in the house. One problem, they are all the basics. I just saw a fruit called the dragon fruit, which was fascinating and it occured to me that I would love to try some new stuff, but don’t know how to buy or prepare it for consumption.
So I come to you, my fruity friends for guidance, recommend some wonderful exotic fruits to me!
Thanks!
Persimons. I don’t know if they are still considered exotic but there is an art to eathing them. First of all, they need to be very ripe. By that I mean softer to the touch than a ripe tomato. I mean really soft but obviously not completely mushy.
Then cut it in quarters and eat it as if you’re about to kiss the meat of the fruit.
When you bring the flesh to your mouth, put your lips around the inside edge of the cut quarter and suck the flesh into your mouth gently. It should just yield into your mouth… like … ummm… performing oral sex on a woman that you absolutely lust after. It’s a very sexy fruit eating experience if done right. And it happens to be delicious as well.
Fresh figs are a great treat. They are not often available but when they are, rinse them well and soak them for 10 minutes in ice water with plenty of ice. They seem to plump that way and the cold makes them juicier. A nice way to have them is with a bit of prosciutto and sliver of Parano or Parmasian and a drizzle of good olive oil and very aged balsamic vinegar.
As for veggies… Jicamas tend to be pretty yummy. Again, not sure they are commonly considered exotic. They are like a large radish but sweeter with the same consistancy. Great when chopped in a salad or cut in stick (like carrots) for dip.
I like pluots, which are a combination plum/apricot.
Mangoes are good, but very juicy. Provide plenty of napkins.
You can also buy all sort of fruit juices and freeze them in popsicle molds.
Raw broccoli is good with a nice dip. And if it’s the right season, get spaghetti squash. It’s a large yellow squash. Cut it in half, cook it in the oven with some butter, and then the flesh shreds like a fork into strands, like spaghetti.
Durians. Now I know you’ve probably heard all about how bad they smell, but it’s not really true. They smell strong, but not bad – the smell and taste is like sweet caramelized onions, and the texture is like a thick pudding. If you can, find an Asian smoothie place that’ll put it in a milkshake for you – it’s much less strong that way, and is a better introduction to it.
If you ever want the shock of a lifetime, try eating a persimmon before it’s ripe. I did that once and still haven’t worked up the courage to do so again. It’s like eating a mouthful of alum.
I also recommend young coconuts, if you can find them (Hispanic and Asian grocery stores are your best bet). They look like this, and contain about a pint of sweet coconut water and a few tablespoons of jello-like mildly flavored coconut flesh. They’re fairly cheap (about a dollar around Houston) and make an excellent summer drink. The water can also be used as a substitute for blood plasma.
Carambola/starfruit - slice 'em up and eat 'em. You want golden yellow ones with just a little bit of brown along the ridges that form the points of the stars when you slice them crosswise.
Prickly pear catus fruit - look for this at hispanic groceries, although I see them more and more often at anglo groceries. Start with ones with the spines already removed. Peel them. Probably not what you’re expecting from appearances - sort of an apple-pear texture and flavor going on, but really neither taste. Downwise - LOTS of seeds, which you’ll probably want to pick out. For that reason, they’re often forced through a sieve and put into smoothies.
Mangos
Papayas - come in several varieties, some huge.
Pomagranates - if you’ve never opened one before do it in the sink and don’t wear your favorite shirt. I usually slice the knob off the end, then use a sharp knife to score along the outer skin. Peel back and gently separate the interiors. It will be messy the first few times. You can either suck the pulpy bits off the seeds, or (like I do) just crunch everything up and swallow.
Apricots
Unusual varieties of pears, plums, etc. instead of the same old standards.
Rambutans. They look creepy, but once you open them up they’re sweet and delicious.
To eat** papaya**, cut it in half lengthwaise, scoop out the seeds that look like rabbit poops, and squeeze some fresh lime juice on it. One of my favorite treats!
**Lynchees **are very good, sweet, with the texture of a grape. Just peel and eat, watch out for the pit/seeds.
I don’t think artichokes are technically exotic, but they aren’t quite basic. Just cut the stem off so that it can sit up in its own, cup the top half inch off, and clip the tops of the leaves to get rid of the prickly part. Boil, covered, for about an hour. Eat each leaf by itself, gently scraping off the “meat.” Dip in melted lemon butter or mayonaise with capers if you desire, although not the healthiest choices (I had a lemon dill yogurt sauce that was good once too). When the leaves are gone, pull of the very thin leaves and scrape off the “hairs.” Discard that. What you have left is the “heart.” All the goodness of the meat on the leaves in one piece.
Zuccini isn’t exotic either, but I can’t leave it out of my vegetable recommendation. It is so good (even my non-vegetable eating friends love it) basted in olive oil, with a sprinkle of garlic salt, on the grill. It’s pretty cold now, so pan-searing might be your best option.
Have fun experimenting!
That must be good news for vegetarian vampires.
Dragonfruit are wonderful - texture of a watermelon, taste like a kiwi. I used to live in a small desert town where a guy had set up the first successful US dragonfruit nursery. Things went for something like $20 a pound in LA. There, he’d drop off some at the local cafe I went to, and I could buy them for a buck a pop. Yummers!
Lessee . . . looks like there have already been a lot of great fruits, so I’ll represent for the veggies, yo.
Jooray for jicama! After peeling and cutting it, be sure to toss it with some lemon or lime juice to prevent browning. I love to just cut it into sticks or slices and eat it plain. Cut into matchsticks, it’s great on a tossed salad, or you can make a creamy jicama salad with a dressing of mayo, grainy mustard, and lots and lots of black pepper. It also adds cruch in stir fries and pilafs. It’s a lot like water chestnuts, now that I think of it!
Ever had kohlrabi? I’ve always just had it raw, sprinkled with a bit of salt, but I hear you can cook it, too. It has a nice cabbagy flavor, with a firm, crisp flavor. And I bet it’d be really good with a dressing of mayo and grainy mustard, and lots of black pepper, too . . . Gotta try that next time I see some!
If your grocery store has edamame, i.e. green soy beans give them a try! To prepare them, you just have to boil them about 7 minutes, and sprinkle them liberally with salt. In Japan, they eat them like potato chips (excecpt with about 1000 times the nutritional value!) and they’re a favorite snack with beer. They taste nothing at all like tofu or other soy products. Also, gentle on the digestive system, if you know what I mean.
Just so I don’t totally neglect the fruit, kiwis are excellent lunchbox food. Slice them in half longwise and throw them in a ziplock bag. At lunchtime, scoop out the meat with a spoon.
Oh, and Asian pears. They’re pricey as hell, but sooo, soooo good. Sometimes our grocery stores has some cheaper onese that are grown in California, rather than imported all the way from Japan, and IMHO they’re juicier and better, anyway.
I second the nomination of edamame, and I’d like to add that there are two varieties you can get if you buy them frozen (I see them all the time at Whole Foods and the like), in the pod and shucked. I prefer the in the pod version becauase they are more difficult to overcook, and more fun to eat! Like the bubble wrap of veggies.
These aren’t exotic, but 'tis the season for squashes and gourds, which I tend to forget about in the summer months. Acorn squash makes a good edible bowl for other dishes. I baked some for dinner and filled it with couscous. Cut in half, place the cut side down on a cookie sheet lined with foil, and bake at about 350 until they can be pierced easily with a fork. Usually takes about 45 minutes or so. Also, let it cook that way for about half an hour, then flip them over and sprinkle them with brown sugar and/or a bit of maple syrup, then bake cut-side up for another 15 minutes or so. They are nice and sweet and kid-friendly too, but not too sugary, and nice and warm on a cold night.
I’ll second the spaghetti squash as well. Before I had tried it, I read that it tastes like spaghetti, which I find not to be true. It is sweeter and has a firmer texture. It’s good with parmesan cheese and butter, and I like it with tomato sauce though a lot of people don’t. I’ve never tried it with a cream sauce, but I’d guess that the texture wouldn’t work very well. The first time I had it was with a honey-butter sauce, which I don’t have a recipe for but seemed very simple.
Not to be picky but I assume you mean** lychee** and zucchini
Here are some others (primarily vegetables) that can be used as side dishes or (as I have done recently) used to make excellent soups, etc.:
[ul]
[li]parsnips[/li][li]asparagus soup - yummy[/li][li]avocados[/li][li]cucumbers and watermelon (about a 3:1 ratio) in a cold soup garnished with vanilla ice cream[/li][li]beets[/li][li]broccoli rabe (or alternatively “raab”)[/li][li]fennel - great as an ingedient and a garnish[/li][li]leeks[/li][li]tomatillos excellent in salsas per Rick Bayless[/li][li]sweet potatoes (excellent soup on its own or mixed approximately 1:3 with pumpkin[/li][li]yams[/li][li]endless list of great and exostic mushrooms such as porcini, shitake, and oyster[/li][/ul]
I don’t have much different to add, but if you can get your hands on some fresh asparagus, put it in a tray, dot with some butter (not margarine!) and scatter on some minced garlic, then throw it under the grill for five or six minutes. Scatter with a tiny spot of ground sea-salt and serve.
Also yummy with baby corn, if you can get your hands on it fresh.
Do you get tangelos in the states? A cross between grapefruit and mandarin, quite sharp and tart citrus … just about my favourite citrus fruit, I eat kilos of them when they’re in season.
How about fijioas? You don’t see them much, but they have an odd, sweetish, almost menthol flavour which is highly addictive once you get the taste for it. Cut them in half and eat all of the flesh and seeds with a spoon. A good source of vitamin C.
Passionfruit? Common enough in Australia and I’m sure must be available in the elsewhere. Cut them in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon, or make a pavlova and fill it with cream and passionfruit pulp.
Custard apples? They are a bit sweet for my liking, but have a rich, smooth flesh.
Or Mangosteens which have slightly grainy white flesh which tastes a bit like lemon sorbet.
In the Autumn I love quinces, poached or roasted, or just left of the bench to make the kitchen smell wonderful.
In the way of vegetables, fresh peas aren’t so very exotic, expect that not many people seem to eat them anymore. I buy half a kilo when they’re in season and eat them raw, or gently cooked and then served with some fresh mint, they’re just about my favourite vegie.
I don’t really have much to add, except that this is the most erotic thing I’ve seen all day.
Persimons hmm?
-foxy
Loquats; available in early spring, they look sort of like malformed apricots; they are pleasantly sweet and acid - the precise flavour/aroma is unique and hard to describe, but is very pleasant (in fact the first time I tasted one, it made me gasp with surprise and pleasure). They are quite delicate, so it’s not unusual for them to look a little blemished - don’t let this put you off.
Second the prickly pear fruits thing, but you really have to get them fresh and fully ripe (the ones imported for sale here in the UK are hard, green and utterly tasteless); I picked some at the roadside while on holiday in Cyprus; they were softish, brilliant scarlet, slightly translucent and larger than my fist. The flavour was reminiscent of pear and melon, but different enough to make it worth a try. The ones I picked were definitely not spineless and despite great care, I ended up with many of the hairlike spines irretrievably embedded in my fingers and a couple in my lips. The numerous seeds are rock hard, but I ate them anyway.
If you can ever get your hands on any, try cupuacu (pronounced koo - poo - a - soo). You have never tasted fruit like it, and never will again.
Also great are acai (pronounced a - sa - ee), acerola (pronounced a - se - ro - la), caju (pronounced ca - shoo, the stem is used to make cashew nuts, and the fruit is delicious), bacuri (pronounced ba - koo - ree), or graviola. In fact you should visit Northern Brazil, and then you’ll go completely nuts. Even the oranges taste different (and much better). An entire basket of guavas cost almost nothing, and be careful where you park your car, because you roof could get dented from the ripe mangos falling off the trees along the road. Cold coconut juice from a freshly picked green coconut can’t be beat. But the most exotic tasting of all these fruits is still the cupuacu. No other fruit can compare and it’s impossible to describe.
I forgot that my wife’s family has jackfruits growing in their backyard, and they are also delicious.
Hey, I just realized mangosteens and bacuri are the same thing. I had never heard the name mangosteen before.
