In my last Chinatown mention, I posted a picture of mangoes and dragon fruit a street vendor was selling. I forgot to include a description so that’s what spurred this entry. I love me some fruit, but your average apple can get old after a while. Think out of the box and grab a fruit you haven’t seen or heard of next time you are at the market or store. Before you actually eat it (or cook it), I suggest you google it to figure out the best way to prepare it.
I’ve done exactly that quite a few times and have had some pleasant and some not-so-pleasant surprises. I think my favorite experimental buy has been the cherimoya so far. It’s creamy and perfumy and silky (and it’s pictured below). If I wouldn’t have googled it before eating it, I wouldn’t have known that the seeds can be toxic (details, details).
The internet (or your local library if you still visit) will provide you with a plethora of useful information regarding these fruits but here are some tidbits I've banked away. Most exotic fruits are exotic, duh, so this means they come from exotic locations - think Asia, South America, even Australia. A lot of them tend to have harder shells or better protective skins than fruits grown in non-exotic climates (apples, berries, pears, grapes). I'm not sure why that is and I don't even know if that's a fact. Consider this my personal observation. Along with that, some of these exotic fruits also stink but taste delicious. Then again, some smell good but well, you get the point. Also, I bought jack fruit one time and since those suckers are huge, didn't finish the whole thing in one sitting, so I saved half for later. Man, that thing develops odors and keep that in mind if you throw the shell in the garbage. Better take out the garbage that day.
Anywho, here are some exotics to inspire your next trip to the market.
Dragon fruit
Passion fruit
Star fruit
Jack fruit
Cherimoya
Guava
Lychee
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