Rare and Interesting Fruit

In this blog I wanted to cover 3 fruits that are not your traditional foods. Rarely seen in stores if at all. Due to the countries these are native to, I believe only a few locations in the US could grow them outdoors. If you get the options to try a taste, send me a message and let me know how you like it.

Jaboticaba

The jaboticaba tree only thrives in a subtropical climate, and in rich, well-drained soil. Once planted, the tree can take anywhere between six and eight years to bear fruit

Jaboticaba is available in the summer in subtropical climates and year-round in tropical climates.

Scientific name: Plinia caulifloria

Common name: Jaboticaba or Brazilian grapetree

Family: Myrtaceae

Kingdom: Plantae

Order: Myrtales

Jabuticaba, is a South American fruit. It is a tropical or subtropical evergreen tree native to Brazil that produces thick-skinned purple fruits that resemble large grapes. Jabuticaba is one of the most popular native fruits in Brazil.

The tree is a slow-growing evergreen that can reach a height of 50 feet if not pruned. The leaves are salmon-pink when young, turning green as they mature.

The tree prefers moist, rich, lightly acidic soil. It is widely adaptable, however, and grows satisfactorily even on alkaline beach-sand type soils, so long as it is tended and irrigated. Its flowers are white and grow directly from its trunk in a cauliflorous habit.

Definition of cauliflorous: producing flowers from the main stem or older branches the redbud, chocolate tree, and many tropical trees are cauliflorous.

In its native habitat jaboticaba’s may flower and fruit 5-6 times throughout the year. Jaboticabas are tropical to subtropical plants and can tolerate mild, brief frosts, not below 26 °F (-3 °C). The tree has a compact, fibrous root system, that makes it suitable for growing in pots or transplanting

Their taste and appearance are most often compared to the muscadine grape — and they’re even nicknamed ‘the Brazilian grape’. Jaboticaba berries are both sweet and acidic, with tough, tart skin and a pale, fleshy center that’s incredibly sweet. 

Because they’re unequivocally Brazilian, indigenous to central and southern parts of the country. These thick-skinned, dark purple berries have an extremely short shelf life and begin to ferment three to four days after being picked, making them difficult to export anywhere else.

Rambutan

Rambutan is a medium sized tropical tree. The name also refers to the edible fruit produced by the tree. The rambutan is native to Southeast Asia. It is closely related to other tropical fruits including lychee, longan, pulsann and guinep

Scientific name: Nephelium lappaceum

Common name: Rambutan, Hairy lychee

Family: Sapindaceae

Kingdom: Plantae

Order: Sapindales

Rambutan is an evergreen tree growing to a height of 49–79 ft. The leaves are alternate, 6–12 inches long, pinnate, with three to 11 leaflets, each leaflet 2–6 inches wide and 1–4 inches broad, with an entire margin. The flowers are small, 1–2 inches.

Rambutan trees can be male producing only staminate flowers (having stamens but no pistils) and, hence, produce no fruit, female (producing flowers that are only functionally female) or hermaphroditic (producing flowers that are female with a small percentage of male flowers).

The fruit is a round to oval single-seeded drupe, (a fleshy fruit with thin skin and a central stone containing the seed, e.g., a plum, cherry, almond, or olive.) borne in a loose pendant cluster of 10–20 together. The leathery skin is reddish (rarely orange or yellow) and covered with fleshy pliable spines, hence the name, which means ‘hairs’. The spines (also known as “spinterns”) contribute to the transpiration of the fruit, which can affect the fruit’s quality.

The fruit flesh, the aril, (an extra seed-covering, typically colored and hairy or fleshy) is translucent, whitish or very pale pink, with a sweet, mildly acidic flavor reminiscent of grapes.

The single seed is glossy brown, 1/2 to 1 inch, it is soft and contains equal portions of saturated and unsaturated fats, the seed may be cooked and eaten, but is bitter and has narcotic properties.

Nephelium ramboutan-ake, the pulasan, is a tropical fruit in the soapberry family Sapindaceae. It is closely related to the rambutan and sometimes confused with Rambutan.

Durian

durian is the edible fruit of several tree The durian is the edible fruit of several tree species There are 30 recognized Durio species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit.

Scientific name: Durio zibethinus L.

Common name: Durian

Family: Bombacaceae

Kingdom: Plantae

Order: Malvales

Durian is native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the only species available in the international market. It has over 300 named varieties in Thailand and 100 in Malaysia, as of 1987. Other species are sold in their local regions. Durians are commonly associated with Southeast Asian cuisine, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Named in some regions as the “king of fruits”, the durian is distinctive for its large size, strong odor, and thorn-covered rind. The fruit can grow as large as 12 inches long and 6 in in diameter, and it typically weighs 2 to 7 pounds. Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the color of its husk green to brown, and its flesh pale yellow to red, depending on the species.

An acquired taste, some people regard the durian as having a pleasantly sweet fragrance, whereas others find the aroma overpowering and unpleasant. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as rotten onions, turpentine, and raw sewage. The persistence of its odor, which may linger for several days, led certain hotels and public transportation services in Southeast Asia to ban the fruit. nineteenth-

Durian trees are large, growing to 80–165 feet in height depending on the species. The leaves are evergreen, elliptic to oblong and 4–7 inches long. The flowers are produced in three to thirty clusters together on large branches and directly on the trunk with each flower having a calyx (sepals) and five (rarely four or six) petals. Durian trees have one or two flowering and fruiting periods per year, although the timing varies depending on the species, cultivars, and localities. A typical durian tree can bear fruit after four or five years. The durian fruit can hang from any branch and matures roughly three months after pollination. The fruit can grow up to 12 in long and 6 in in diameter, and typically weighs 2 to 7 lb. Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the color of its husk green to brown, and its flesh pale-yellow to red, depending on the species.

The durian is somewhat similar in appearance to the jackfruit, an unrelated species.

#rarefruit #durian #Rambutan #Jaboticaba