Frightfully freaky fruit

[PPPans]

Starfruit/carambola (called belimbing in Malay)...

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And balimbing in the Philippines.

Ripe starfruit are usually rather juicy with a slightly tart/tangy flavour; however, a Google search reveals that there exists a variety called honey starfruit that's rather sweet and fragrant (source).

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Yes Mooshmouse, the honey starfruit is quite common in the Philippine countryside. In Pampanga, it's called taranati while the sour/tart one is the balimbing.

[Alchemist]

I have seen the green starfruit all over the world but have never seen starfruit of that color anywhere before. Great pic Daisy17.

[eje]

Didn't get a picture, as we were too busy enjoying; but, tried Cherimoya for the first time last Saturday. My they are tasty! Creamy, almost avocado-like texture, and a mild flavor a little similar to pineapple or guava. I can't believe what I was missing for all these years.

If they still have them at the farmers' market next week, I'll document their freakiness.

[eje]

Well, these aren't really all that frightful.

But, they are amazingly tasty and it's really too bad you can't smell them.

I look forward to fall for the brief period when local guavas are at their peak.

If only they didn't have those little rock-like seeds...

[Domestic Goddess]

I have just found this thread and found a lot of familiar fruits (guava, santol, rambutans, langka, durian, etc.) from my country - the Philippines. I'm really homesick now for some guavas, rambutan, fresh langka, oh I could go on. Then again, being here in Korea gives me a chance to try different fruits like persimmons, gingko nuts, succulent peaches and pears.

My friends gave me some tiny wild strawberries called snake strawberries. Pem Talgi (which literally means snake = pem and strawberry = talgi in korean).

Edited October 31, 2006 by Domestic Goddess (log)

[Chufi]

Has anyone ever seen or eaten this fruit? The label says Caramba, the box they were in said from Brazil. Googling brought up a lot of 'Ay, Caramba' references, but none of those gave me any info about this fruit

They're the size of a small pickling cucumber, light to dark-green. The pulp tastes like passionfruit, but much tarter. I like the flavor, but the seeds are very hard which makes them a bit unpleasant to eat.

[markemorse]

I'm pretty sure it's an underripe passionfruit variety...

Edited November 8, 2006 by markemorse (log)

[markemorse]

Here is a bit of photo support for that theory....

leo

i mean

mark

[Chufi]

Because I have plenty of other things to do, I spent the last half hour with Mr. Google.

So here's what it is: banana passionfruit (ofcourse), aka curuba. Where does that word caramba come from? marketing strategy?

wiki on banana pasionfruit

[Ktepi]

I bought these in an Asian market (Battambang in Lowell, MA) that also sells a number of Latin American items, so I don't know which this is. It was under a sign marked "green beans" and priced only as "fruit."

For size reference, they're about the size of cherries. The little bag there was tucked into the package -- I thought it was chile salt, but I don't taste any chile in it.

The fruits, whatever they are, are tart and astringent, which a texture like an apple or crabapple.

Anyone?

I'm guessing they're high in pectin, so I'm tempted to make a jelly. I'd candy them, even, but I haven't had any luck in candying apples or quinces -- I don't like the texture they take on.

(The same market also sold fresh dragonfruit, frozen mangosteens, frozen custard apples, and frozen rambutans; I bought the first two and am in heaven.)

[nonblonde007]

Ktepi, You know you are an e-gulleter when................................

[Ktepi]

Ktepi, You know you are an e-gulleter when................................

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... you limit yourself to buying one package of the mystery fruit, despite thinking to yourself, "But ... what if it's awesome?"

[Domestic Goddess]

Ktepi - looks like a manzanita fruit to me.

[Ktepi]

Oooh, judging from Google, I think you're right. Will they table-ripen? Some of them have some red blush on them, and I'm undecided whether that was there when I bought them, or if they've ripened in the last two days. Right now they're very astringent.

[Domestic Goddess]

I believe you need to keep them in a paperbag for a couple of days and they will ripen. My mom used to put them in our rice keeper and it helps ripen it (I have no idea how). I usually eat them half ripe, I love the cruchy-tart-sweet combination.

[nonblonde007]

I found this odd melon at the local farmers market today, have NO idea what it is. It's taste is part cantalope, part zucchini, part cucumber, and not very sweet at all. I didn't realy care for it, but the horses loved it! Does anyone know what it is? The person I bought it from didn't know, said it just apeared in her garden and was fruiting like crazy!

( that is a regular teaspoon, for size comparison)

[heidih]

Korean melon it is called at my market

[nonblonde007]

Thank you Heidith, do you know how it is used?

[heidih]

If it the one i had, I found it had a light melon/cuke taste and we just ate it first on its own, and then incorporated it into our summer salads. We mix fruit and veg all the time with different dressings. My fave being variations of the SE Asian rojak.

[SheenaGreena]

that's korean melon? korean melon is usually striped w/ yellow and white, shaped like a really fat cucumber and pretty sweet. I have never seen melons like that in korea. HOWEVER, the inside looks very similar to the interior of the korean melons that I have eaten.

too bad your wasn't so good, because we call korean melons, korean honeydews because of their sweetness

at least your horses got a nice treat (:

[Adam Balic]

I have just found this thread and found a lot of familiar fruits (guava, santol, rambutans, langka, durian, etc.) from my country - the Philippines. I'm really homesick now for some guavas, rambutan, fresh langka, oh I could go on. Then again, being here in Korea gives me a chance to try different fruits like persimmons, gingko nuts, succulent peaches and pears.

My friends gave me some tiny wild strawberries called snake strawberries. Pem Talgi (which literally means snake = pem and strawberry = talgi in korean).

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These look very similar to the fruit from mock or Indian strawberries (Duchesnea indica), which are yellow flowered and almost flavourless?

Edit: Yes they are the same thing. They are not really a type of strawberry at all and are often used as ground covers. I remember eating the fruit as a child and being surprised by the lack of any strawberry flavour.

Edited August 18, 2007 by Adam Balic (log)

[miladyinsanity]

I found this odd melon at the local farmers market today, have NO idea what it is.  It's taste is part cantalope, part zucchini, part cucumber, and not very sweet at all.  I didn't realy care for it, but the horses loved it!  Does anyone know what it is?  The person I bought it from didn't know, said it just apeared in her garden and was fruiting like crazy!

( that is a regular teaspoon, for size comparison)

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I'm guessing, but I don't think it's meant to be eaten raw.

I think it might be a winter melon, and us Chinese usually boil it to make soup.

[eje]

One of my favorite Farmer's Market vendors grows tropical fruits near Palmdale.

This week she had Rambutan!

Similar to in texture to lichi or longan, rambutan was maybe a bit tarter and more grape-like in flavor than either of those.

Yummy in any case.

Edited October 15, 2007 by eje (log)

[andiesenji]

I decided to bump this topic up after receiving an email earlier today with this link from a small foodie email group to which I belong. Thanks NikkiS!

I have heard of a lot of weird fruits but have never come across this one which to me is indeed, totally freaky. Even the flowers are freaky.

Jabuticaba the Brazilian Grape Tree

Has anyone ever seen this fruit?

I wonder if anyone in the U.S. has tried growing these trees.

[sazji]

Korean melon it is called at my market

To me it looks like a "pocket melon." They were once widely grown in Europe for their fragrance and would be carried in pockets of fine ladies who did not bathe very often. It's often grown in SW Turkey and brought into the house to perfume the room. They generally are not very tasty at all.