Rambutans used to be a rarity here in the U.S., but they can now be found in many Asian supermarkets or some farmer’s market. Before there was fresh ramutans, the best version were usually found canned. And with all the syrup they put in, it’s just takes away the unique taste and possible health benefits of this tropical fruit.

For those not familiar with rambutans it might look a bit out of this world. With the spikes and all, but don’t worry the spikes are harmless, very soft and flexible. Peeling the fruit can be tricky, but possible with your fingers or a knife. Just make sure you slice around the skin and don’t get to the flesh or seeds.

The taste is sweet with a bit of tartness. And if you’ve tasted lychee or longan, these are not so different.

Thailand is the largest producer of rambutan, but it is commonly found in other South East Asian countries as well. Even Australia has found success with marketing rambutan. It’s always exciting for me to find tropical and unique fruits have gained some popularity now.

I can’t remember the last time I ate a star fruit (aka carambola). So when I saw these at the Asian market I had to give them a try.

The outside skin appears waxy and is very smooth. There is a crispness to the fruit and to my surprise they tasted very familiar. Like a mix of really juicy Asian pears and a hint of apple flavor.

As for nutritional value, star fruit is high in vitamin A and C. For those suffering from kidney stones or on dialysis, this fruit can be dangerous or fatal due to the high level of oxalic acid.

Because these fruits are so rare, they are quite pricey. Expect to spend at least a few bucks for just 1 or 2 fruits. If I had to chose between a star fruit or dragonfruit, I would definitely go with the dragonfruit.

Besides the rather common fruit taste, the fruit itself looks very unique. I remember seeing a star fruit tree in Hawaii once. Other states in the U.S. that can grow star fruit would include Florida and Texas (due to their warmer climate). These fruits are imported from Taiwan.

Some people might like fresh summer cherries, but I will take longons over any other North American fruits anytime. These were sold at the Asian market, priced at $2.99 per pound and packed into netted bags.

The skin is not like any other fruits, but it’s easy to peel. The flesh is similar to lychee, but no too sweet. It’s soft, transparent, reminds me of jelly. It’s a great treat, especially when you want something juicy and cooling in the summer time.

Even the seeds are pretty. They look like they’ve been lacquered. Some people think they look like eyes and also refer to this fruit as “Dragon’s Eye”. In Lao this fruit is refer to as “mak Lam Yai”.

According to Hawaii Fruit, longon is very popular in China as both fresh and dried fruit. The dried ones are used in Chinese herbal medicine.

The fruit is growing in popularity and orchards can be found in Hawaii and Florida. The longon was introduced in Florida in 1903 but never became popular until the Hawaiin Kohala varitey was introduced in 1954. A newer variety, known as Egami is also gaining popularity in Hawaii.

Full grown trees may yield 400-500 lbs of fruit in a good year. So that’s $1,200 - $1,500 per tree. Even after paying other expenses, it’s still not bad if you have an orchard full of longons.

I’ve been eating this new fruit I found at the Asian grocery store. It’s called sourop, but also goes by many other names too.

In Brazil, it’s referred to as Graviola or Brazilian paw paw. And guanábana in many Spanish speaking countries.

Soursop is a cousin of the delicious cherimoya but not as sweet. It looks almost similar except for the spines. The spines on the skin do look scary for a really healthy fruit. Photo collage above from Wikipedia.

Not only do they have the frozen soursop at the market, but they also have soursop drink. The drink is way too sweet and I find it to be too mushy to drink up. So it was better eaten with a spoon.

The frozen soursop is not as sweet, but still sweeten with syrup. The fruit taste both tangy and sweet. It’s difficult to describe, more like ripe pear, hint of mangosteen and of pineapple. On some occasion, the frozen fruit pulp had lots of fiber, so it was very tough and chewy.

More info about graviola or soursop:

Graviola is native to tropical South America. They mainly use it to make shakes and sorbets (sherbet), but it is also enjoyed fresh when ripe.

This plant can also be grown successfully in Florida. But it is commonly grown in South America as well as in Asia.

It is a small, evergreen tree, with large, glossy, dark green leaves. The fruits are heart-shaped and yellow to green in color. While the inside flesh is white.

All parts of this plant is healing. Including the bark, leaves, fruit, and seed.

Raintree Nutrition noted the following healing benefits:

All parts of the graviola tree are used in natural medicine in the tropics, including the bark, leaves, roots, fruit, and fruit seeds. Different properties and uses are attributed to the different parts of the tree. Generally, the fruit and fruit juice are taken for worms and parasites, to cool fevers, to increase mother’s milk after childbirth, and as an astringent for diarrhea and dysentery. The crushed seeds are used against internal and external parasites, head lice, and worms. The bark, leaves, and roots are considered sedative, antispasmodic, hypotensive, and nervine, and a tea is made for various disorders toward those effects.

Many clinical studies many have also been done concerning graviola. Researchers in Taiwan reported in 2003 that the main graviola acetogenin, annonacin, was highly toxic to ovarian, cervical, breast, bladder and skin cancer cell lines at very low dosages saying; “. . . annonacin is a promising anti-cancer agent and worthy of further animal studies and, we would hope, clinical trials.”

It would a great addition to have one of these healing plant growing in your backyard. You can make tea or tincture with it. The fruits are a tasty and healthy treat too.

But if growing a tree isn’t possible, then be on the look out for this fruit at your local Asian market.

Soursop cheesecake anyone? Here is a neat recipe from Cap Trib Exotic Fruit Farm in Australia.

Another note, I am always amazed at how much of nature is one big pharmacy! The more reason we should be protecting our rain forests.

It was interesting to see dragonfruit being grown at the Ruth Bancroft’s Garden.

If Ruth can grow it successfully in Walnut Creek, then maybe my little plant will turn out just as nice. Of course I’ll have to remember to protect it from the winter freeze.  

Here is a close up of one of the two fruit still on the plant.  I was hoping they would grow as successfully as the cactus pear.

Dragonfruit is also known as pitaya, a plant native to the tropics. It’s a succulent with three sided stems and sharp tiny spines.

Dragonfruit has become more popular lately because of it’s health benefits. It’s full of antioxidant, fiber and high in vitamin C. It’s can be eaten fresh or as dried fruit (preserved). It’s also made into wine. I’ve even seen it being mixed into energy drink and included in skincare products too.

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La Indita Michoacana is one of my favorite ice cream because it’s made with one of my favorite tropical fruit - mamey.

These are not the usual mamey (or sapota) I’m used to eating. The mamey used in this ice cream is from the large variety grown in the Caribbean and Mexico.

The packaging looks great, the fruits looks delicious and the little Mexican girl trademark is nice too.

My only shocker was the color of the ice cream was much more brighter then the one pictured in the carton. It’s more like freaky fluorescent in color. And almost the same color as the fabric on my table.

I’m not saying the artificial color is all bad and can eat stuff like this once in a while. But for something I eat often, I prefer a more natural color.

Just because of the surprising bright orange color, I won’t be buying any more mamey flavor ice cream from them.  Instead I’ll buy frozen mamey and make my own ice cream shake.

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I finally got my hands on a dragonfruit plant.  The best part is I didn’t have to travel to any dragonfruit convention to find them.

I’m hoping mine will survive the northern California winter.  We do have nights where temperatures get to 32 degrees Fahrenheit.  At least I’ve had good luck with my other succulents such as Aloe Vera and Queen of the Nights.

It was really easy to plant the cuttings. All I did was stick them in good soil and topped it off with lawn clippings (my version of mulch). Some people mentioned growing dragonfruit from the seeds. I think that would take too long to grow, if at all. But next time around I’ll try to save the seeds and grow them. And they sure have lots of seeds!

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Champagne mangoes have become quite popular in California, possibly in the rest of the country too.

They can easily be found at most Asian grocery stores sold by the case.  Many are imported from either Mexico or the Phillipines.  I’m sure Thailand and Vietnam is not far behind with their own harvest too.

They are also known as Manila mango, honey mango, or simply yellow mango.  What ever it’s called, it’s really the sweetest mango I’ve ever tasted.

The flesh is bright orange or yellow and the flesh is very soft.  The skin is very thin.  And the seed is small.  The pulp is not stringy like other ripe mangoes.  Although the common variety (usually grown in Florida) are just as good in their own way.

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I was talking to P some time ago, he had just got back from a biking trip across Vietnam. P kept talking about how much he enjoyed eating fresh dragonfruit or pitaya. I had never heard of such a fruit and wasn’t sure how it should look. All I can imagine was something with scales maybe? Then I saw pictures of the fruits and was immediately intrigued by how beautiful and strange it looked. There are three types of dragonfruit - red flesh, red fruit with white flesh and yellow fruit with white flesh.

The photo above of dragonfruit farm taken by tk yeoh of flickr. Notice how the fruits are wrapped in bags. Possibly to protect them from birds, bats, and other natural elements. Dragonfruit farming has been very popular in Asia, from the Philippines to Malaysia. They seem to grow pretty easy and are also grown in San Diego greenhouses. The plants are also available for purchase from Florida. Some day I like to make a trip to these farm and see the real fruit tree. Preferably at harvesting time!

On my last grocery shopping trip to Trader Joe’s, I saw some dried dragonfruit packaged in Thailand. I bought several packages at $2 each. The dried fruit is deep red to purple, with little black seeds that look like sesame seeds. They taste nutty and tart at the same time. I can also make dragonfruit tea with them. The water turns into a very pretty bright pink color.

Photo from Kluang Farms Malaysia.

There is even dragonfruit wine made in Malaysia. For these Kluang wine, the farm uses the red fruit with red flesh. The wines are exported to Singapore, Hong Kong, the Middle East and Europe. They should bring some to the U.S. market. I would love to try this, it’s probably really healthy too. Hey, Trader Joe’s global buyers, if you are reading this - please bring some to the states. Read the rest of this entry »