Top 10 Weirdest Fruits In The World (*Surprisingly Tasty*)

Wood apple fruit, botanically known as limonia acidissima and colloquially known as the elephant apple, grows on trees that may reach up to nine metres in height and range in size from 5 to 9 cm when ripe.The fruit is used to produce an astringent fruit juice and preserves. Ripe fruit may be used to make pickles (mashed with green chilli pepper, sugar and salt only). Another variety of this fruit is said to be auspicious for offering to Shiva and Ganesha in pujas.

The majority of Hindu temples will feature a sacred tree known as the Sthala Vriksha within their complex. The wood is used to manufacture the peculiar indigenous facial cream thanak in Myanmar.

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Jackfruit

The jackfruit, sometimes known as the jack tree, is a kind of tree that belongs to the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit families. Its origins are in the region between southern India’s Western Ghats, all of Sri Lanka, and the rainforests of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The jack tree is well-suited to tropical lowlands and is frequently farmed across the world’s tropical areas.

It produces the biggest fruit of any tree, up to 55 kg in weight, 90 cm in length, and 50 cm in diameter. A mature jack tree bears around 200 fruits each year, with elder trees giving up to 500 fruits per year.

In South and Southeast Asian cuisines, jackfruit is extensively utilised. Fruits, both ripe and unripe, are devoured.

The jackfruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as well as the state fruit of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu in India. It is accessible in canned or frozen form, as well as chilled meals, around the world, as are other items produced from the fruit, including as noodles and chips.

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Ackee

The ackee, also known as ankye, achee, akee, ackee apple, or ayee, is a Sapindaceae family fruit, along with the lychee and longan. It is endemic to West Africa’s tropical rainforests.

Captain William Bligh, who brought the fruit from Jamaica to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England in 1793, is commemorated by the scientific name. The popular name in English is taken from the West African Akan akye fufo.

Despite a long-held reputation for being toxic and potentially lethal, the fruit arils are recognised for being excellent when ripe, properly prepared, and cooked, and are a staple of numerous Caribbean cuisines. Ackee is Jamaica’s national fruit and is considered a delicacy.

Ackee canned in brine is a commodities item exported by Jamaica, Haiti, and Belize. Trees that are grown by seed will bear fruit in 3 – 4 years. Cuttings can bear fruit in 1–2 years. In West Africa and rural Caribbean Islands, the fruit is used for a variety of purposes, including laundry and seafood poisoning because to its “soap” characteristics.

The fragrant blossoms can be used as decoration or fragrance, while the hard heartwood can be utilised for building, pilings, oars, paddles, and barrels. Ripe arils, leaves, or bark were used to heal minor diseases in African traditional medicine.

Durian

The edible fruit of numerous tree species in the genus Durio is known as a durian. Durio species are endemic to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, and at least nine of them produce edible fruit.

The only species accessible on the international market is Durio zibethinus, which is endemic to Borneo and Sumatra. As of 1987, there were about 300 identified kinds in Thailand and 100 in Malaysia. Other species are sold in their respective areas.

Some individuals find the durian’s aroma to be pleasantly sweet, while others find it to be overbearing and unpleasant. The stench has been described as rotting onions, turpentine, and raw sewage, and has elicited emotions ranging from deep admiration to acute revulsion.

Alfred Russel Wallace, a nineteenth-century British biologist, characterised its flesh as “a thick custard richly flavoured with almonds.” The flesh is edible at various stages of maturity and is used to flavour a broad range of savoury and sweet dishes in Southeast Asian cuisines. When cooked, the seeds can also be eaten.

Ice Cream Bean

The Ice Cream bean tree matures swiftly, generally within three years after germination. It normally grows to a height of 17 metres and has a broad spreading canopy that is good for shading other crops and landscaping.

The yellow and white pompom-like blossoms give birth to bean pods that mature at different times throughout the year. Ice cream beans have strong fibrous walls and can grow to be up to 2 metres long.

The inside cottony pulp is sweet and milky white, with a flavour that is, predictably, similar to vanilla ice cream. The texture is chewy cotton candy with a luscious aftertaste. The pulp contains large green or black seeds that are inedible unless cooked.

Pine berry

Pineberry is the result of a cross between Fragaria chiloensis and Fragaria virginiana. A pineberry is smaller than a strawberry, ranging between 15 and 23 mm in diameter (0.6 to 0.9 in). When fully ripe, it is almost entirely white, but with scarlet achenes (the seeds).

The plant is disease-resistant and expensive, yet small-scale cultivation, tiny berry size, and poor yield make it unprofitable. In the spring and summer, pineberries are gathered. Pineberries were discovered in South America about 2002 and are now grown in Belgium and exported from the Netherlands.

The White Pine pineberries are strong and produce a large number of runners. The distinctive red-seeded white strawberries are light and have the pineapple strawberry flavour that pineberries are becoming recognised for.

It is best to cultivate pineberries in a glass house or other growing system to preserve the delicate white look of the fleshy accessory tissue. The flavour will not be notably changed, but the fruits will be tinged with a bluish-pink colour if exposed to direct sunlight.

Rambutan

The rambutan is a Southeast Asian fruit. It grows in the form of a tree that may reach a height of 80 feet (27 metres) and thrives best in tropical conditions such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

Because the golf-ball-sized fruit has a hairy red and green shell, rambutan acquired its name from the Malay word for hair. Its distinct look is sometimes compared to that of a sea urchin.

The fruit is linked to the lychee and longan fruits, and when peeled, it has a similar look. Its transparent white flesh has a sweet yet creamy flavour and a seed in the centre.

Rambutan is high in nutrients and may provide a variety of health advantages ranging from weight loss and improved digestion to higher resistance to infections.

Witch Finger Grapes

When grown as a table grape, their sweet flavour and distinctive form appeal to both children and adults. When completely mature, a cluster of witch finger grapes resembles a tightly packed cluster of chilli peppers.

They feature thin skin on top of light-colored, juicy, and delicious meat. When you bite into them, the effect is a satisfying snap between the teeth.

Witch finger grapes are a speciality fruit that was developed by hybridizers using a University of Arkansas cultivar and a Mediterranean grape.

They are not currently accessible for home gardeners. There is now just one firm that grows them. They are cultivated in Bakersfield, California, and sold at farmer’s markets across Southern California.

Horned Melon

The African horned cucumber, horned melon, spiked melon, jelly melon, kiwano, or cuke-a-saurus is an annual vine in the Cucurbitaceae family of cucumbers and melon. It gets its name from its fruit, which has horn-like spines, hence the name “horned melon.”

When fully mature, the fruit has orange peel and lime green, jelly-like flesh. South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Angola are among the countries where it may be found.

The flavour of the fruit has been compared as a mix of banana and passionfruit, cucumber and zucchini, or banana, cucumber, and lime. Although a modest quantity of salt or sugar might improve the flavour, the fruit’s seed concentration makes it less convenient to consume than many other common fruits. Some people consume the peel, which is rich in vitamin C and fibre.