Tropical fruit glossary: Some of my favorite fruit

Carmen Miranda made a living dancing and singing with a bunch of fruit  on her head. Nice job if you can get it! I know if it were me, that fruit wouldn’t last long, especially if it were any of the delcious tropical fruit featured here. That’s because there’s nothing as good as eating fresh fruit in season and in Jamaica that’s the norm. From mangoes, bananas and extraordinarily sweet pineapples, to a bevy of unfamiliar exotics, Jamaica has it all. The following are a few unique and tasty exotic delights that I love, and I think you will too.

 
Ackee It’s Jamaica’s national fruit, however, unlike other fruit featured here, ackee is used as a savory ingredient, mostly in Ackee and Salfish, Jamaica’s national dish! When ripe a gas is released and the pod opens to reveal the yellow flesh and black seeds. It is posionous if eaten when the pod has not opened naturally.

 

 

 

Guinep I love the sweet and sour taste of guinep, which grow in bunches. Just crack open the thin green skin and inside you’ll find a soft flesh wrapped around a large seed.

 

 

 

 

Jack Fruit The prickly green skin of this large fruit conceals a beautiful treat inside. It taste a little like pineapple but with a very different texture. Just cut it in half and pluck the pods of flesh from inside.

 

 

 

 

Naseberry Called sapodilla in Central America, a naseberry is round in shape and has a reddish brown skin. When it’s ripe, the fleshy pulp may be eaten or used to make custard and ice-cream.

 

 

 

 

Star Apple A distant Caribbean cousin of the North American apple,  but when cut crossways, this apple reveals a  dramatic star-shaped pattern.

 

 

 

 

Sweet Sop This perfectly named fruit has a peculiar appearance; the entire surface being divided into small, knobbly scales that break away separately when the fruit is ripe, exposing the creamy, sweet custard-like pulp.

 

 

 

 

 

FruitIngredient