There are fruits that I have had in my life that I did not and still don't the names of. Most were masterpieces. There are also a few that I have since found out the name of and it has changed my perspective on them entirely; from mysteries to something still good if a bit more mundane. The first foraging I can recall was on a mulberry tree when I was about six. I just knew instinctively that they were OK, in fact to delicious, to eat. In my opinion they're still underestimated. When I was a teenager I discovered a gooey, honey sweet fruit in a nearby woods, which I later learned was wild persimmon.
Little did I know then that millions of people in East Asia eat regularly with relish. I had also had dried figs before, but didn't know I was eating a fresh one that I plucked from a neighbor's garden (OK- technically guilty of stealing but the branch was hanging out into the street and the fruits were already dropping from the branch). Finally, there were the loquats (nothing to do with kumquats) that we gathered by a beach in Japan in summer. They were juicy enough, but lacking a bit in flavor and troublesome to peel. I also recall prickly pear not really being worth the trouble nor the lingering pain.
The two greatest unsung fruits of all were masterpieces and unfortunately I doubt (but hope!) that I'll ever encounter them again. They were both from Thailand and were for me unprecedented. The first one was a sort of lumpy strawberry shaped fruit covered with a scaly and scratchy pale-red thick skin. Easy to peel, the inside reveals an orange colored lychee like meat. The meat itself is rather dry, but the flavor is explosive, delicious, and amazingly complex with hints of rhubarb, pineapple, and strawberry (a description which does it no justice at all of course).
The other was a concord grape sized bright yellow berry. You just pop one into your mouth, bite into and the thick skin just slides right off. It has a texture and exquisite flavor so uncannily like mango that I'm tempted to call it a mango berry. It may very well indeed be a sort of mango, but I guess I'll never know. I only know that I only had them one time but I won't ever forget them, nor the enthusiasm of the Aussies I had enjoyed them with.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/low-calorie-articles/the-mysterious-yet-delicious-fruits-of-southeast-asia-3100637.html
About the AuthorThis article was written by Dinah Jackson who is a nutritionist in Japan. For the largest source of rare Japanese Pokemon cards directly from Japan, check out this store. Pokemon plush toys, charms, deck boxes, sleeves, charms, figures, and thousands more very rare Japanese Pokemon items.