I just came across a story about an interesting fruit, known as the mangosteen, which was forbidden in the US until last year. I've been wanting to try the mangosteen (shown above) for a while now, but I guess I just need a little incentive to get off my butt and go look for one. (According to the New York Times, they can generally be found in gourmet grocery stores and supermarkets that specialize in Asian goods.)
So I'm proposing a "forbidden fruit" scavenger hunt. Over the next few weeks, I plan to hunt down and sample each of the following:
Mangosteen
Cherimoya (Not only have I already tried it, but it's one of my favorite foods--which is why it made the list.)
Granadilla
Pomelo
Jaboticaba
Rambutan
Longan (Which is said to resemble eyeballs.)
Pitaya
Salak
Yangmei
(There are dozens of other exotic fruits that I'd like to try, but I think a list of ten is a good place to start.)
I invite you all to join me! (It may take a little detective work.) Please report your progress and discoveries here!
26 comments:
wow...i knew about the mangosteen from a wii game i had but i never thought it would be real(the game is called sims2 castaway and has tons of trees of exotic fruit)
Ok those Rambutans are awesome!!! Do tell how those taste. I want to try one!!
I would like to join you but I live in a rural town that is probably a 20th of the size of NYC.
i heard mangosteens are really expensive in NYC, like $45 per pound. my friend tried one when she was in Thailand, and said that it was sweet and sort of sour and tasted like a mixture of strawberry, peach and ice cream...
I've been wanting to try some weird fruits for a while now. Imagine at lunch: *Sigh* I have an apple. *Sigh* I have a banana. *Sigh* I have an asian fruit that was banned from the US until last year...
mangosteen are delicious!!!! I had loads while i was in thailand. I think they taste like custard. Does anyone know why they are forbidden???
I cant think of any reason.
Lara: Not because of the fruit itself, but because of the bugs and other pests that might make it to the US inside the fruit. They've started irradiating the fruit to kill any pests it might be harboring.
wow... radioactive formerly forbidden foriegn fruits, that makes me want to try it even more! haha try saying "formerly forbidden foreign fruits" four times fast.
rambutans are pretty common in dallas, texas in asian stores, but in NC, you cant find anything but lychee(which is delicious, I cant believe it was on fear factor...)Gosh, im missing out on so many exotic goodies T__T
Yangmei looks gorgeous. I'm going to go digging in Chinatown for it.
Pah. Cherimoya is called custard apple here. I've seen it before but never tasted it - the name doesn't sound as appetizing, I guess.
I just found out yangmei was considered for introduction into Australia! The government seemed to think they could help the ecosystem in some way, according to other reports I found.
The government file is here, if you like:
http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/NPP/05-174sum.html
I wonder when the red bayberry will be in my backyard! ^^
It was so HOT today! I was buring up. So- I decided to try and boil an egg on the sidewalk. Guess what? It worked. Thats how hot it is. I feel bad for me. : (
Cherimoyas are yummy!!
logan!! (love that stuff, but if you eat too much of it, it'll make your nose bleed XD Their actual translation is "Dragon Eye) All I know it that Taiwan has ALOT of weird fruits! And Catgirl, I LOVE RAMBUTANS TOO! My cousin has a yangmei tree in her backyard! Have you considered star fruit?? Ohh ohh! What about "saturn peach??" (it's shaped kinda like the ring of saturn, a flat peach, another one of China's weird products, lol But if your're searching for a picyure of it, I reckon you not, it has many different names it's literal translation from Chinese it "flat peach")Erm.. budda's hand?? (never tried it) Uhh... (what I'm about to say is not a fruit, but it's really weird!)Threr's a mushroom that has hair growing outta it, no it's not growing mold. It's kinda creepy and it taste's funny (my dad likes it). It tastes like you're swallowing a furball. Well, it looks like a fur ball.
Man! I really want to try the Rambutan! And I have to dissagree with maskedgoddess... I dont like lychee... it tastes like fish to me :S
Ooh! I think I've had Longan! At a party I went to they had these weird little berries that looked like fish eyes, and they had a sharp, tangy, watery taste.
I remember you had a post that talked about durian...
omg i LOVE jabuticaba!!! they're sooooooo yummy!!!!
-Zero
I like Pitayas...:) I think, but I'm not sure if I ｔｒｉｅｄ ｔｈｅ ｐｏｍｅｌｏ．．．
whats that fruit shown in that picture above? It looks delish!^_^
Those rambutans look like Seussfruits!!
Ananka: Oh, right.....have you heard of Durian??? I had the chance to try it but i just couldnt bring myself to. There is NO WAY you would find it here, tho because they are not even allowed to transport around SE Asia, i think.
i luv luv luv lychee (in fact i finished a botle of lychee juice in about a day! it was big!)
I have tried Cherimoya and I really don't like it. I think it don't even have a taste!
I have had rambutans and salak. Both are nice.
I suggest you put a peg on your nose and try durian. I don't think you'll like it but try it at least once. They love it in Indonesia and you can get lollies and ice-creams of that flavour.
you know the rambutan looks like something you'd find in a Dr. Suess
Lara, The Durian fruit growns in my home town Miami, Florida. I've had the chance the try it but it smells so awful I just couldn't do it.
Actually I've had most of the fruit listed. I remember my dad (who is originally from Jamaica) would bring Pitaya (Drangon Fruit) to my house one day. It was just so interesting I had to try it.
Once it cut it open I was sorta of turned off but once it touched my tongue, WOW! It's something you have to try if you haven't already.
I also ate Cherimoya weekly but, I was warned not to eat the seeds because they're poisonous.
There are some place in Miami that will ship some of those fruit to you. It might take a well but they are worth the money and the wait.
Good luck on your quest!
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