Keeping up with the trends, especially when it comes to keeping up with the names of exotic fruits and vegetables from around the world can get really challenging at times. Sometimes the unique colour and shape of these food items can leave you baffled and make you avoid buying them. At the same time, the taste of the fruits and vegetables can be quite surprising and would make you want to add them to your everyday food. So if you are struggling to identify the fruits and vegetables, here’s a curated list of a few fruits and vegetables to help you with –
- Black Radish: Black radish or black Spanish radish are common garden plants in England and France. These radishes are known to have a sharp and spicy flavour. The radish can be used fresh or can be roasted, fried, and sauteed. Shredded Black radishes can be tossed into salads, and served as a topping for tacos, or for healthy juices.
- Buddha’s Hand: Buddha’s hand is a citrus fruit that looks like a lemon with finger-like segments. This fruit contains no pulp, juice, or seeds. But the fruit is extremely fragrant, and its peel and rind can be used in salad dressings, marinades, and drinks. The fruit is displayed for good luck in China. In Japan, Buddha’s hand is a popular New Year’s gift that is considered to be a token of good fortune.
- Durian: The Durian is considered to be a mysterious fruit. It has spiky skin and has an absolutely horrendous smell (due to the unpleasant odour it is banned in a few public places in Singapore). But once you can get past these two levels, durian lovers claim that the reward is a creamy, custard-like fruit with a unique flavour and have gone to the extent of comparing it with banana and vanilla.
- Cherimoya: Cherimoya is also popularly known as custard apple and is a native to South America and can be found in Asia as well. This fruit has a rough and bumpy texture on the outside, while its fruit flesh is smooth and creamy, like custard, hence the name. The white-coloured flesh is sweet and can be used to make ice creams and desserts and fruit salads.
Romanesco
This strange vegetable is a mix of broccoli, cauliflower, and lettuce. It has a bright green colour and perfect spirals which makes it unique. Some describe the taste of Romanesco to be a blend of broccoli and cauliflower with a hint of nutty flavour. It can be cooked or used in salads and sandwiches.
