Wednesday, March 04, 2015

Fruits and Vegetables you’ve never heard of

Have you have been strolling through your local farmers market and saw some sort of mythical looking fruit or vegetable.  I love finding weird looking fruits or vegetables that I haven’t tried.  Last week I was at the farmers market and found the strangest shaped squash, obviously I had to get it. 

Finding weird shaped fruits and vegetables is always exciting; but finding a “weird” looking new fruits and vegetables are the best.  I think trying new foods is a great way to experiment with cooking and using new ingredients.

After getting home with my odd-ball shaped squash I went surfing the web to find some new fruits and vegetables I haven’t tried.  There are so many out there, here are five fruits and five vegetables that are on my trying to-do list.

Vegetables-

•    Spigarello is a form of broccoli that has a sweet, delicate, less bitter taste.  It is similar to kale, but said to be better.


•    Kabocha Squash is similar to a squash or pumpkin but much sweeter.  There are various recipes with it baked with garlic, cheese, oregano, and olive oil.  A must try!


•    I actually have heard of Sunchokes, or sometimes called a Jerusalem artichoke, but haven’t tried them.  They are actually kind of a sunflower.  It is said to have a nutty taste.


•    Seckle’s look like a pear and are supposed to taste delicious.  They are sometimes called “sugar pears” and are known from their grainy texture and spicy-sweet flavor.

•    Romanesco- I won’t lie, this vegetable looks like it should be part of a science project.  CRAZY!  I found quite a few recipes that say to add it to stir-fry’s for an extra special taste.



Fruits-

•    If you like bananas and pineapples, Jackfruits are supposed to be a delicious combination of flavors!  The Jackfruit has sweet bulbs that cover brown seeds. 

 •    Kiwano is said to have the perfect combination of sweet and sour!  They are also called horned melons.  Kiwanos are full of filling fiber making a great snack.


•    You may have heard Lychee.  It is a sweet smelling fruit with an exotic taste similar to grapes.  They have become somewhat more popular in the past year or so.


•    Grenadia has a similar taste to passion fruit.  The seeds are said to be covered in delicious pulp.  I think they look terrifying on the inside, but I definitely want to try it.




 •    More common in the grocery stores are Star fruits.  I have them all the time, but they are so good I felt the need to share them with you too. This fruit is actually shaped as a star when sliced.  It is crunchy, juicy and full of goodness.


 I hope this list inspired you to pick up those weird fruits and vegetable you’ve been scared to try.  I can’t wait to try all of these and more.  Do you know any more strange food that I should try? I would love to know! :)

Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie

9 comments:

  1. Hola hello from Peru , I want to teach u a fruit of my country , la lúcuma ..

    http://saveurperou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/X-LUCUMA.jpg

    Good day !

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  2. Jackfruits are SO good. I need to try some of these.

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  3. I just heard about spigarello the other day! How interesting!!

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  4. I want to try each and every one of these. I'm not that adventurous with food, except for fruits and veggies!

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  5. This is interesting. I have heard of a couple. I want to try them now.

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  6. Isn't it interesting how what some see as regular fruits, others see as weird? I like trying news foods and vegetables when I travel so I've come across most of these.

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  7. I haven't seen these vegetables before but I have has a few of these fruits.

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  8. Wow - that Romanescu stuff is crazy looking!

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  9. Mmm, I love lychee. What a great post! Love learning about new foods!

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