Exotic Fruits Featured This Fall
Waterloupe
This new melon has the texture of watermelon and the look of a cantaloupe. Sweet, fragrant and juicy, this unique melon is perfect for platters or snacking. Enjoy chilled for dessert or made into sorbet.
Sweet Young Coconut
Melissa’s delicious Sweet Young Coconuts are a fun way to enjoy the tropical flavor of coconut! These young coconuts don’t have the hard husk of a mature coconut, so they are perfect for snacking and cooking. The refreshing water in the coconut is often used in exotic drinks, curry dishes, or even by itself for a delicious treat. The inner flesh of a sweet young coconut can be scooped out easily to eat as a snack or to use in recipes. It is wonderful in salads, soups or desserts.
Sweet Young Coconuts are very perishable, so it is important to keep them refrigerated. They are available year-round and should last about two weeks in the refrigerator.
This year, try our EZ-OPEN Sweet Young Coconut that doesn't require tools to open! Convenient and refreshing, just pull the red tab, push down on the green opener and insert the attached straw; then enjoy!
Sapūrana Mango
These deliciously juicy, ripe, ready-to-eat mangos are the perfect snack. Their honey-sweet flavor is perfect in desserts, smoothies, fruit salads and salsas. Enjoy them year-round.
Butterscotch™ Pears
These thin-skinned pears get their name from their color, not their taste. They are juicy and delicious; the perfect snack! They are also delicious baked for desserts or made into jams or jellies. Butterscotch™ pears have a smaller core, which means more edible fruit in each piece. A great choice for a healthy snack. Slice them for a fruit platter, or enjoy them on a charcuterie plate with cheese and prosciutto.
Cinnamon Persimmons
Also known as Sharon Fruit, Cinnamon Persimmons get their name from the brown speckles in their flesh. They are perfect for winter salads and have a sweet, crisp, juicy flavor. Persimmons are great eaten out-of-hand when ripe.
Persimmons should be purchased with no bruises and generally firm. Store at room temperature until ripe and refrigerate once ripened. They are great dried, pureed into sauces for desserts, or served with seafood or poultry. They are also great for holiday meals and decorations, too.
Kiwano Melons
Also known as the African horned melon, this exciting piece of fruit contains a lime green, jelly-like inside with the texture of a cucumber. The taste is a subtle combination of cucumber, banana, melon and lime. The outer shell is spiky golden-orange and is often used as a serving dish filled with fruit salad, dip or other delicious recipes. Kiwano melons are also used to create exotic tropical drinks or delicious sauces for seafood, poultry and vegetables.
Kiwano melons last for several weeks without refrigeration. Once they “give” to the touch, they are ripe and ready to eat. Do not store them near apples or bananas, as these fruits will shorten their shelf life.
Chestnuts
Chestnuts are a holiday favorite for roasting. Chestnuts should be cooked before eating to increase the sugar content; otherwise, they are starchy and often bitter. They are fantastic in soup, stuffing, sautés and side dishes. Chestnuts can be microwaved or roasted.
Organic Peeled & Steamed Chestnuts - Ready-to-Eat!
These ready-to-eat chestnuts are perfect for cooking and baking. They are already steamed and peeled, making them easy to use in your favorite holiday recipes. They are great for baking and save a lot of prep time. Melissa’s Organic Peeled & Steamed Chestnuts are 100% natural with no additives and have an extended shelf life due to the packaging. They should be refrigerated for freshness and are convenient to use all year round.
Strawberry Papayas
Strawberry papayas are the most delicious papaya of all varieties. They are red-flesh papayas and are juicy with a hint of fresh peaches and berries. Strawberry papayas can be eaten plain or in fruit salads, desserts, or blended into drinks. Just cut in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and eat. You will think you are in the tropics once you taste one of these papayas.
When you purchase a strawberry papaya, choose one that is soft to the touch; it should have a slight blush of yellow instead of solid green. You can also ripen the fruit at room temperature in a paper bag in about three days.
Passion Fruit
Passion fruit originated in South America, most likely Brazil. Now, passion fruit is grown worldwide. Passion fruit comes from the passion flower, a beautiful tropical flower with a wonderful fragrance. Passion fruit is generally purple but can also be golden and has a jelly-like golden flesh filled with soft edible seeds. Passion fruit looks like an egg, with a thick, hard shell that gets wrinkled as it ripens; the more wrinkles, the better the fruit will be.
Contrary to popular belief, passion fruit is named for the bloom of the passion fruit flower. This bloom is thought to symbolize various parts of the Passion of Christ (such as the crown of thorns and the nails of the crucifixion) and not because of its passionate powers once believed to contain. Passion fruit is generally eaten fresh but may be cooked for use in sauces and fillings. Simply halve the fruit and scoop the pulp and seeds out with a spoon.
Cherimoyas
Also called custard apple or custard fruit, this delicious heart-shaped fruit is a delicacy in the exotic fruit world. They are hand-pollinated fruit, which makes them a time-consuming commercial crop. However, supply is not a problem since they are grown in so many areas. The flesh of the cherimoya is cream-colored with large black inedible seeds. They have a flavor similar to a blend of strawberry, mango and pineapple. To eat one, cut it into wedges and spoon the creamy flesh while discarding the seeds. They are generally eaten as-is, but they can be used in drinks, fruit salads or desserts.
Cherimoyas should be kept at room temperature until ready to eat and can be stored in the refrigerator once ripe for a few days.
