Macapuno Coconut
Crack open and scoop out the soft, jelly-like coconut flesh with a spoon. This is a very different experience from a regular coconut. The flesh is thick, creamy and mildly sweet, almost like eating coconut pudding straight from the shell. The gel-like water of the Macapuno gives it an especially soft, refreshing texture. Try it chilled!
Jicama
Peel away the brown skin and cut the white flesh into slices or sticks. You can eat it raw. It’s very crunchy, refreshing and mildly sweet, a little like an apple with the crunch of a water chestnut. Enjoy it on its own or try adding a squeeze of lime. Only eat the white flesh, not the peel.
Egg Fruit
Ripe when it becomes soft when gently pressed with your finger. If it’s still hard, leave it on the kitchen counter to ripen. Cut it open, remove the seeds and scoop out the yellow flesh. The inside has the same colour and texture as a boiled egg yolk, but tastes sweet like maple syrup. Make sure you wait until it softens before eating!
Ambarella
Ambarella is best enjoyed while it is still firm and hard. Peel the skin and cut the flesh away from the centre. Its flavour is a refreshing combination of pineapple and mango, with a sweet-tart tropical taste. You can also wait for it to soften, when the flesh becomes gentler and sweeter. Be careful of the hard seed inside, which has tough, spiky fibres, so avoid biting into it.
Indian Plum
Best enjoyed when the skin turns deep red to purple. This small fruit has a sweet and sour flavour and can leave a slightly dry feeling in your mouth. Try gently rolling it between your palms before eating to soften the flesh and reduce that astringency. You can eat the skin and flesh, but spit out the small seeds inside.
Velvet Tamarind (Subscribers only)
Crack the thin black shell between your fingers and enjoy the pulp around the hard seed inside. The outside feels like velvet, and the flesh is naturally dry with a sweet and sour tamarind flavour. Almost like a little fruit candy! Suck the pulp off the seed, then discard the seed and shell.
Cocoa Fruit
Crack open the pod and enjoy the white flesh surrounding the beans. The flesh is silky, sweet and slightly sour, with a tropical flavour that might surprise you. Suck the flesh off each bean and put the beans aside. The beans can also be eaten, though they are bitter in their raw form. These are the beans used to make chocolate, which develops its familiar flavour through fermentation and roasting.
