EXOTIC FRUITS: persimmons, carambola, pomegranate, passionflower, mango, papaya, pomelo, lychee
Karambola, lychee, kumquat, rambutan, persimmon, passion fruit, pomelo ... The names
of fruits from distant lands alone stimulate the imagination. What is the use of exotic fruit?
What nutritional values are there?
Picturesquely arranged in stalls or store counters, they surprise you with their looks and arouse curiosity. Not once did you want to buy such a "bizarre" fruit, but what to do with it? It is worth a try, exotic fruits have an interesting taste, although different than Polish. But like native apples or plums contain a lot of minerals, vitamins, fiber. In addition, the ordinary dish can turn into a unique dish.
Persimmons (sharon, kaka)
Orange round fruits look like tomatoes. They have a smooth and shiny skin (edible) with
a large, dry, green floral calyx. The pulp of ripe fruit has a jelly-like consistency and is sweet. It is best suited for sauce, sorbet or jelly. The harder fruits can be cut into particles and served with cheese or added to a salad. The more harsh fruits are suitable for drying - they resemble figs in taste. It is a good source of beta-carotene and vitamin C. Due to the high content of fiber, persimmons have a laxative effect.
Carambola
The oblong-fluted fruit is covered with a yellow-green (yellow-brown) thin edible peel, under which there is a slightly transparent flesh with a small number of small, edible seeds. It is sweet and sour and very juicy. In cross-section the fruit has the shape of a star. Carambola is often eaten raw. Decorative stars can be added to salads, desserts, meat and fish dishes. The fruit can be stored quite long at room temperature. They contain a lot of magnesium, iron, vitamin C, beta-carotene.
Grenade
Covered with purple, purple, sometimes brown hard shell, in the middle consists of segments filled with jelly-like red balls, in which there are edible white stones. Peeled fruit can be eaten raw - cut in half along and eat with a spoon. Pomegranate juice, sweet and tart at the same time, quenches thirst well. The dishes successfully replace lemon juice. When buying grenades, choose heavy fruit with a uniform color. They contain organic acids, iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, vitamin C.
Rambutan
Plum-sized fruits are covered with a hard skin with soft hairs that can be purple, yellow
or orange with yellow-green tips. Transparent pulp is sweet, juicy, aromatic and refreshing. After breaking the fruit, it is best to eat it with a spoon. Peeled fruit can be added to salads and desserts, poultry and pork dishes. Choose ripe fruits - without green spots on the skin. Rambutans are unstable, unsuitable for storage. They provide a lot of B12 and C vitamins.
Passion fruit (Passiflora)
This small round fruit is also called a passion fruit. In the sticky jelly-colored orange-purple or violet flesh there are numerous edible seeds
(but they are usually thrown away). Passion fruit is perfect for juice, it is also an excellent addition to cocktails, ice cream, yogurt and other milk desserts. I can eat raw when eating maraca. Orange fruits are sour, purple sweet. Passion fruit contains a lot of vitamin C,
beta-carotene, B vitamins, calcium and iron.
Kumquats
It looks like a miniature orange. The fruit has the size of plum, it can be oval or spherical,
it has an orange, smooth and thin skin. The pulp consists of several particles.
There are seeds in each. The fruits are slightly acidic and aromatic. They are eaten raw
with the peel or cooked whole or divided. You can make a compote from them
and marmalade, preserves or tincture. Candied kumquats are added to desserts. Choose fruits in a uniform color. They provide vitamins, especially C, and mineral salts.
Mango
Depending on the variety, they differ in color and size. Some specimens exceed 1 kg,
but the best are fruits weighing 30-50 dag. Most often they are elongated and somewhat flattened, they have a thin and smooth but firm crust, which - although it is edible - is usually thrown away. The pulp is yellow-orange, juicy. In the middle of the fruit is a large flattened stone. The fruit is eaten in various ways. You can slice the mango in half, remove the pips and eat the pulp with a teaspoon or cut into small pieces. Mango best tastes chilled in the fridge. Raw fruit is added to salads, cooked for desserts, preserves, sauces. As the fruits ripen, the fruits change from dark green to yellow, golden to red. Some varieties can be stored in the refrigerator for up to several weeks. Mango is rich in sugar, protein, fiber, minerals and beta-carotene, vitamins C, PP and from group B.
Guava
It looks like a spherical pear. It has an edible smooth skin covered with a wax coating.
The pulp with numerous small edible seeds is most often yellow or pink
with a sweet and slightly sour taste. Raw fruit cut into quarters can be eaten alone or added to a salad. Cooked is added to desserts and cakes. They are suitable for preserves - juice, syrup and marmalade. As puberty, guava changes from green to pale yellow or pale pink. You can store several days at room temperature,
in the fridge - even a dozen or so. It contains sugars, protein, calcium, iron and a lot
of vitamin C. It surpasses citrus fruits in this respect.
Papaya
The fruits have an oval shape, usually they are small (20-30 dag), but you can meet weighing 6 kg. The flesh with numerous black edible seeds (but most often it is thrown)
has a yellow-orange, salmon or pink color. It is sweet, not very expressive in taste.
Papaya is cut lengthwise in half, removes seeds and peels pulp, or peels and cut into pieces. It tastes best drizzled with lemon juice. It is added to salads and jams
and pickles. You can also cook and cook like cucurbits. Papaya is ripe when it becomes soft and changes from green to orange or dark yellow. The fruits are very unstable. They contain sugar, a lot of vitamin C and beta-carotene.
Pomelo
They are the largest fruits of the citrus family. The weight of some specimens is up to 2 kg. The fruit looks like a large grapefruit - it has a yellow, yellow-green or pink spongy skin, even 5 cm thick. It is less bitter but also less aromatic and less juicy than grapefruit. It is eaten raw, alone or in salads. You can make juice and marmalade with pomelo. Candied skin is a good addition to cakes and desserts. Pomelo can be stored for a long time at room temperature or in the fridge, but over time the fruits dry out and lose weight. When buying, it is best to choose heavy fruit. Pomelo is a mine of minerals and vitamins, especially C.
Lychee (Chinese plum)
They resemble raspberries, but are larger than these and covered with a thin, dry, crumbly crust of carmine, yellow or yellow-brown in color. In the middle they have an inedible seed-sized pome. When the fruit is ripe, the shell is easily separable from the pulp. It is brushed with fingers and eats a sweet, aromatic, jelly-like flesh. Lychee taste great with whipped cream. They are added to salads, compotes, fish and poultry dishes. Peeled fruit without seeds can be frozen. Stored at room temperature, they deteriorate after 2-3 days. The refrigerator retains its durability longer. They contain sugar, protein, potassium, organic acids and vitamin C (100 g of fruit cover the daily requirement of the body for this vitamin).