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8 Fruits to Try Before You Die

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Written by
Melissa Petruzzello
Melissa Petruzzello is Assistant Managing Editor and covers a range of content including plants, algae, and fungi; insects and spiders; and renewable energy and environmental engineering. She also handles...
Melissa Petruzzello
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Fruit of the rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum).
rambutanFruit of the rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum).
Ahoerstemeier

As a botanist and a foodie, sampling edible plants is one of my favorite pastimes. The following is a list of fruits that I’d love to try but might have trouble finding in my local grocery store or farmers’ market. How many of these have you eaten?

  • Durian (Durio zibethinus)

    Durian fruit (Durio zibethinus).
    durian fruitDurian fruit (Durio zibethinus).
    © Hader Glang/Shutterstock.com

    Durian is apparently one of those love-it-or-hate-it things. It stinks so badly that it is banned from airplanes, hotels, and mass transit in a number of cities in Southeast Asia. However, while its pungent odor has been compared to that of Limburger cheese (or worse), the taste is reportedly something like banana-lemon custard. This possibly-disgusting fruit sounds like a must-try!

  • Cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum)

    Inside of a Cupuacu Theobroma grandiflorum. Exotic fruit grown in the Amazon Rainforest in northern Brazil. Packed with nutrients and closely related to cacao. Aka cupuassu, cupuazu, cupu assu, copoasu
    cupuaçu fruitEdible flesh of a cupuaçu fruit (Theobroma grandiflorum). The fruit is native to tropical Brazil and is said to taste like a combination of chocolate, banana, pear, and pineapple.
    diogoppr—iStock/Thinkstock

    This exotic fruit grows in the Amazon Rainforest in northern Brazil and is being hailed as maybe the most super of superfruits. Packed with nutrients and closely related to cacao, the cupuaçu is described as having creamy white pulp with a chocolatey-pineapple flavor and juice that tastes like pear and banana. Move over blueberries, cupuaçu just might be my new favorite superfood (theoretically…I have to try it first).

  • Ackee (Blighia sapida)

    Interior of frozen Ackee fruit (Blighia sapida) with white flesh and large black seed. Native to tropical West Africa. National fruit of Jamaica. Unripe fruit is toxic (poisonous). Aka achee, ackee apple or akee
    ackeeInterior of an ackee fruit (Blighia sapida).
    Roger McClean—iStock/Thinkstock

    Native to West Africa, ackee is widely cultivated throughout tropical and subtropical regions. When ripe, the red fruits open to reveal three segments of white flesh, each with a large black seed. Ackee is considered the national fruit of Jamaica, where the soft, bland flesh is commonly eaten as a vegetable with fish. Not impressed by a bland fruit you eat with fish? Did I mention that eating the unripe fruit can kill you?! This one is on my list for the adrenaline rush.

  • Ice Cream Bean (Inga edulis)

    Fresh inga fruit. Grown in trees in South America the giant bean pods are filled with juicy pulp that taste like vanilla ice cream. Ice Cream Bean, Inga edulis, joaquiniquil, cuaniquil, guama or guaba
    ice cream beanIce cream bean (Inga edulis), native to Central and South America. The white pulp has a sweet flavour resembling vanilla ice cream.
    © Picture Partners/Fotolia

    This is not a fairytale. There is a tree in South America that produces giant bean pods (up to 1 meter long!) filled with a juicy pulp that tastes like vanilla ice cream. You just scoop it out fresh! Ecuador, here I come!

  • Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

    Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus).
    jackfruitJackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus).
    Ahoerstemeier

    Reaching up to 36 kg (80 pounds), jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit and therefore must be eaten by me. Widely cultivated in Bangladesh, India, and tropical Southeast Asia, the greenish unripe fruit is cooked as a vegetable and the ripened fruit is eaten fresh. The flavor of the fresh fruit is said to be similar to a combination of apple, pineapple, mango, and banana. Gigantic and tasty!

  • Langsat (Lansium domesticum)

    Langsat Lansium domesticum aka lanzones fruits look similar to small potatoes. Grow in grapelike clusters. Taste like a grapefruit grape combination. Look like translucent orbs when peeled.
    langsat fruitsEdible langsat fruits (Lansium domesticum). The fruits are commonly eaten raw and are grown agriculturally throughout Southeast Asia.
    © ilovezion/Fotolia

    Langsat fruits look similar to small potatoes and grow in grapelike clusters. While that description is enough to pique my interest, apparently they also taste like a grapefruit-grape combination and look like translucent orbs when peeled.

  • Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana)

    Fruit of the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana).
    mangosteenFruit of the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana).

    Having recently been banned in the U.S. (they were falsely thought to carry the Asian fruit fly), mangosteens still have the allure of a forbidden fruit. While the rind of the mangosteen is bitter, the white, citruslike pulp is tangy and sweet. They reportedly melt in your mouth and feature “the perfect balance of acids and sugars.”

  • Salak (Salacca zalacca)

    Salak growing on a palm tree. A fruit Salacca zalacca or salak are sweet and acidic and taste similar to pineapple.
    salak fruitEdible salak fruits (Salacca zalacca). Salak is a common treat in many parts of Southeast Asia and has a very sweet pineapple flavour.
    dragonnano—iStock/Thinkstock

    In addition to having a super fun scientific name, this awesome fruit looks like snakeskin and grows on a palm tree. About the size and shape of a ripe fig, salak consists of rough, scaly skin enclosing three yellow-white lobes of edible fruit. Apparently the lobes have the look and consistency of large peeled garlic cloves and can be used in soups or pickled. When eaten fresh, salak are sweet and acidic and taste similar to pineapple. Pineapple-garlic fruit, why not?