Contents
They grow kissed by the sun and light during most of the year, something that enhances its flavor and its sweetness. The exotic fruits They are a luxury that comes from far away paradises to more and more specialized stores. And they have names that start the journey before even trying a single piece. Kiwano, custard apple, cape gooseberry, kumquat and so on ten select pleasures to try before the temperatures drop.
Cape gooseberry, the golden fruit
Round, yellow, sweet with a touch of acid and wrapped in elegant beige leaves. The cape gooseberry, Also known as Inca Age, Golden fruit / berry or golden fruit / berry, it is so beautiful that it is often used in confectionery to give the final touch to a cake.
Native to South America, cape gooseberry is rich in provitamin A, vitamin C, and B vitamins. It also boasts an army of amino acids, phosphorus, antioxidants, and pectins.
It can be eaten raw –and it is a real pleasure– or also dehydrated, in smoothies and desserts. It is said that it helps to strengthen the immune system, to regulate the carbohydrate cycle, to alleviate throat discomfort and to maintain the health of the skin, mucous membranes and hair. In other words, it’s pretty, it’s good, and like all fruit, it’s good.
Cherimoya, the natural sweet
It is a real natural treat. The white pulp of the custard apple gives off a intense exotic flavor, halfway between banana and pineapple and a certain rose aroma. Even its leaves and flowers are fragrant and seductive. Of course, its black seeds, up to 30 in a single piece of fruit, are not eaten.
On the outside, this tropical fruit native to the Americas – apparently, specifically from Peru – looks like an artichoke. It is also a nutritional treasure, as it is rich in calories, sugars, proteins, calcium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin C.
Mangosteen, the queen of fruits
She is nicknamed the queen of fruits, and with good reason. The mangosteen It is a fruit native to Java and Sumatra It is already cultivated throughout Asia and South America, although it is harvested only in a certain season of the year, from April to October.
Its round fruits, hard and purple on the outside and with white segments, perfumed and sweet on the inside, are highly perishable, which makes it difficult to trade. To this must be added that its peel is rich in tannic acid –that is, it has antioxidant properties– and it is attributed the power to regenerate cells, something that has also earned it the fame of fruit of youth.
A full-fledged superfood and, for some, the most delicious exotic fruit in the world. Of course it is one of the most expensive: a kilo of these “queens” can cost 25 euros.
Red pitaya, the most fashionable
Its name in Antillean means “scaly fruit” and refers to its characteristic “dragon” skin, which has earned it the nickname of Dradon’s fruit. The Red Pitaya is a fruit with a tropical climate and Central American origin that has been going strong lately.
And it is not for less: its appearance is most elegant, with its petals between red and pink and its white and sweet pulp dotted with black seeds (which, apparently, contain substances that help with digestion). Furthermore, it is rich in protein, fats, carbohydrates, fibers, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and ascorbic acid.
From the pitaya too they eat the flowers, which are usually prepared fried, roasted or stirred. The price of this exotic fruit that exudes glamor is around 6 euros.
Kumquat, explosion of freshness
There are few things in life like taking a bite out of a kumquat. Sweet and aromatic, this citric Of oriental origin – it is also known as fortunella, Chinese mandarin or Chinese orange – explodes in the mouth with all its freshness.
There is not even a need to remove the seeds or the skin, which is very fine, aromatic and orange in color; or to cut it, because it looks like a miniature orange and oval in shape.
Obviously, this fruit is rich in vitamin C, but also provitamin A, calcium, magnesium, folic acid and potassium.
Kumquat is the perfect ingredient for any cocktail, to prepare jams and jams and it is also used in poultry dishes.
Litchi, exquisitez china
From China and rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, lychee (also called lychee and Chinese cherry) are a real treat for the palate.
Its leathery pulp, transparent white and a sweet taste with a strong flower aroma is hidden, like any self-respecting luxury, under a pink skin full of spikes.
The Chinese, who first tasted the pleasures of lychee, reserve this product a special place in their kitchen, especially as dessert, in salads or to accompany meat and fish: for this reason they have been growing it for more than 2.000 years and have taken it with them wherever they have settled.
Lychees are often eaten in syrup or dehydrated like highly scented dried plums. On MadridThey can be purchased at Gold Gourmet stores.
Passion fruit, the fruit of passion
Few fruits are capable of evoking distant paradises just by naming them as the passion fruit. Native to Brazil, spherical and dark in shape (when ripe), passion fruit is also known by names such as murucuyá, murukkoyá, passionflower and, the most beautiful of all, Fruit of passion.
However, although its yellow pulp, made up of leathery seeds, with a sweet and acid taste at the same time and a penetrating aroma could well be an aphrodisiac, that name refers to another passion: that of Christ, because the different parts of the passion fruit flower look like nails, hammers and cross.
It is a fresh fruit, perfect for cocktails, cold sauces and ice cream, it is also very caloric and rich in water, protein, vitamins A and C, iron, sodium, potassium and serotonin, the hormone of good humor. Earthly passion is within the reach of a teaspoon.
Kiwano, the fruit of paradise
Kiwano is an exotic fruit originating from Africa that mixes the taste and aromatic notes of melon, cucumber, banana, kiwi and lemon.
On the outside it looks like an orange-colored melon covered with spikes, hence its other name of “melon or horned cucumber”, while on the inside it has a green and gelatinous pulp ideal for eating. sweet, with a pinch of sugar, in smoothies and cocktails, but also to give an original twist to any salad.
It contains a lot of water and mineral salts, it is very rich in vitamin C and it has no fat no sugars. The skin, on the other hand, contains antioxidants. It is also called Fruit of paradise. What more could you want?
Papaya, the perfect dessert
If we were to close our eyes and imagine a tropical fruit, it is quite likely that the first that would occur to us would be papaya. Or maybe we should say papayas, because they are known More than 70 species of this fruit, some as small as oranges, others up to 50 cm long and 2 kilos.
Be that as it may, papaya is the quintessential tropical pleasure, with its sweet orange pulp full of black seeds and its endless health benefits, being rich in fiber, iron and vitamins A, B3, C and D, among others.
It is native to southern Nicaragua, but it is grown successfully throughout the year in all tropical countries. In addition, it contains an enzyme called papain that performs a function similar to that of saliva, that is, it dissolves food. Therefore, a few pieces of Papaya are the perfect ending to a good meal, since facilitates digestion.
It is one of the few fruits that can be bought green and let it ripen at home and the leaves are often used in cooking to tenderize meat. More natural luxury, impossible.
Guava, record of vitamins
Fresh or in juices, ice creams, cocktails, jellies, jams and especially smoothies, as the pairing with dairy suits him especially well. Whichever option is chosen, the important thing is to make a hole in our diet with guava, a treasure of vitamins.
According to the book Frutoterapia, by Albert Ronald, this native fruit of tropical America contains nothing less than 16 vitamins, in addition to various nutrients, proteins, mineral salts and trace elements. Of course, it is quite caloric and some of its varieties can be semi-acid or even acidic.
The most common is round in shape, green-yellow skin and pulp between red and pink with a large amount of hard seeds, reminiscent of its appearance to that of tomato.
In that small Madrid temple of fruit that is the Vázquez Fruit Shop, you can buy Guayabas –and a few more tropical delicacies– without leaving the exclusive Salamanca neighborhood.