Jamaican Fruits
With a large variety of fresh and exotic fruits that grow all year long, Jamaica is the ideal country for all the fruit lovers and healthy eaters. From ackee to breadfruit and quinep to stinking toe, Jamaica has so many fruits that most of you might have never heard of before.
During my two weeks on the tropical island of Jamaica, I got introduced to quite a lot of fruits that I was not familiar with before. But even the fruits I was familiar with, such as pineapple, watermelon and mango did not taste the same as they did at home.
Jamaica has hundres of exotic fruits that you can indulge yourself to, I would therefore like to take the chance to share some of these amazing fruits with you.
I also found a really good video on the internet in which some Jamaican Tropical fruits are being introduced to you. The video takes about 8 minutes, but is definitely worth checking out!
Jamaican Fruits from A to Z
Ackee: Jamaica's very own national fruit. Ackee is not only a good source of protein, but it's also truly delicious. The fruit is pear-shaped. The fruit was imported to Jamaica from West Africa (probably on a slave ship) before 1778. Since then it has become a major feature of various Caribbean cuisines, and is also cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas elsewhere around the world. When it ripens, it turns from green to a bright red to yellow-orange, and splits open to reveal three large, shiny black seeds, each partly surrounded by soft, creamy or spongy, white to yellow flesh—the aril. It is the aril that you eat and use for cooking. Personally, I fell in love with this fruit, which tastes a bit like egg, I just simply couldn't get enough of it!
Breadfruit: One of the most versatile and delicious fruits in Jamaica. The exotic breadfruit actually tastes like bread, hence its name. Whether you roast it, boil it or eat it raw, you’ll enjoy a potato-like consistency, that will make you want more of it. Breadfruit is nothing like I have ever eaten before. Most fruits as we know are either sweet or sour, but these fruits taste like bread/potato which is definitely worth trying! I have searched the internet to find out if breadfruit can also be bought in the Netherlands, but so far I have not yet found it. However, if you ever get the chance to go to Jamaica, make sure you try out this amazing fruit! It's a must!
Chayote (Cho Cho): Not quite the typical fruit. I did not come across this fruit myself during my time in Jamaica, so I cannot speak out of experience, but this pear shaped fruit is said to taste like a cross between a cucumber and potato when cooked. It is a member of the squash, melon and cucurbit family. Chayotes have a green skin which can either be smooth or pricly. The root, stem, seed, and leaves of the plant are all edible.Chayote is probably one of the most versatile vegetables available. Whatever you do with a cucumber, melon or squash you can do with the chayote. The Chayote is available all year round and can either be eaten raw or cooked, but is most of the time cooked by boiling, steaming or baking them. The starchy root is eaten by humans, but is also used as fodder.
Guinep: Guineps appear as a cluster of drupes (similar to grapes), with a thin layer of green skin which, when bitten, reveals an orange hued gelatin flesh. The tart like taste is quite addictive, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself consuming the whole bunch! The guinep is a popular fruity snack among the Jamaicans and can be bought on the streets, where a couple of Jamaican men stand by the side of the road selling them in bags. This is perfect since it is a pretty good trabel snack and is not expensive at all! Be careful though, the juice from this fruit can cause stains.
Personally, I thought this fruit was just strange. I did not like thetaste and texture of the gelatin flesh in my mouth, but a couple of my American and French friends got addicted to it and bought it as soon as they found a guy selling them at the side of the road.
Jackfruit: Is the largest tree-borne fruit on Earth. This fruit can reach as much as 35 kg in weight and can grow as large as 90 cm in length and 50 cm in diameter. The Jackfruit tree can be found in tropical lowlands and can produce about 100 to 200 fruits in a year. Jackfruit has a very sweet and fruity, distinctive flavor. I did not really like this fruit that much, but I also did not dislike this fruit. I think it was just a little too sweet for me.
Jackfruit has an oval shape and a thick, prickly green skin. When you open the jackfruit, you will find the round fruits, which are the parts that can be eaten. The flesh of these fruits are pale yellow and do not only taste sweet but also smell sweet. The seeds inside the yellow fruits can be eaten too and taste a bit like chestnuts. Jackfruit can be eaten ripe or unripe, cooked or uncooked ad is often boiled and used in curries, ice-cream of made into chips.
June Plum: A wonderful source of iron and protein, the June Plum is both juicy and sour. Sometimes a dash of salt is used to give the fruit an explosive flavour. These egg-sized fruits grow in clusters up to a dozen or more. The June plum differentiates itself from other plums not only because of its plant family and its growing region, but also becauese of its large, oval shape, thick skin and tropical flavors and aromas it spreads out when harvested. Unfortunately I did not get the chance to try this fruit out myself, but it sounds like a pretty interesting fruit if you ask me.
Star Apple: This luscious fruit appears in variations of dark purple to green with a soft pulp flesh core. Jamaicans often refer to the star apple as the “mean” fruit as they never fall from their stems even after they’ve ripened. Still, the star apple offers a generous helping of sweet satisfaction, though you should try to avoid the skin as it can be rather bitter. The pulp was traditionally used with sweetened milk to make a dessert called ‘matrimony’. It is sweet and best served chilled.
Infusions of the leaves have been used againstdiabetes and articular rheumatism. The fruit has anti-oxidant properties.
Stinking Toe: This rather peculiar fruit gets its name from its semblance to a big fat toe. . The inside substance is dry, hairy, powdery and yellow. Once the shell is open, an odour is released that can be said to be just about unbearable. This is a strange thing because the locust fruit tastes so good once one engages in eating it. Then, it's not easy to be satisfied by eating just one.
It can be found on one of the largest trees in the Caribbean, ‘Tinking Toe’ is also used in folk medicine to alleviate headaches and rheumatism.
Uniq (Ugli Fruit): Indigenous to Jamaica, the ugli or uniq fruit is an exotic tangelo available between November and April. The name is a variation of the word "ugly", which refers to the fruit's unsightly appearance, with rough, wrinkled, greenish-yellow rind, wrapped loosely around the orange pulpy citrus insideAlthough the name may not sound appetizing, this citrus fruit is quite a juicy indulgence. Said to be created by the hybridizing of a tangerine, orange and grapefruit (pomelo), it is sweet and tangy, perfect for refreshing juices.
Watermelon: We sure all know the watermelon. The fruit has a smooth hard rind, usually green with dark green stripes or yellow spots, and a juicy, sweet interior flesh, usually deep red to pink, but sometimes orange, yellow, or white, with many seeds. Jamaicans love watermelon, which is why it eaten almost everywhere and at any occasion. Even though you probably have watermelon in your own town too, the watermelon in Jamaica doesn't taste quite the same. Especially if you take into account that you can eat it as a refreshment under the Jamaican sun with some nice reaggae music playing in the background. Mmm