How many different varieties of fruit have you tried?

[Tom L.]

I've started keeping a list of different varieties of apples I've had- we have quite a few!

Most other fruits (commercially-grown on a large scale, anyway) seem to have fewer varieties available. The only pears I've seen are: Bartlett, Bosc, Anjou (my favorite), Comice, Spartlett, and two other varieties, one of which is red.

Let's see if I can remember all the kinds of apples I've tried:

Delicious (crisp and juicy, but has little taste to me)
Golden Delicious (a favorite- crisp, juicy, sweet)
Cortland (another fave I grew up with)
Macintosh (not crisp enough- maybe i keep getting over-ripe ones?)
Empire (a favorite- crisp, juicy, a bit tangy- reminds me of Cortland)
Stayman Winesap (another favorite, subtly different from Cortland)
King Spencer
Macoun
Jonagold
Idared
Jonathan
Gold Rush
Granny Smith (I think this goes by a different name now- probably the tangiest variety I've tried)
Mutsu (same as GS just above?)
Arkansas Black (not black, exactly, but the skin has deep color which tinges the flesh just beneath)
...and I forgot the name of a new variety I got at the Farmer's Market, but it looks like a big Golden Delicious, but more round, with a greenish tinge...

ETA: Others I forgot to mention:
Braeburn
Northern Spy
Gala
Pink Lady

 

[Mufflon]

Elstar
Boskoop
Ananasrennette
Rote Sternrenette
Red Delicious
Wellant

 

[Amy SF]

I just came across this article.

15 Exotic Fruits You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

How many of them have you tried? I can only say “two”, the kumquat and the persimmon. The persimmon taste I couldn’t really appreciate when I tried it, unfortunately. Maybe I’ll feel differently about it now.

The kumquat can be quite sour right off the tree. My parents had a kumquat tree in their front yard, and a few years ago it became very heavy with fruit. So their housekeeper collected a lot of it and made kumquat preserves. The sugar made it delicious.

 

[Andy_T]

... all apart from Sapodilla

 

[Skylark]

My favorite fruit I cannot get in the US is the achachairu. It is only grown in Bolivia, from what I am told, and there is no Spanish name for it, only the Quechua one.

 

[Andy_T]

... all apart from Sapodilla

OK, so here are my personal thoughts ...

1. Chom Chom (Rambutan)
-> "OK" ... nice, similar to lychee, only special thing is the "hairy" skin which you peel away anyway.

2. Durian
-> Awesome! one of my favourite fruits, and definitely "an acquired taste", this fruit has a very strong and pungent smell, similar to the smell of a brewery. The taste is sweet and rich, and the texture can be quite slimy. Be careful, most people either love it or hate it.

3. Mangosteen
-> very nice too, also IMO similar to a lychee but tastewise much better, with a slightly sour taste. Hard to peel (will stain your fingers) but worth it!

4. Longan
-> "OK" ... again, similar to lychee

5. Persimmon
-> interesting, the first one I tried some decades ago had a very strong adstringent taste. You could not eat the peel at all. Varieties you can get nowadays are much more sweet and taste very nice, but you can get those everywhere now.

6. Sapodilla
-> the one I have not tasted yet, curious!

7. Jackfruit
-> Awesome! Very nice taste, has some similarity with Durian, but only optically. Largest fruit in the world. Delicious when ripe as a sweet fruit. There is also a relative, Cempedak, which is similar but a bit sweeter.

8. Dragon fruit
-> very nice and sweet if ripe, but can also be quite bland and tasteless, still gets added to fruit buffets because of its looks. I personally prefer the pink ones to the white ones.

9. Starfruit
-> "NO!" I have eaten that one a few times, have never encountered a good one.
It has a beautiful shape, so people will put it on a buffet or in a fruit salad as an eye catcher, but IMO tastes quite awful. Not really required to try IMO.

10. Passion fruit
-> Awesome!!! delicious strong and tangy/sour taste.

11. Pomelo
-> "OK" ... basically a huge grapefruit that is easy to peel. Nice but not spectacular.

12. Guava
-> Awesome! Delicious crisp fruit similar to apple in texture, but - if it is a good one - much nicer taste. If you get a bad one it will be rather bland and watery.

13. Kumquat
-> Small citrus fruit, basically a tiny orange with edible peel. Nice but well, oranges are nice as well (and cheaper).

14. Tamarind
-> Very strong, sour taste. Nice but I don't see that as a fruit I would eat.

15. Water apple
-> "Meh"... also IMO a fruit you do not really need to taste. Consistency like rhubarb and a rather bland and watery taste. Nowhere near being a replacement for a watermelon as the article suggests.

IMO, the ones you should really try - if you are in the position to do so, e.g. when traveling to Southeast Asia - are
- Durian,
- Mangosteen,
- Jackfruit,
- Passion Fruit, and
- Guava.

- Persimmon you should actually be able to find in your local supermarket, also worth a try!

AND ....
- Custard Apple (or its relative Cherimoya),
which should have been on that list as well but was missing.

 

[PTree15]

That's an impressive list, Andy. I haven't heard of half of them.
I'll start with the apple list:
McIntosh
Macoun (my favorite: crisp, tart and sweet all at the same time. The perfect apple for me)
Gala
Empire
Cortland (these I often use in apple pie, along with Empire and Macs)
Red Delicious (not a fan; kind of bland and often too mealy in my neck of the woods)
Golden Delicious (see above)
Granny Smith (my second-favorite apple; crisp and tart and awesome with peanut butter)
Honeycrisp
Fuji
Winesap

Other fruits (aside from oranges, pineapple, grapes, peaches, plums, pears, watermelon and bananas and whatnot ):
Pomegranate
Kiwi (love, love, love this fruit)
Mango
Jackfruit (I've only had this as faux pork, but it was delicious. Not sure how it tastes raw)
Guava

 

[Val]

That's an impressive list, Andy. I haven't heard of half of them.
I'll start with the apple list:
McIntosh
Macoun (my favorite: crisp, tart and sweet all at the same time. The perfect apple for me)
Gala
Empire
Cortland (these I often use in apple pie, along with Empire and Macs)
Red Delicious (not a fan; kind of bland and often too mealy in my neck of the woods)
Golden Delicious (see above)
Granny Smith (my second-favorite apple; crisp and tart and awesome with peanut butter)
Honeycrisp
Fuji
Winesap

Other fruits (aside from oranges, pineapple, grapes, peaches, plums, pears, watermelon and bananas and whatnot ):
Pomegranate
Kiwi (love, love, love this fruit)
Mango
Jackfruit (I've only had this as faux pork, but it was delicious. Not sure how it tastes raw)
Guava

Granny Smith are my favorite! (And also "Reinette de Champagne" and "Transparente Blanche"). And i LOVE kiwi. What about exotic fruits, i've tried only Feijoa and Lychee. (and figs). I didn't like Pomelo. And i'm not a big fan of Persimmons, because i'm overdosed with it. But IMO the queen of fruits is Quince.

 

[Nadezhda]

In my garden there are plums (Early Renclode and a yellow one), apples (Red Chief, Honey Crisp, Early Geneva), Cherries (Valery Chkalov, May early spring), pears (Duchess Early, Bere Bosca), two apricot trees. Also raspberry, strawberry, currant, gooseberry.

 

[shyvas]

I eat a lot of fruit but haven't tasted many exotic ones as we don't get many different varietes over here.

The only exotic fruit that I have tasted are : passion fruit, tamarind paste (does that count ?) mangoes, papaya, pineapple, jackfruit, guava, kumquat, lychees and mini bananas.

My favourite fruit being, strawberries, mangoes and brambles.