Fruits of India: passion fruit, mango, carambola, papaya. Description, taste

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

When going to popular holiday destinations, for example, to India, novice travelers are interested in: what fruits grow there? Which of them can be eaten and how to do it correctly? After all, unfamiliar food can unexpectedly harm digestion. Fruits of India are represented by a fairly wide range of items. Traditionally, in the country of yogis and fans of a vegetarian attitude to the world, they are consumed a lot and with great pleasure. And one of these gifts of the jungle is even a national symbol. We will talk about this and many other interesting things in our article.

Fruits of India

This country is quite extensive in area and has a huge population. It is located in several climatic zones at once, which allows the cultivation of a large number of plant names. The most famous are mango, passion fruit and papaya, guava and chicu, carambola. In general, a real exotic. There are peaches and apricots, kiwi, banana, pomegranates and pineapples, apples and grapes that are more familiar to us. Such fruit abundance is due to the fact that the Himalaya ridge gives many areascountries are excellent protection from cold winds from the north, unfavorable for the growth of air currents. And, in general, in India, tourists can meet and taste fruits that are characteristic of both tropical, subtropical and subequatorial climates, as well as temperate ones.

Mango

Mango is one of the symbols and the national fruit of India. The Hindus themselves say that as many varieties of this fruit grow in the country as there are dialects (according to unverified data, from 800 to 1000). The word itself comes from the Tamil "mang kai", which translates as "unripe fruit". The national fruit of India boasts such species as chauza, dussheri, totapuri, kezar, nilam. Fruit stands out, huge, the size of a watermelon - bainganpally, the king of varieties - alfonso. And it's all mango! In this country, almost every region can boast of its own variety. And for the traveler there is a good opportunity for sampling and choosing among the variety of flavors. They eat fruit in its natural and processed form, sprinkled with s alt and pepper seasoning. They make juice (by the way, in the USSR this fruit was known precisely by the delicious mango nectar imported from a friendly brotherly state), adjika, sweets, and are added to many culinary dishes. So don't be surprised if you are offered two different types of fruits in different parts of India, but they are called in one word - mango!

Passionfruit

About what passion fruit looks like, until recently, many Russians did not have the slightestrepresentation. Meanwhile, in India, this evergreen vine that grows in the tropics, or rather, its fruits, are very popular. Although South America is considered the birthplace of the liana, it is cultivated with great success in India (and all over the world: from Israel to Hawaii). But, by the way, the very name of the fruit comes from the Indian word. What does passion fruit look like? These are rounded fruits of a yellowish-green color with speckles. They have a sour-sweet taste, which perfectly invigorates and tones up in the heat (very popular and tasty - mix the pieces with yogurt or orange juice). Passion fruit is widely used in medicine to create medicines. There are many useful substances in its pulp. Among them are iron, which is necessary for blood formation and strengthening of immune defense, amino acids and vitamins. The fruit is also used for cosmetic purposes (creams and masks).

Poor Man's Cow

The fruits of India are represented by avocados. It is here that this fruit is called such a strange name - "the poor man's cow." The fruit of a plant of the laurel family is very useful and high-calorie, and the plant itself has an ancient history (perhaps, dinosaurs that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago ate it). The pulp of a fresh avocado is tender, soft, reminiscent of oil in structure, has a yellow-green tint. The fruit contains many benefits, and it tastes quite pleasant. It got its name "poor man's cow" in India due to its calorie content (100 grams / 240 kcal), and it has more amino acids than citrus fruits and bananas. No wonder that in 1995 he wasis listed in the book of records as the most nutritious fruit in existence today.

What does papaya look like?

These fruits are cultivated on all continents where there is a suitable climate. But India occupies one of the first places in the cultivation of papaya: more than four thousand tons annually. The plant was called "melon tree". What does papaya look like? Remotely, the fruits resemble a melon (hence the name came from). The product itself has a low calorie content (39 kcal / 100 grams), which is interesting for nutritionists from different countries. But you should always remember that papaya should only be consumed when fully ripe. An unripe fruit is dangerous for human he alth and can cause allergic reactions, quite serious (it is not for nothing that an unripe fruit is used in folk medicine as a powerful contraceptive and drug for abortion). So be extremely careful when buying and using it.

Carambola

This is also a very interesting food exotic. The fruit has a specific taste (as the classic of humor used to say), reminiscent of a mixture of apple, cucumber and gooseberry. And it looks like a star. The locals harvest twice a year: 1 - in January, 2 - May. How is carambola eaten? This information can be very useful for a novice traveler.

1. Straight with the skin on, no peeling. You need to choose the most yellow fruit by the type of peel, then the flesh inside will be ripe, juicy, sweet.
2. How do you eat carambola? It can also be cleaned by cuttingslices, add to vegetable and fruit salads for an original taste.
3. Meat dishes are also decorated with this fruit, and a carambola pie is considered the pinnacle of culinary art.

Guava

Fruits of India are represented by this very exotic fruit. It kinda looks like a lemon. This is a generally recognized record holder for vitamin indicators (there are much more of them in it than, for example, in citrus fruits) - guava. Its taste is sweet and sour. The use in culinary art is the same as that of citrus fruits: juice, seasonings for dishes and salads to give them sourness, sweetness, sherbet. To choose the right guava, for example, in the market in Goa or India, you need to feel a few of these fruits. Take the softest guava. It is also necessary to examine the fetus for cuts and bruises. The outer color of the guava should be bright green, turning yellow (do not take dark green or brown fruits). You can eat guava just like that: just wash and cut into slices (like apples).

Dates

The most high-calorie fruits of India are dates (tamarinds). More than 100 culinary dishes are prepared from them. These are the most amazing fruits in their properties, which have been called upon to strengthen human he alth and immunity for more than one thousand years. At present, the composition of this natural product, rich in vitamins, microelements, amino acids, useful carbohydrates, has been scrupulously studied. Scientists say that a good half of the periodic table is part of the date. They claim that if used infood only dates and water, then you can stretch for more than one year in full he alth and good spirits. But be that as it may, all the splendor of varieties grown in India is eaten with pleasure by local residents and tourists. They also say that these valuable fruits significantly reduce the risk of strokes and heart disease, therefore, many Hindus who regularly eat dates never suffer from heart disease.

The sweetest fruit of India

They are sapodilla or chiku. To the taste of a European, it can resemble a certain mixture of honey, molasses, persimmon, figs - sugary and viscous. But, although the pulp is full of sweet, the fruit, nevertheless, is not too high in calories, and therefore valuable for nutrition (83 kcal / 100 g). Initially, sapodilla grew in South America, but from there it moved to India, where conditions are very suitable for its cultivation.

Bananas

As in all tropical countries, bananas are everywhere in India. They grow literally everywhere, but many varieties are much different in appearance from those that we are used to eating in Russia. They are larger in size and original in their taste, and in the markets they are sold not by weight, but either by the piece or in huge clusters of 10-15-20 pieces, so you can completely fill up the whole company.

Kiwi

This "Chinese gooseberry" can also be found in India in wide distribution. These are small oval-shaped berries, which, with their fleecy brownish surface, resemble gooseberries, only very large. And also kiwi from afarthe counter resembles an ordinary potato, in appearance, of course. Under the skin of the fruit is juicy pulp, which varies in color, depending on the variety: from green to yellow. There are black inclusions in the pulp - seeds, which are also edible and have a sour taste. The product itself is sweet and sour, reminiscent of the taste of a mixture of gooseberries, pineapple and apple. You need to choose even, without dents and scratches, fruits, the softer, the riper inside. If you take hard ones, then they may well ripen at home, you just have to wait a bit. This exotic fruit is consumed (although, what an exotic one: it is full of it on the shelves of Russian supermarkets) in several ways. You can eat just like that, peeled and cut into slices. You can eat it out with a spoon without cutting it, but by making only a small hole on top, like a cap. Kiwi is also good in fruit salads and desserts in combination with ice cream and cream - just lick your fingers! But, in general, this fruit has completely "taken root" on the shelves of markets and shops, so you probably already managed to try it, having made your culinary journey to exotic countries.