Fruits of Thailand - known, familiar and exotic

The favorable conditions allow the fruits of Thailand to be grown without the use of chemicals and harvested three times a year. The fruit variety is astonishing in its rich variety of flavors and colors. The fruits of Thailand also play an important role in the Thai national cuisine.

Fresh juices, fruit slices, soups, salads and more.

You can buy exotic fruits of Thailand everywhere: in stalls, in shops, at macashnikas, in cafes, in other establishments, and even beach vendors will offer you fruit deliciousness. Among the abundance of fruit in Thailand there are fruits known and familiar to us, and there are some that are completely exotic.

Pineapple

Pineapple, in Thai, sounds like "sa-ppa-rot. It is quite a familiar fruit to us. But we can't enjoy its true flavor, because pineapples arrive on our shelves green. In Thailand you can buy it everywhere and all year round, already ripe, fragrant and juicy. The fruit is harvested throughout the year, as it ripens. The price per piece varies 79 baht (2.3$) per kg.

This fruit is a treasure trove of vitamins and minerals: potassium, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, iodine, B1, B2, B12, PP, A.

Watermelon

Watermelon is "thang-mo" in Thai, an excellent thirst quencher. The vendors will peel it at your request, cut it into portions and pack it in a neat and handy bowl with chopsticks. Here you can try and unusual for us watermelon with yellow flesh. It is sweeter and juicier than its red-pink relative. True and it is a little more expensive from 35 baht (1$) kg (price depends on the season).

Thais prefer to consume this berry in processed form: smoothies, shakes, all kinds of refreshing drinks. About the useful properties of watermelon much has been said, we will only remind you that it is an excellent broom for the kidneys. And a two-week consumption of watermelon pulp is able to clean them.

Bananas

In Thailand, bananas, so popular in our country, are called "klu ai". They come to our fruit and vegetable counters also unripe, so on vacation we have the opportunity to appreciate their true taste. Many varieties of bananas are grown here and harvested as they ripen, so you can buy a freshly picked bunch of bananas on Thai counters all year round.

A kilogram can cost 10 baht (0.2$) (each variety has a different price). It is worth knowing that some varieties are grown as vegetables. They are flavorful, but almost tasteless. Thais use them for making marinades, salad dressings, and a variety of sauces.

The most delicious are the small bananas, green with brown speckles. There are also our usual yellow fruits of different varieties and sizes, from small to huge. Tourists' favorite varieties are Kluai Leb Mue Nang (small with sweet flesh) and Kluai Kai (bright yellow short with thin skin).

Coconut

Coconut is the second bread for Thais. The range of its uses is huge, comparable only to our potatoes. Both coconut milk and coconut pulp are used in cooking. They are used to make syrups, soups, dressings, a variety of sweets, added to pastries. The pulp can be fried, boiled, baked, pickled, cooked jelly, flavoring various dishes. It is impossible to list all the applications of this universal product. Coconut milk is an excellent and fast thirst quencher, but its taste, as they say, is for the connoisseur.

You can buy coconuts at every tray for 30 baht (0.9$) all year round, sold by the piece.

Durian and Jackfruit

Among all the fruits of Thailand, Durian and Jackfruit deserve special attention, their specific smells, size and weight. For example, the Jackfruit is considered to be the largest fruit on the planet, which can weigh up to about 40 kg.

Durian, has a smell that is so disgusting that if you buy this fruit you will not be allowed in most public places.

Mango

The mango ("Ma Nuang") is a familiar fruit in Thailand that is extremely popular among tourists. But Thai mangoes are no match for the ones we buy on the shelves of our stores. They are brought to us green, as the ripe ones do not stand the road and spoil.

There are several varieties of mangoes grown in Thailand, the most delicious of which are seedless mangoes. In local cuisine, mangoes are also widely used in juices, shakes, and yogurts. Unripe fruits are included in recipes for meat and fish dishes. You will also be offered canned mangoes or peeled and sliced into portions, as in the photo.

Pomelo

The pomelo resembles a large grapefruit, and some varieties have a bitter aftertaste. But most varieties of pomelo grown in Thailand are juicy and sweet. However, the fruit is not popular with tourists. The argument is that the fruit has a thick skin and little flesh. Therefore, after paying 30 baht (0.9$) per piece at the market to try the delicacy, most of our tourists prefer grapefruit, oranges or tangerines.

Pomelo has many health benefits thanks to its vitamins, minerals, and essential oils. Vitamins A, B, C strengthen the immune system and protect the body from viral infections. Potassium contained in the fruit, stimulates the cardiovascular system, helps normalize blood pressure. The pomelo contains a special group of substances - limonoids that have anti-cancer effects. The fruit ripens between July and September.

Papaya

The papaya is called a melon tree. Although it is shaped more like a zucchini and reaches half a meter in length. Its taste is similar to that of boiled carrots, so it is not suitable for everyone. It is usually available in packaged form.

Antilles gooseberry

Antilles gooseberries ("ma-yom") are a treasure trove of vitamin C, hence their excessive acidity. The Thais add it to various dishes, make sauces, salad dressings, and marinades for meat and seafood.

The fruit is not popular with tourists also because the pulp does not lag behind the seed, so they prefer to buy it in candied form. You can see gooseberries on the shelves all year round, but mass picking takes place from January to March.

Pitahaya

Pitahaya - The dragon fruit, in Thai it sounds like "u-mang-kon". This unusual bright fruit belongs to the cactus family. The colors of its skin are varied: red, pink, yellow, and purple. No less impressive are the colors of the fruit pulp: cream, burgundy, pink, and ivory. But the taste of the pitahaya is not impressive; it slightly resembles the taste of a watery kiwi.

Those who want to try it will pay an average of 40 baht (1.1$). Even if you like it very much, it is not recommended to eat a lot of it, as the dragon fruit of Thailand has a pronounced laxative effect. It is useful to eat dragon fruit for diabetes and other problems related to the endocrine system. The fruit has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular and immune systems, improves digestion and stimulates metabolism.

Noina

Noina ("no-na"), a cream apple, is an exotic fruit of Thailand. In the photo, you can see a small ball covered with greenish, dark speckled scales. When ripe, its skin turns lighter. By sniffing, you can catch a slight pine aroma of the fruit. The flesh of the coneflower contains many seeds.

Noyna is delicious both when unripe (eaten like an apple) and when ripe. Its ripe flesh resembles the consistency of custard, so the fruit is cut in half and eaten with a spoon. The taste is sweet and creamy and mild. This contributes to its use in confectionery practice. Noina is added to ice cream, mousses, creams, cocktails. Speaking about the useful properties of the "sugar apple", they point out the antibacterial and tonic effect of the fruit.

Noina is rich in amino acids, vitamin C, calcium, and carbohydrates. The fruit does not stay on the shelves, as many tourists believe that noi is the best cure for parasites. If you want to take it out of Thailand, it is better to pick unripe fruits. The price per kilo is about 50 baht (1.4$), so the fruit is juicy, so there will be little in a kilo.

Guava

Guava ("fa-rang") is an exotic fruit from Thailand, shaped like something between an apple and a pear. The fruit has a strong odor that can drown out the smell of tobacco smoke.

Excessive consumption of guavas can lead to rapid weight gain.

Its skin is green; as the fruit matures, it turns yellow. The photo shows its loose, sponge-like flesh, with bones inside. Different varieties of guava can have different colors of flesh: creamy, green, and pink. Guava does not have a distinctly sweet taste, but it is not sour either. That is why Thais prefer to eat it with different spices: with salt, hot pepper, sugar or soaked in syrup. You can buy guava fresh from 20 baht (0,5$) for 1 kg or soaked in syrup for the same cost, but for 300 grams throughout the year.

This exotic fruit has a number of beneficial properties: it normalizes blood pressure and heart function, improves digestion. It is able to raise the overall tone of your body, promotes metabolism, has a beneficial effect on the lymphatic system.

Tamarind

Tamarind, aka the Indian date, aka ma kham. It is called a date because of its similar taste to a date. It resembles a legume in appearance. It can be eaten raw, dried, and candied. Thai cooks make sauces and sweet pastes from tamarind.

Useful properties: a treasure trove of calcium, vitamins A, B and C. Specialists note the presence in it of elements of potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, iron, copper, selenium and zinc.

Carambola

Carambola ("ma phyang") is a very unusual fruit of Thailand. Sliced crosswise, it has the shape of a pentagonal star. It adds originality to any table. Depending on the variety, the carambola can be yellowish, greenish, or red with an orange hue. The taste may also differ slightly in the presence or absence of sourness. For some reason our tourists associate the fruit of carambola with sweet bell peppers.

The fruit belongs to the low-calorie, dietary products, but it improves the appetite and increases the overall tone of your body. The useful properties of carambola include the presence of calcium, iron, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, potassium, vitamins C and B, as well as organic acids. Thiamine contained in the fruit is beneficial to our nervous system. It can be bought for 35 baht (1$) per kilo. The karambola ripens from May to August and from October to December.

Longkong

Longkong ("lang kat") grows in bunches. The brown skin hides the juicy, jelly-like flesh. It is shaped like a head of garlic divided into five slices and tastes more like sweet and sour grapes. Thais use it both as a fruit and as part of desserts. It can also be added to meat and salad dressings or dried like raisins.

Thais praise the beneficial properties of longkong, which maintains the health and elasticity of the skin, raises vitality and promotes the strengthening of human vitality, especially in times of ailment. Those wishing to buy the fruit will pay from 100 baht (2.9$) per kilogram.

Longan

Longan is very similar to longkong in description. It also grows in clusters, and the fruit looks like small nuts. The light brown rind of the longan is easy to peel, and inside is a white translucent flesh, through which you can see the dark seed. Because of this, it is called the eye of the dragon in Thai. The consistency of the flesh of the longan is similar to that of a grape. It is fragrant, sweet, juicy, and has a honey-like flavor.

The Thais eat longan fresh or dried. Desserts and ice cream made from longan fruit are extremely delicious.

Mangosteen

The mangosteen, in Thai, sounds like "mang khuk. Consider a photo of this original fruit. As it ripens, its loose, sponge-like rind takes on the color of an eggplant and exudes a slightly intoxicating aroma. Inside the mangosteen is a matte, juicy flesh, shaped like garlic with five to seven slices. In each slice is a bone. It tastes like Mangosteen is similar to sweet and sour grapes with a pleasant peachy note. It is not allowed to eat the peel, so it is worth learning how to separate it properly. To do this, the mangosteen is cut transversely through the center of the fruit and the halves twisted in different directions. This motion separates the flesh of the mangosteen from the rind.

Mangocin has all the most valuable vitamins and trace elements for the human body. If you watch out for your health, this fruit will be a welcome addition to your table. You can buy it from 35 baht (1$) per kilo, prices depend on the season.

Passion fruit

Passion fruit is an exotic fruit for our countries, as it is perishable. In Thailand you can buy fruit with a dark purple color, although there are other varieties of passion fruit. In harvest season, 1 kg of passion fruit costs about 40 baht (1.1$).

They can also be offered as part of a variety of desserts, salads, juices, cocktails, shakes.

Thai Plum

The Thai plum or gandaria is similar in appearance to the plum we are used to. It is a close relative of the mango, and its taste is also close to that of the mango. In terms of flesh consistency, it is closer to a plum. The entire fruit with its skin is consumed as a meal. As it ripens, it accumulates more and more nutrients: vitamins A, B1, B2, C, P, various metals, glucose, fructose and sucrose.

You can buy plums from 100 baht (3$) per kilo.

Rambutan

Rambutan is called "ngo" by Thais. It is a perishable fruit and cannot be kept longer than seven days. Rambutan grows in attractive, shaggy red bunches of 20-30 fruits. It has an aroma of tea rose, rambutan flesh is similar to that of grapes, and inside there is an edible pit. Rambutan is not much in demand among tourists - the lack of skills of peeling - Thais are snapping it like sunflower seeds. Rambutan is used to make various sauces, marinades and salad dressings.

Useful properties: Rambutan helps to cleanse the body and support a depleted and weakened body. Rambutan improves digestion, which affects skin elasticity and firmness. The rambutan fruit is sure to catch your eye in the market.

You can buy rambutan for 45 baht (1.3$) per kilogram.

Malay Apple

The Malay apple, chom-phu, is shaped like a pear. Depending on the variety, it may be pink, green, or red. The whole fruit is eaten as it does not have a seed. The taste of the Thai apple is not usual for us. It is very juicy, slightly sweet, leaves a sense of pine flavor, produces a refreshing effect.

The beneficial properties of the Malay apple are similar to those of the watermelon. As a diuretic, it helps to cleanse the body of toxins. Its antiseptic properties are also known. You can buy apples all year round, priced from 15 baht (0.4$) per kilo.

Santol

Santol - "krah-ton", a wild mangosteen, the fruit is very similar to mangosteen, but has a brown or red skin. The flesh is also divided into garlic-like slices. Santol with the brown skin is sweet, but with the red skin it has a slight sourness. It is a carbohydrate-rich fruit that has calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, carotene, thiamin, pectin and other beneficial substances in its composition.

Wild mangosteen is used as a prophylactic against viral and colds. Santol has beneficial effects on the skin, which contributes to its wide use in cosmetology. You can buy wild mangosteen fruit for around 25 baht (0.7$) per kilogram. The harvest is from July to October.

Sapodilla

Sapodilla is "la-mut", a light brown fruit, similar to kiwi by description, but without the flecks. it tastes a bit like persimmon, but very sweet. When unripe, sapodilla can be bitter. This is why you should choose soft fruits. Sapodilla is perishable, and should not be stored for more than two days. Sapodilla can be eaten fresh. Sapodilla can also be used to decorate other dishes because of its unusual color and flavor. Its caloric value is one of its health benefits. Fruits sapodilla is rich in vitamins A and C, plant proteins, carbohydrates, iron, potassium and calcium.

Sapodilla pulp has antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, regenerating, nourishing and moisturizing properties. Because of this, sapodilla is used in cosmetology. Sapodilla can be bought year-round, but it ripens between September and October. The price is 35 baht (1$) per kilo.

Kumquat

The kumquat is known as the "Japanese orange," a four-centimeter fruit that resembles an elongated orange or tangerine. But it is eaten in its entirety, with its peel. True gourmets prefer to eat only the rind with a small amount of pulp.

The benefits of this fruit are hard to overestimate. Thanks to its essential oils, it is used as an inhalant. Vitamin P and pectins contribute to the purification of the body. Kumquat is an excellent dietary product that speeds up digestion and metabolism. It can improve blood composition, calm the nervous system. And its juice eliminates "hangover syndrome".

Salak

Salak ("Sa-la") is an exotic fruit of unusual appearance and taste. It grows in clusters, has a pear shape, and its dense skin, studded with small needles, resembles the skin of a snake. Hence its other name - Snake Fruit. Peel it with care, preferably wearing gloves, or better buy it ready-made. The flesh of the fruit is cream-colored, a little like a soft apple, sweet with a slight sourness, you can feel the taste of strawberries and nuts. The aroma of herring reminds many of valerian.

Useful properties of the fruit: removal of harmful substances from the body. It has a hemostatic, anti-diarrheal and anti-hemorrhoidal effect.

The food is eaten in unlimited quantities, because it has no calories, but the body, which is not accustomed to such strange food, is unlikely to be satisfied. In fact, this warning applies to all new and strange for your body fruits and products. You should accustom your body to unfamiliar foods, it should tune in to the production of certain enzymes, thanks to which the process of digestion of food takes place. Remember how a small child is given a new product in his life to try first, gradually increasing the portion.

Lychee

Lychee is an exotic fruit of Thailand. In Thai, the name sounds like "lin-tii. Lychees grow in large, crimson clusters. The flesh is watery and translucent, with a large, dark, inedible pit hidden inside. The fruit is aromatic, sweet, slightly sour, and slightly tart. Used in fruit salads and desserts.

Lychee is low in calories, yet it quickly quenches thirst and tones you down. Very often the Thais add lychee juice to freshly squeezed juices. The fruit's health benefits don't stop there. It also simplifies the gastrointestinal tract and prevents atherosclerosis.

Thai strawberries

Thai strawberries (satro berry) are inferior in taste to berries grown in our garden plots. Here it is watery and therefore not sweet enough, although very large and beautiful. The climatic conditions of Thailand are not suitable for it, therefore, it is massively grown in a closed ground or imported from other countries.

But in all kinds of desserts, for which local cooks are famous, strawberries have found a worthy use. Since childhood, we remember how useful strawberries are. It is believed that in a season you should eat at least five kilograms of berries for blood renewal.

This is because strawberries are the leader in folic acid (B9), the "hormone of happiness. Folic acid has hematopoietic properties, improves heart function, normalizes blood pressure and makes blood vessels more elastic. In addition, B9 elevates mood by adjusting the nervous system, strengthens memory, and helps normalize metabolism.

Helpful hints

Many tourists bring local fruits as exotic souvenirs. It is only worth considering which of them will survive the trip. Tourists like to bring mangoes and a group of exotic fruits, which have an unusual appearance for us.

Another group of fruits that travelers prefer to take out - familiar to us fruits, but having a completely different taste here.

The fruit should be taken out in the luggage compartment, placed in a plastic basket. If you have a normal basket, the fruit is taken out, packed in several layers of paper to preserve their integrity. Some tourists carry them as hand luggage.

It is also worth checking the quarantine regulations of your country to see which fruits are prohibited to bring into the country.