Tropical Treats Worth Trying

When it comes to exotic fruits growing in Southwest Florida, there is a long list of flavors, textures, and colors that are worth tasting and waiting to enhance your experience. It is mid-summer, and some of these exotic fruits are near the end of their fruiting season. 

Longan is a very popular tropical fruit that blooms in South Florida from February to March. Fruits are ready for harvest from the middle of July to early September and peak in August.

According to UF/IFAS, Longans are native to Vietnam, Thailand, and China and were introduced to Florida in the early 1900s. They are an important commercial crop in Southeast Asia but are increasingly popular in Florida. I discovered a huge blooming tree on South Barfield, but I was not the only one checking out the fruits. 

During my visit to the Naples Botanical Garden last Friday, I noticed their Longan fruits were ready for picking. Matt Herrman, Tropical Fruit Specialist for the Garden, was more than happy to pick a bunch for tasting.

The Longan tree is from the same family as the lychee and the rambutan. It has a round fruit, the size of a large grape, with a golden tan easy-to-peel pulp (like a grape). Inside is a ball of juicy translucent flesh with a large black seed. Longan has a sweet flavor.

Are longan and lychee the same? To some, it is hard to tell the fruit apart. They are both small and round, but the lychee is larger with a bumpy pinkish-red skin and a translucent white flesh that tastes sweet and tart. It also has a black seed inside. This year the lychee tree did not bear fruits at the Garden.

Star fruit or Carambola is another exotic fruit native to India and Southeast Asia and common in Marco Island backyards. According to UF/IFAS, it was introduced to Florida from Asia over 100 years ago. It makes sense that you call it star fruit because it is shaped like a star when sliced. The fruit is fleshy and, when fully ripened, crispy, sweet, and depending on the variety, it may be slightly tart. Sliced star fruit is my go-to ingredient for a healthy mixed green salad; added to slices of fresh avocado, red onions, and a fresh squeeze of lemon, top with feta cheese and quarters of hard-boiled egg for protein. The Garden had the “slightly tart” variety.

Star fruit or Carambola has two blooming seasons in Southwest Florida – April and May and September and October. The fruits ripen all at the same time and you can’t give them away fast enough. I often walk past a driveway giving away baskets of overripe star fruit.

According to UF/IFAS, the Java Apple (or Fruit Was Apple or Java Rose Apple) was introduced to Florida from Thailand in 1960. It is native to Southeast Asia and is also grown in parts of South India and West Bengal. This is a very popular fruit in the tropics and is often seedless. According to Herrman, they are perfect for snacking, and his daughter Coral was on hand to give us her taste of approval. 

The Java apple or Fruit Wax apple’s texture is crunchy, juicy, and slightly scented. It is comparable to watermelon in its water-to-flesh content. In Southeast Asia, the fruit is served uncut and often eaten fresh. When ripe, it is vibrant red.

Tasting exotic fruits is very much a part of the experience when visiting a new Asian country. And in Southwest Florida, these fruits that have originated from other continents are now abundant in farmers' markets and in local fruit stands in the region.

Add in a trip to the Naples Botanical Garden for an exotic, sweet, tart, refreshing, and tasty journey into Vietnam, Thailand, India, and China. The taste of the tropics is becoming a vital part of the Southwest Florida landscape.