We can spend days (a few days) without i-pads, mobiles and other luxury items. We can suffer the torture of getting stranded in an island with no cell phones or acquaintances to talk to. We can spend any number of days locked within the four walls of our room. But there is a condition to all these situations. We can tolerate extreme adversities and get over it only if ample food (good and healthy food) gives us company through all these times.
Yes, man can live without anything but food. One of the three basic necessities of human beings, I believe food is the most important and primary necessity to sustain life on earth. We don’t mind spending any amount of money to eat good food, do we? We don’t mind eating in dhabas and local restaurants if they can convince us with a good meal. Why do we love street food? Why do we keep planning and searching for the best restaurants in the locality? Do you know why? Because man can never take life forward without having good food! Food is the ultimate provider of energy. It keeps us healthy and fresh. Eating good food at proper intervals boosts your intelligence. No merriment in life is complete without good food.
Now that we know how important eating healthy is to one’s well being, it is also equally necessary to learn about eating the natural way. By this, I mean thriving from nature’s bounties. Howmuchever tasty a burger and sandwich is, it is important to eat fresh food- nature’s bounties in its purest form and on a regular basis. What do you think is the reason for the success of our ancestors? Haven’t you wondered atleast once in your lifetime about how healthy and energetic your grandparents are, while you keeping cursing when you have to take a walk down the lane? The success formula lies in their healthy eating habits which includes eating the natural way.
So it’s time we brought about a change in our eating habits. The best we can do is including fruits on your diet list. This is the best way to keep yourself fit and at the same time remain connected to nature. There are a lot of things for which we are greatly indebted to the natural surroundings and food is the most important. So let me take you through some extraordinary and exotic varieties of fruits that exists on earth and of those that we have no idea about! Read further to enrich your knowledge on fruits other than apples, oranges and mangoes.
1. RAMBUTAN: A native to the Malay Archipelago, South-east Asia, Rambutan is a red coloured, jelly like garden fruit. The exterior covered with long spines is inedible but the sticky flesh inside is extremely delicious, tender, sweet and juicy. Climatic conditions like those in Sri Lanka are best suited to grow Rambutan. It is a seasonal fruit and is very famous in the export market. Rambutan tastes more like grapes; it’s both sweet and sour.
2. WOOD APPLE: A native to India and Sri Lanka, Wood Apple has a woody rock-hard shell that is smooth with a grey, yellow or green peel. Also known as the Bel fruit, Wood Apple is grown in regions with arid climatic conditions. It requires monsoons to bear a large number of produce. Wood Apple has a sweet, pungent, lemony and slightly acidic flavour which when combined with milk and a little sugar transforms into an extremely tasty energy drink. Furthermore, Wood Apple helps in nutrition and even provides relief from constipation, indigestion and respiratory problems to name a few.
3. SNAKE FRUIT: Exhibiting an exterior that pretty much resembles the snake skin; the fruit can send a chill down your nerves. Ranging from a dark brownish coloured scaly skin to deep red, the Snake Fruit is also known as Salak in some countries. It is also one among the many indigenous fruits of Indonesia. It has a pear, banana and pineapple like aroma and is very sweet and acidic in taste.
4. MANGOSTEEN: The Mangosteen is an evergreen tree which is a native to the Sunda Islands and Moluccas. The fruit is fleshy and soft, white in colour and has a sweet and tangy taste. Mangosteen flesh, at one glance resembles a very attractive and beautiful white flower. The flesh is protected by a hard purple exterior. According to scientists, this fruit has the ability to lower the risks of cancer. Mangosteen tastes like citrus with a touch of peach flavour.
5. DRAGON FRUIT: Though the name reminds us of the fiery, fire throwing dragons, the fruit nowhere resembles the animal except for its dragon shaped scales. However the fruit, unlike a dragon is very colourful with pink scales bordered by a greenish yellow colour. The fruit is white in colour with black spotted seeds. In fact, the very sight of a bunch of Dragon Fruits can make us happy. It adds colour and vibrance to every place they are seen or spotted. Also known as Strawberry Pear or Pitaya, the fruit is a native to Mexico and South and Central America. The flowers of the tree are also edible and are even used for making tea.
6. DURIAN: Revered in South-east Asia as the ‘King of Fruits’ Durian is a native to Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. An extremely good looking fruit with a light green exterior that resembles a jackfruit, Durian tastes divine. However the fruit emits a strangely disagreeable odour that has banned its usage in hotels and public transportations in South-east Asia. Alfred Russell Wallace, a famed naturalist described its flesh as “a rich custard highly flavoured with almonds.”
7. KUMQUAT: Resembling an orange, Kumquat can easily pass as a miniature of the citrus fruit. It is however, smaller in size and is oval-shaped like the olive. A native to South eastern parts of China, Kumquat is used in making marmalades, jellies and alcoholic drinks. Several varieties of the fruit are available for sale in markets. The Taiwanese even add Kumquat to their teas for a healthy digestion while others use it as a remedy for sore throats.
The list does not end here. To write about the innumerable fruits that exist on earth is impossible but I hope I was able to widen your perspective on fruit knowledge reasserting the fact that apples, oranges and mangoes are not the ‘only’ fruits that are edible to consume.
