Several weeks ago you may remember my food post all about the unique veggies typically found in Taiwan. Today I'm finishing that mini-series with a followup post about the fruits found here in Taiwan. Sadly I will be honest and say this post is not entirely complete as the fruits available here have varied wildly with the season, but if you look back on older posts you can read more about the persimmons, jujube and wax apples that were much more common in the late summer months.
{Lychee - This is a funky little fruit! It is the size maybe of a walnut and has a hard type exterior that you can use your nail to break and easily peel off of the flesh inside. The inside resembles in both look and texture that of a naked/skinless grape with a hard seed inside. This fruit is quite sweet and in Taiwan is called a dragon eye because once peeled it closely resembles an eye with the black seed inside!}
{Dragon Fruit - Ooh, I love this stuff! The inside is that of a soft kiwi texture and is either bright pink/red like the outside or white; both with many eatable black seeds inside. The fruit is mildly sweet without much of a distinct taste, but it's super juicy and great in the hot weather!}
{Durian - Also commonly known as the stinky fruit! Never before in my life have I seen signs saying that a specific fruit isn't allowed in certain train stations or other public establishments before I met dear durian. I have yet to actually try this fresh as I've never heard anything good out this spiky fruit, but I've had flavored treats and dried pieces of the fruit and those were enough to tell me to stay away!}
{Winter Melon – Holy moly, this has to be the mother of all fruits! These suckers are GIANT! Though I’ve also never had these raw, I don’t think they are popular to eat raw but rather to cook into soups or as side dishes to other meals. In my opinion it more closely resembles the flavor of a vegetable like cucumber or squash, but it’s not bad!}
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