The Wide World Of Fruits And Vegetables

Around the world, we all eat fruits and vegetables of different shapes, sizes, and colors. What you and I think is a typical pumpkin, someone from a different country would consider exotic or unusual.

There are so many different and tasty plants that we can eat, and yet our superstores only stock the same generic vegetables. Having acquired TheVegetableGarden.info we are teaming up with home growers to see how we can expand our pantry. Before we get into the details, we need to say a warm welcome to readers of TheVegetableGarden.info! 

With a new installment of knowledge and intrigue, it’s time to show you the wonders of the edible world!

Common Chinese Vegetables And Fruits

Chinese veggies are slowly finding themselves in western grocery stores. Plants such as bok choy and bean sprouts are used as often as carrots and broccoli (which the Chinese call xà lách) when we compare traditional Chinese and traditional American dishes.

Like a cucumber, bok choy is made of mostly water, when left raw. This means you can make an easy swap in a salad by replacing your cucumbers with this Chinese delicacy. The plant also contains vitamins A, C, and K along with calcium, making the swap more nutritious.

Planting and growing your own bok choy is simple too. The plant is resistant to cold temperatures and warm ones alike. Swap your lettuce crop for bok choy for more variation in your homegrown plants!

If you want to grow something more difficult, something ridiculously hard to find in western supermarkets, then how about a bamboo shoot. Be careful with this one, as it cannot be eaten raw. Instead, you have to go through a delicate cooking process to remove all of the natural toxins which protect the shoots. However, once you bridge this gap, you will have a delicious ingredient that pairs amazingly with stir-fries, soups, pickles, and more.

An extremely popular vegetable that you can find around the world is the humble eggplant. However, did you know that there are at least 17 different varieties of the veg to choose from? This dangling purple treat originates from China, but since countries began trading on the silk road, farmers have selectively bred the eggplants to create multiple different versions of the plant. Sweet eggplants, pickling eggplants, cherry eggplants, and more. The variation allows you to cook the vegetables in whichever way you prefer, getting the best out of the Chinese plant.

Although maize flour and maize corn are seen as South American ingredients, you’d be surprised to learn that maize plants originated in South Asia. Sweetcorn, blue corn, dent corn, waxy corn, and popcorn all come from the origins of maize fields in the Asia countryside. The original maize was the pearl millet. This one plant was selectively bred to create the varieties we see today.

Another vegetable that you may not have released originated in China, is the summer-time favorite – rhubarb. This tart vegetable has a strong sour taste and an undertone of an earthy flavor. Cook the vegetable until it turns into a paste, stir in some sugar, and dollop some cream on top, and you’ll have created the richest dessert without any real effort. 

A strange bean that you might not have known about before, is the velvet bean. The soft shell is covered in tiny white hairs, which create a smooth and velvety texture. You can eat them without cooking or preparing the bean, and you’ll taste a peanut flavor with a hint of grassy undertones. It’s the perfect snack.

Taking a step back from vegetables, we want to dive into the wide world of fruits. The yali pear is a Chinese classic, and although you will soon learn that the Afghans first cultivated pears as we know them, the yali pear will always have a Chinese root. What makes this pear special is its green stem which changes color in a slow gradient, reaching a bright yellow. It’s a sweet and tart version of the classic pear, and if you eat it when it’s fully ripe, you can expect hints of cinnamon and vanilla too.

Continuing on the trend of fruits, did you know that peaches originated from China. The juicy and floral-tasting sweet fruit can be used as a delicious topping to a fruit and cream dessert or simply eaten as a snack. There is a stone in the middle of the delicate peach, and this pit holds the meat of the fruit together. This means cutting the fruit in half can be difficult. 

You should use your knife to cut around the stone, and then twist the body of the fruit to release the stone’s grip. Peaches have a long family tree, and through cultivation, they have sprouted into fruits that are considered a whole new food type in itself. Take the juicy nectarine for example. It is softer and smoother than a peach but still has the same sweet flavor.

Our list of Chinese food continues, as we remind you that bananas originated in this bountiful land. This yellow fruit normally has a sweet flavor, but depending on how ripe you like your bananas to be, you can experience different levels of sweetness to match the coloration. That being said, there are over 1,000 different types of bananas around the world. If you were to travel to China you could experience a wide variety of this household fruit without walking too far into the markets. For example, red bananas often have a raspberry flavor, lady fingers tend to have a honey taste, and blue java bananas can easily be compared to ice cream.

Although oranges can be found all over the world, their historic roots show their native land to be Asian. The sweet and tart taste can be found in the juicy segments and on the skin as well. The rind can be grated to create zest. This zest can make a heavy meal lighter and add a summer essence to your alcoholic beverages. Oranges also have a wide variety of differences in their collection. There are tangerines and satsumas which most people are aware of, but you can also grow blood oranges, jaffas, and navels too.

The Chinese-based fruits continue with the lesser-known Ebenaceae fruit, persimmon. Persimmons often taste sweet like honey but have a vegetable texture like a root plant. However, that is only true of the most common permissions. There are 17 different varieties of this fruit, including chocolate, eureka, Fuyu and gimbo. All have a soft outer layer that can be easily sliced into peach-like curves.

The list continues as we start discussing mulberry fruits. This fruit has strong connections to its original land of agriculture in China, and although it is enjoyed around the world, the best recipes for this fruit can be found in Chinese recipe books. The berry has a long list of variations too, such as the Morus Alba which is white and floral, or the Morus Rubra which is red and tart. There are at least 4 different versions of this fruit and they can be used to create sweet pies and tart desserts.

Common Thai Vegetables And Fruits

You may be surprised to learn that a lot of common Thai veggies have become well-known as western veggies. In fact, some are so common in the US, that they have assimilated into our everyday dishes.

For example, the small onion called hom-daeng is known as a shallot in our stores, and the man-tayt is the delicious sweet potato. Of course, we can’t forget about tua luang, or as we prefer to call it, the soybean.

A lot of people will tell you that they have never tried Thai food, and although they may never have tried a traditional Thai recipe, they most likely have had their ingredients.

Still, there are elements to Thai food that haven’t traveled to our lands yet. Take the malagaw for example. This popular Thai vegetable can be found in almost every Thai dish, and yet most of us haven’t heard of this green papaya. It doesn’t have a strong flavor itself, but it can enhance the spices and herbs of the other ingredients in the same pot.

Another popular Thai vegetable is the hua-chai-tao. This radish is widely used in salads, or as part of a side. It adds a sweet kick to your dishes and helps bland recipes gain flavor.

Of course, we cannot forget about the arrowroot. This vegetable is similar to a yam, but it’s a  vegetable that doesn’t have a real taste. Instead, it is used as a thickener to add more starch to a meal without changing the balance of flavors. It is a useful vegetable that everyone should be aware of.

Another fruit you may be unaware of is the magnolia. These fruits are always grown in a cone-like shape, and often have a rough or aggregate exterior. Sometimes they look as though fungi have sprouted through the branches, other times it seems like a bulge is forcing the fruit to move in ways it shouldn’t. However, these fruits are safe to eat, no matter their outward appearance. There are roughly 19 different magnolia fruits in total, but they all have the same sour and sharp taste to them. The difference is mainly in their appearance.

Common Japanese Vegetables And Fruits

The most popular Japanese veggie has to be the edamame bean. These snacks and appetizers are simple but filled with a delicate flavor. Sprinkle some salt onto the bean after boiling it, to bring out the earthy taste.

However, another vegetable that you can find around the world is gobo. What makes gobo, especially Japanese, is how they use this root veg. It can grow up to 3 meters long and can be shredded to make an almost coconut texture and flavor to your dishes.

The kabocha is a type of squash. Imagine a pumpkin mixed with a sweet potato. The thin rim of this squash is unexpected, especially when you compare it with winter alternatives such as acorn or butternut squash. However, this means you don’t need to skin the veg to eat it.

Ginger can be found all over the Asian continent, and you can use this spice in a myriad of ways. The spicy and aromatic flavoring shouldn’t be eaten on its own, but you can create a delicious meal simply from boiling the herb in water with chicken and adding some onion and soy sauce. Ginger is the spice that brings this dish together with minimum effort.

One unique Japanese vegetable that you may not be aware of, is Hijiki. This seaweed has a sweet taste, with a mushroomy undertone. It is often used as a side but can be added to seafood-based mains like stir-fries.

One of the most common spices connected to Japan is wasabi. This plant is technically connected to the cabbage family, but it has the same hot flavors like mustard and chili peppers. You can expect to see wasabi next to delicate flavors such as salmon, or cucumbers.

From something hot to something juicy, one of the most loved Japanese fruits is the mouthwatering plum. Plums come in all shapes and sizes, but they are almost always a rich purple color. The elephant heart plum, for example, is the size of your fist, and although it has a dark red hue, you can still expect a purple tinge to its coloration. Whereas the sloe plum has a bluish color and is often too sharp to eat raw. Instead, as the “sloe” element of the name suggests, they are better used in gin or to add a kick.

Common Mexican Vegetables And Fruit

We have already mentioned the kabocha squash, but did you know that the pumpkins of the world originated from Mexico! Hubbards, pattypans, butternuts, marrow, and zucchini are all types of squashes or pumpkins. Many people equate the pumpkin vegetable with North American Halloween holidays, but the humble orange plant was a gift from the native lands which we now consider Mexico and the southern states. 

As the love of pumpkins continued through the ages, the variations started to become more prominent. There are at least 20 different types of pumpkin plants, ranging from the sweet classic to the easy-to-scrape spaghetti. They come in oranges, greens, and yellows. More often than not they are striped with varying color choices.

Black beans are one of the most common bean types around the world, but they are most popular in their original country – Mexico. You can grow the bean bush in almost any environment, as they can spring up quickly. This means the climbing branches can wiggle around your constructs, like a house or garage, so be sure to use a trellis.

Of course, you won’t be surprised to read that jalapeños originated in Mexico too. The hot and spicy pepper is normally picked when they aren’t ripe. They start off green, and then as they get stronger in heat, they become red. The cultivation of the hot plant comes from years of farming and agricultural testing. There is more to them than heat though. The jalapeños are filled with vitamins such as C and A. They also increase your metabolism due to the generated heat it causes in your body.

And you have heard of the vanilla bean, but do you know about the ice cream bean? The pods inside the rough tube have a distinct ice cream flavor, however, it only holds this taste while it’s raw. Blend it up and sprinkle the bean to add a dairy taste to your meals, but as soon as you cook it, the ice cream flavor turns into a chickpea taste.

From hot to cream, to smooth and creamy, we cannot talk about Mexican food without including the legendary avocado. The bane of a boomer’s life, this creamy and earthy fruit is the perfect accompaniment to a spicy meal. Often used to create guacamole, you can add the smashed avocado to a meal with hot sauce to enjoy the sting of the red liquid without burning your mouth. If you have the climate to grow your own avocado, then you should be grateful to hear that there are multiple varieties of trees for you to choose from. Most of them stem from a selective breeding process that made the trees short, which is why you can find dwarf avocado trees, semi-dwarf avocado trees, and so on. However, you can also find variations such as the hass avocado tree, the fuerte, the black turtlehead, and more. Each produces a slightly different version of the classic avocados while keeping the smooth and subtle flavors.

Moving to more unknown fruits, the llama fruit is a round-looking berry that looks like lychee fruit but is much bigger. The outside is green with black spikes, while the inside is white and flesh-like. You can use a spoon to take out the sweet and tarty inners, but to really enjoy the fruit at its full potential you should trickle some lemon or lime juice on the innards, along with sugar.

The dragon fruit is becoming more popular in our grocery stores, but did you know that pink and spikey delight originally grew in Mexico? Its unique appearance looks like a dragon’s fireball, as the pinks and reds mix together to create a flame. However, the flavor is a lot more subtle than the red suggests. You can compare the taste to a pear or a kiwi, as it’s both juicy and light but still has a crunchy sweetness.

Common Moroccan Vegetables

Surprisingly a lot of Moroccan vegetables are seen as everyday essentials for us too. Potatoes, onions, carrots, the standard. However, the Moroccan love of artichoke surpassed our own. These delicious and tender veggies can be hard to cook and utilize, especially when only some of their body can be eaten.

There is a reason why the heart of the artichoke is an expensive jar to buy!

Another lesser-known vegetable that can be found in most Moroccan kitchens, is the sunchoke. This root vegetable can be cut up like chips, but they taste both sweet and nutty at the same time. If you spot sunchoke in your grocery store, try baking them like a chip.

Common Greek Vegetables

Fennel is a classic Greek vegetable that many of us know about but very few uses. It is a mild flavored plant that has a round white bulbous shape, with celery-like strips which grow from the top. 

The bulb can be cut up and cooked to be added to a soup or sauce, while the thin hairs on the celery strips can be harvested and sprinkled on top of a fish dish. The plant brings an extra depth to a sweet or light plate.

A classic yet unusual Greek vegetable is the Horta leaf. This green salad filler should be served with extra virgin olive oil, feta cheese, olives, lemon juice, and oregano. 

The humble beetroot is another vegetable that many of us love, but did you know it comes from the Mediterranean? Of course, something delicious, filled with flavor, and brightly colored had to come from such a hot location. You can use this vegetable as a natural dye, a pickling delight, or even as a potato substitute.

Common Italian Vegetables

How can we mention an Italian vegetable without the versatile tomato being in the first place? Tomatoes can be used to create pasta sauces, fill a savory pie, and be added to a salad or sandwich. We bet you know that there are different types of tomatoes. In the grocery stores you can find cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, and beef tomatoes without even trying. But did you know that there are at least 26 different varieties to choose from?

Some (like the costoluto fiorentino) look like tiny pumpkins, and others (like the azoychka) are round, flat, and yellow. Each has a different flavor and texture, but you can expect a juicy goodness across the collection. 

Another staple in many people’s diets is the unassuming broccoli. This delicious mini tree originated in the Mediterranean. Its sweet and slightly bitter flavor adds a delicate touch to any meal. And the hard texture means you can create a crunchy or tender bite depending on your preferences.

A particular favorite in Tuscan is the four seasons lettuce or the lattuga quattro stagioni. You can expect to see this multi-colored lettuce in all of Tuscan’s salads. It starts off a light green color and then grows towards a deep red. The deeper the red, the more bitter the flavor is. Creating a delicious “cut” in an otherwise smooth meal.

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Common Vietnamese Vegetables

A lot of Vietnamese veggies are green or white. Bok choy, kale, cabbage, and so on. Although we all share the same basics, there are some unusual vegetables that Vietnamese culinary culture has kept to itself.

Bap chuoi, or the banana flower, is one of these secret delights. Often used in stir-fries, bap chuoi has a sweet banana flavor which can add an extra layer of taste to your dishes. The flower of blossom comes from the bottom of a banana bunch, hence its name. 

Another flower that you can find in a Vietnamese stir-fry is the cȁi cúc or crown daisy. You can find this flower in the majority of Vietnamese rice dishes, especially those which contain beef and pork. The flower tastes of a mustard flavor green, with a slight bitterness which can balance well with rich meats.

Common Cambodian Vegetables

Just across the way from Vietnam is the beautiful country of Cambodia. The majority of this area has low-lying plants which means the vegetables are mostly short grass types. Take the water mimosa, for example, the plant is grown in either fresh or saltwater and looks similar to white daisies. They are often boiled, stirred and steamed to create a sweet flavor.

Another popular glass-like vegetable is the yardlong beans. These beans are thick and long as the name suggests, and yet they are filled with juicy beans, perfect for the hot climate.

Cambodia also has classic vegetables such as lettuce, but as you can expect, this lettuce needs to be more retentive for the climate. For example, the frisee lettuce looks like a shredded seaweed clumped into a grounded base. This lettuce’s peppery flavor is very different from iceberg lettuce, adding extra flavors without spices.

Common Indian Vegetables And Fruit

Where western culture uses garden or English peas, India’s culinary culture normally sticks to pigeon peas. This pea is nuttier than ours and has a harder shell. You can expect to see it in curries, dal, or any other dish that pairs well with lentils.

Another twist on a classic we use every day is the coleus potato. Unlike our potatoes, this version is relatively bland but can absorb the flavors of spices easily, making it a creative carb to create a cheap and tasty meal.

One Indian vegetable that you may not have heard of is the cassava. This root plant tastes similar to taro and can be used as the main carbohydrate in your meal. You can often find cassava flour as the main ingredient in idlis and roti.

A common fruit found and loved in India is the bitter jambul. The flavor is like a cross between an apple and hot pepper, but it visually resembles a grape or raisin. To get to the good stuff, you need to remove the waxy fluff which surrounds the jambul, but once you have the fruit inside, you can eat the fruit whole or create deliciously fruity sauces.

One fruit that everyone knows comes from India is the mouthwatering mango. However, did you know that there are at least 22 different varieties of mango plants in the world? The Alice Mango was created and sold in 1930. It had a strong aromatic scent of sweet and rich flavoring, whereas the coconut cream mango was cultivated in Florida. As the name suggests, it has coconut flavoring and a creamy texture. It seems as if selective breeding a mango doesn’t take a long time, and many of the varieties we find today were artificially created instead of naturally forming.

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Common Russian Vegetables

Asparagus has a distinct flavor that can only be described as the bridge between mushrooms and broccoli. Despite its well-known appearance and taste, many people are unaware of the different forms this vegetable can take. Originally from Siberia and the lands that surround this Russian province, there have been at least 9 known versions of this plant. Fiddleheads, spears, and rhizomes are just a few of their names. 

Another popular vegetable in Russia is the spicy horseradish. Its deep and harsh taste is similar to mustard. You can expect to see horseradish as a side sauce next to more delicate flavors such as broccoli, leeks, or potatoes.

Common Iran Vegetables And Fruits

You may be surprised to learn that carrots are originally from Iran. This common pantry classic can be found in reds, whites, purples, and blacks, but we normally see the iconic carrot as a bright orange. You can eat every part of the carrot, from its root body to the stems. Each part will hold the earthy flavor we know and love, but the stems and leaves are delicate enough to only add a touch of sweetness to a stew. If you don’t know how to cook the stems, just blend them into a paste and freeze them. This way you can add a little bit of carrot flavor to a meal without using orange chunks.

Another surprise you might not be expecting is the connection between Iran and melons. Melons of all types originated in central Asia due to the hot climate. As cultivation has allowed us to develop and forcibly grow the melons in ways that benefit us, we now have over 50 different types of this watery fruit around the world. From watermelons to cantaloupes, honeydew to winter melon, each of the delicious and thirst-quenching melons we have around the world today all started their journey in Iran.

Common British Vegetables And Fruits

Although you may consider the dandelion a weed, in many areas of the UK, you can find this plant as the main ingredient of soups and drinks alike. Its vibrant yellow color has a bitter taste and a pepper aftertaste, making it a warming dish on a winter’s day. 

Another plant-based food from the British woods is a shrub that produces elderberries. Starting as white flowers, this bush creates purple berries in the summer. Black elderberries are more bitter than their purple cousins, but they have a sweeter taste too. The purple variety is normally turned into sweet and tart juices to add to a pie or meat-based meal, however, they can be eaten by themselves in berry form or as part of a jam.

Elderberries aren’t often seen on their own in a recipe, and instead are accompanied by blackberries, blackcurrants, and raspberries. The combination is perfect with meringue to create the classic British dessert – Eton Mess.

Common Jamaican Vegetables And Fruits

Traditional Jamaican vegetables are often spikey or hairy. Of course, there is the coconut, but let’s look at some more unusual choices. Take dasheen for example. This tube-shaped root vegetable has a nutty flavor similar to chestnuts. Its texture, however, is rooty like a potato. You can boil them, mash them, chuck them in a stew, or basically use them exactly as you would a potato, but with an extra layer of flavor.

For spiky veg, we suggest giving the chayote squash a try. Its mild taste is like a balance of cucumber and apples. It has a delicate flavor with a watery texture, and when you bite into it, you can expect the crispness of summer fruit.

Another hairy vegetable is the malanga. This rock-looking root veg is a nutty and earthy flavored carb. You can treat it like a potato and grate, mash or fry the white-spotted insides for a healthy potassium-based meal.

A common Jamaican fruit that you might be unaware of is the ugli fruit. The exterior looks similar to a misshapen lemon, however, the flavor is more akin to grapefruit. You can expect a taste of sourness and sweetness to create a sharp refreshing aftertaste

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Common Philippine Vegetables

A common Filipino vegetable is the winged bean or sigarilyas. This bean is beautiful to behold, and it gets its name from its fern-like leaf shape. These frills are adorable, but it’s the bean inside that really shines. It is a sweet bean when raw, but once you’ve cooked them, the taste becomes milder. We suggest keeping them as a raw stack or a topping on your meal.

Another classic Filipino veg is the okra or ladies fingers. This vegetable belongs to the marrow family. It has a sweet and almost grassy flavor, starting out hard or crisp and then becoming juicy once you cook it. You will often find okra in Filipino stews and rice-based dishes.

The beautiful purple vegetable, called the ube, is another Filipino classic. It’s also known as a purple yam or purple sweet potato, and its sweet nature means it is often boiled and mashed to be added to a cake. The Philippines create a beautiful ube Cake in the winter festive season which uses this deep purple vegetable – that is how sweet and versatile the ube is.

Common French Vegetables And Fruits

The French are known for their love of garlic, onions, and pastries, but let’s branch out to some more unexpected common vegetables you can find on their dinner plates. Take cayenne peppers for example. This spicy ingredient is often ground down to a powder, but you can bake and cook with them whole to create a kick in your stews.

Or what about the endive? This lettuce can be eaten raw or cooked, and has a crisp yet bitter taste, making it perfect for salads. If you allow it to soften, you can also expect a nutty sweetness in the leaves.

A fruit which you might connect with British tennis is the summer strawberry. However, you should knock that thought out of your head, and instead, recognize this iconic aphrodisiac as a French delicacy. Originally found on French soil, the common strawberry now has over 600 variations. Each is a dramatic red color, the only real way to tell them apart is through their shape, size, and taste. 

Common North American Vegetables

A classic North American vegetable is the humble cauliflower. This veg has become super popular in recent decades, as vegans utilize the meaty crunch of the white flower and its ability to soak in other flavors, to create healthy and delicious meat substitutes. 

Another North American delight is the versatile cabbage. Cabbage gives a massively strong flavor for a green-leafed veg. It’s almost sour taste can bring an edge to an otherwise bland meal. Slicing up the petals of cabbage and frying it with salt can create a crunchy and flavor-packed side.

A native North American fruit that can be found in the wild lands of Florida is the false mastic fruit. This red berry gets its name from the false scent it wafts through its tree sap. Smelling of cheese, you will get a surprise when the taste is more akin to a sweet berry with a sour aftertaste. 

Jumping over to Hawaii and the pacific islands, a bright and unusual fruit is the hala fruit. When you cut open the inside, it looks like an exploding planet, as the segments have a gradient color of yellow to red moving away from the center’s white stone. If you bite into this colorful explosion you’ll be tasting something between a pineapple and a mango.

Common German Vegetables

An extremely common vegetable that you can find on a German dinner plate is the kohlrabi. You won’t see this type of root veg in many other places around the world, but the sweet and peppery cabbage is a common side dish in German households.

You can use it like a potato and create chips, as although it stems from the cabbage family, it’s hard interior more closely resembles a starch-based root vegetable, than an overhead leaf.

Another German classic is the festive favorite – the brussel sprout. The name comes from the Belgium city of Brussels, but that doesn’t stop the Germans from adding them to their cultural foods. The sweet, smokey, and nutty pod can be roasted, boiled, or fried with bacon and cheese to enhance their baseline flavors.

Common Spanish Vegetables

The Spanish have a wide variety of vegetables to play with. Their warm climate is particularly beneficial for plants such as cardo (or cardoon). Although the veg originates from Asia, the dry Mediterranean landscape around Spain allows this bitter version of an artichoke to grow extremely well.

To master the cardoon, you need to boil the slices for 30 minutes before starting your original cooking prep. If you skip this step, you’ll end up with an extremely bitter bite that could ruin your meal.

Zucchini is also a favorite in Spain. The watery vegetable can grow extremely large in European soil due to the amount of sun and rain the lands can get. And because zucchini is so versatile, you can add this large vegetable into almost any meal. Salads, soups, stuffing, steak dinners, you name it, zucchini can match it.

Common Irish Vegetables

We cannot mention Irish vegetables, without putting potatoes at the forefront. Controversially, potatoes didn’t originate in Ireland, instead, they were brought over from South America. Yet, the Irish have the biggest cultural connection to this veg as it powered the country for centuries and then left them starving due to the potato famine. Still, this vegetable is the most versatile in the world. You can use it to create a silky mash, a crunchy chip, a warming fry, or a pie top. You can even create vodka using the humble potato.

Another delicious vegetable that should be associated with Ireland, is the rosemary herb. What used to be referred to as “the poor man’s mint”, adding just a few sprigs to your meat pie can create a depth like no other.

Common Afghan Fruits

Although pears can be found across the world, the pear tree as we know it originated from Afghanistan. The hot climate creating a delicious and watery treat meant that animals (and humans) would eat the pear for hydration. Now, you can follow afghan recipes which bake, grill, slice, and pickle pears using its delicious and juicy contents in more ways than the rest of this world could conjure.

Common Turkish Fruits

Raspberries were commonly found among European wildlife, but historians believe they were originally grown in Turkey. When the Roman Empire traveled around their growing empire, they spread this delicious sweet treat to new lands at the same time. The tart and sweet nature of these berries make them a fan favorite to anyone with a sweet tooth. But their small and fragile nature means they can easily be blended, making raspberries the best choice for jams or sauces.

Common Egyptian Fruits

You may not realize it, but grapes weren’t originally from Greece, Italy, or France. Grapes have a long history, but if you follow the evidence, you’ll see a trail that leads to Egypt. The Egyptians still make their own wine, but unfortunately, they often have to import the fruit from local areas such as Lebanon. This means the grape is often aged or dried before reaching the winery. However, if you like a mild wine with a savory finish, then you should consider the wine created from Egypt’s own grapes.

Common Taiwan Fruits

Although you want your fruits to be colorful and vibrant, the best fruits often need to be cut open to reveal their tasty delights. The Taiwan kiwi is one of these fruits. Brown and fuzzy on the outside, this green, and sweet fruit has a taste akin to pineapple. The most common use for a kiwi is to cut open the top and eat the fruit with a spoon, while using the brown natural casing as a tub. However, if you have the time and patience to skin a kiwi you could make an easy smoothie, or refreshing sorbet.

Summary

We have barely scratched the surface of the amazing fruits and vegetables that are around this bountiful world. But just by looking at the common orange, we can see that there are tons of variations in fruits and vegetables that we consider standard. Our culinary world can be widened if we allow ourselves to explore and try these under-appreciated delicacies.

And just as there are multiple breeds of mango, there are fruits and vegetables that most of us have never heard of before, let alone tasted. The Hala fruit is a great example of fruit just beyond our scope, but we can still try it if we know where to look.

Keep your taste buds interested by searching for these forgotten delights.

We hope you learned something from this article, here are other articles that you can learn from:

14 Fruits With Seeds (Including Pictures)

Pumpkins: Growth Time and Stages of Development From Seeds To Fruits