A long time ago the world was a mysterious place. When you travelled to strange lands you would find strange animals, foods, and people that you never knew could possibly exist. Today, in the age of Wikipedia, we think we know everything there is to know. Why leave your home when the world is at your fingertips?
As a traveler I can tell you that the world is still a mysterious place filled with surprises. The internet is a wonderful thing but even when you spend hours blogging about a country that you have never been to, you’ll never quite get the feel of that place until you are there.
China is full of weird and wonderful things and my blog showcases only a few of them. Today, I bring you some weird and wonderful fruits that you probably can’t get in your local grocery store.
Let’s start with Durian, the king of all fruits. This spiky food is the subject of much debate in many Asian countries and has been banned from many public places in the world. Some people say this fruit tastes like heaven, but most people agree that this fruit smells like the rank-demons of hell. This is a very popular fruit in many, many Asian countries, but the smell (to some) is unbearable and has been compared to rotten onions, vomit, gym socks, skunk spray, sewage and surgical swabs. It can be smelled from yards away and for this reason has been banned from airports and subways.
Next up is Dragonfruit. I think I have seen this in the States but the fruit still fascinates me. Technically known as Pitaya this fruit is very mild and fresh tasting. It is best served chilled. The health benefits of dragon fruit are many and include weight reduction, blood-pressure control, and cancer prevention.
We all love watermelons, but they are big, bulky, and they roll. For merchants this means that they don’t ship efficiently and many break during the shipping process. Solution? Square watermelons! This idea may sound like something out of science fiction, but it is incredibly genius and simple. To grow a square watermelon simply place it in a square container while it grows. You can use this same process to grow a square anything! You can even use other shaped-containers to grow a variety of shaped-things. Square watermelons are common in Japan and can be found in China also.
This little pink fruit is related to the lychee but is a little pinker and a little spikier. The rambutan fruit can be found inside its vibrant shell and looks like a ping-pong ball. This fruit tastes sweet (like perfume) and is used to make chilled desserts or in tropical salads.
These are just a few of the wonderful strange fruits of Asia. We live in a strange and tasty world and new things are out there, waiting to be eaten. So do yourself a favor, go down to your local Walmart and try something new this week.
"Buddha's Hand"(The Octopus Lemon)
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