Wood apple is the tropical fruit of a tree with rough bark and sharp spines that’s native to India and Sri Lanka. The fruits are egg-shaped or round, with a hard and thick rind that must be crushed with a hammer or a stone in order to get to the pulp.
The pulp is mealy, with an astringent, acid, or sweet flavor and numerous white seeds scattered throughout it. Whether sweet-sour or sweet, the pulp is usually enjoyed fresh after it’s been scooped out. It can also be made into jams, jellies, and chutneys.
Breadfruit is an evergreen tree that’s probably native to New Guinea and the Malay Archipelago. The fruits have a warty light green exterior, while the flesh is cream-colored and starchy. When ripe, the pulp of the breadfruit turns soft. It can be baked, stuffed, mashed, and roasted.
When unripe, the fruit can be used like a potato and it has a similar flavor, which is why it’s often used cooked in Asian curries. Ripe breadfruits have a sweet flavor and they’re often used in desserts or cut into slices and dried in the sun for preservation.
Sagai is a traditional date variety originating from the Arabian Peninsula and it's especially popular in Saudi Arabia. These dates are famous for their two-toned color – at the tip, they are golden and dry, while the rest of the body is brown and soft.
The flavor is mildly sweet, while the unique texture is both crunchy and soft. The demand for these dates is especially high during Ramadan and Eid. The consumption of sagai dates helps in relieving constipation and it's beneficial to curing hangovers and overcoming sexual disorders.
Sukkary is a traditional Arabian date variety originating from the Al Qassim area. These are among the sweetest and softest variety of dates, often described as melt-in-the-mouth soft dates. Their color is golden, while the flavor is sweet and juicy.
When dried, the dates become chewy and even sweeter, and there is some crunchiness near the stem. Sukkary dates are packed with energy, natural sugars, fiber, minerals, and vitamins. They're often referred to as royal dates due to their natural sweetness and golden color.
Breadnut is an evergreen tree with very large leaves that’s probably native to Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The fruits are spherical in shape and covered in many short spines. The pulp is firm when unripe, but it turns soft with ripeness and it contains seeds that are similar to chestnuts.
When unripe, the fruit is sliced, boiled, and enjoyed in curries, stews, and soups. However, breadnuts are usually grown for their edible seeds, which are boiled, roasted, or steamed.
Dragon fruit from Bình Thuận is well known for its high yield and exceptional quality. The fruit was imported in the 1980s, and it was initially used in various ceremonies. Large-scale cultivation began when it was detected that the fruit thrived in the region.
Nowadays, this dragon fruit is grown for domestic and foreign markets. Most dragon fruit that is cultivated in this region has red skin and white flesh. It is filled with tiny black seeds. The flesh inside the dragon fruit is soft but firm. It has a sweet and subtly tart flavor.
Water apple is a medium-sized evergreen tree that grows wild from India to Malaysia and Indonesia, and it’s cultivated throughout tropical parts of Asia, as well as in Africa and tropical America, but rarely. The fruits are wide and have a thin and waxy skin.
The flesh is white, crisp or spongy, with a mild aroma. The flavor is sweet in most varieties. The sweeter fruit varieties are usually enjoyed fresh or used in fruit salads. In tropical Asia, the young leaves are often used to wrap food before it’s cooked or steamed.
Umeboshi plums are a staple of Japanese cuisine, made from dried and pickled ume fruit, which is related to the apricot. Also known as Japanese apricot, Japanese plum, and sour plum, umeboshi are wrinkled and round, while the flavor is distinctly sour and tart due to the high content of citric acid.
They're harvested at the end of June. These sour plums are traditionally combined with rice and eaten either as a side dish or inside rice balls. Umeboshi are also praised because they are beneficial to human health. Legends say that Samurais ate them before heading into battles, and nowadays umeboshi is considered to be one of the ultimate hangover cures.
Longan is a tropical fruit (lat. Dimocarpus longan), a part of the soapberry family, which also includes lychee and rambutan.
Longans are small, round, and have a thin, brown shell that is easy to remove. Inside, they have translucent white flesh that is sweet and juicy, with a texture similar to that of a grape but slightly firmer. At the center of the fruit is a large, black seed, which gives it the nickname "dragon's eye" — which is what "longan" means in Chinese.
Makrut lime is an evergreen shrub that’s native to Southeast Asia. The fruits are green when unripe, turning yellow when ripe. The rind is warty, rough, and thick, while the pulp is very acidic and juicy with a few whitish seeds. The sour juice is often used in desserts, ice cream, beverages, and some seafood dishes.
Makrut lime leaves are very aromatic and used as a spice that adds flavor to savory and spicy stir-fries, curries, and tom yum soup. The rind contains aromatic oil which is used to flavor rum and liqueurs.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “19 Worst Rated Asian Fruits (Types and Products)” list until March 26, 2025, 2,518 ratings were recorded, of which 1,207 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.