Fruits and vegetables in Thailand are very diverse. Below we have collected for you what you should definitely try while in the land of smiles.
Fruit in Thailand
1. Durian
Durian (Thai name - durian) is the undisputed leader of our list. The fruit is pale green-yellow in color with a shell-like skin. Weight from 2 to 5 kg. Durian has a very unpleasant smell and an excellent sweet-creamy taste. Durian is eaten raw, while the seeds are roasted and eaten instead of nuts. Keeping at home or in a hotel, as well as transporting, is not recommended due to the smell. In many hotels, hospitals, shopping centers and other public places, you can find special signs reminding you that it is forbidden to bring durian into the room. The Thais themselves speak of durian as "a fruit with the taste of heaven and the smell of hell."
Do not try durian - vacation in vain))
2. Mango
Mango (Thai name - mamuang) - externally yellow, green or reddish oblong fruit, outwardly a bit like a melon. Inside, juicy yellow-orange or green flesh with a sweet and sour taste.
In my opinion, the most delicious mango is green on the outside and yellow on the inside.
3. Dragon fruit
Pitaya or pitahaya ("dragon fruit", dragon's eye) (Thai name - geow mangon). Bright pink or yellow fruits with sparse green scales. Inside, white or red flesh with small black seeds.
4. Guava
Guava (Thai name - farang) - fruits of light green color, outwardly resemble an apple. Rough skin outside. The flesh is white or red, crisp like an apple, with many small seeds.
5. Papaya
Papaya (papaya) (Thai name - malakor) - pear-shaped fruits, green or yellow. The flesh is orange or bright pink. Papaya is eaten both as a vegetable and as a fruit, depending on the degree of ripeness. Thais love to cook their famous “papaya salad” from papaya.
6. Mangosteen
Mangosteen (mangosteen) (Thai name - mangkhud) - a small fruit that looks like an apple with a brown or purple skin. Sweet. Tastes like grapefruit.
7. Lychee
Lychee (Thai name - linchi) - fruits the size of a small plum, with a scaly pink peel. Inside is a white pulp that is eaten and an inedible pit. It tastes like grapes.
8. Sapodilla
Sapodilla (Thai name - la moot) - a yellow-brown fruit, similar to kiwi. Crispy flesh with a creamy caramel flavor and a few hard pits. It tastes like persimmon.
9. Passion fruit
Passion fruit is a purplish-purple or golden fruit, about the size of a small grapefruit. Under the peel are the bones in a juicy sweet shell. It turns out a very tasty cocktail: soda, passion fruit and sugar syrup.))
10. Longan
Longan (Thai name - lamyai) - small fruits of light brown color, resembling walnuts in appearance. Inside is a transparent white pulp and a hard bone.
11. Jackfruit
Jackfruit (Indian breadfruit, eve) is a large fruit with thick, spiky, yellow-green skin. It looks like a durian, but its "thorns" are smaller. The pulp is yellow, sweet, with an unusual smell and taste of a Duchesse pear. The segments are separated from each other and sold in bags. The ripened pulp is eaten fresh, the unripened is cooked. Jackfruit is mixed with other fruits, added to ice cream, coconut milk. The seeds are edible when boiled.
12. Pineapple
Pineapple (Thai name - sapa rot). Thailand's pineapples are considered among the best in the world. There are about 80 varieties of this fruit. Its taste is rich - from sweet and sour to honey. The smell of ripe pineapple is pleasant and slightly sweet. When choosing a pineapple, pay attention to its texture: it should be slightly crushed under your fingers, but not too soft or, conversely, too hard. In Thailand, mini pineapple, or as it is called "royal pineapple", is also very popular.
13. Coconut
Coconut (Thai name - ma phrao). Season: all year round. If not for these fruits, Thai cuisine would be just a combination of Chinese and Indian. They are added to rice and eaten fresh. Most soups are cooked with coconut milk. Coconuts in syrup are offered as a dessert. The markets sell coconut milk right in the fruit. Be prepared for the fact that coconuts in Thailand are not the coconuts we are used to seeing in bounty ads. They are green and big. But, there is another type - small light brown.
14. Langsat
Langsat (Thai name - lang sat). Season: July to October. This fruit is almost unknown outside the country, but is very popular in Thailand itself. Its grayish flesh has both a sweet and sour taste. Langsat seeds are bitter, so the fruit should be eaten with care. Do not confuse with longan.
15. Pomelo
Pomelo (Thai name - som oh). Season: from August to November. It tastes like grapefruit, but more sweet than sour. In addition, the pomelo is much larger in size. The flesh is reddish, pale yellow and orange.
16. Rambutan
Rambutan (Thai name - ngaw). Season: all year round, peak - from May to September. One of the most noticeable and delicious exclusively Thai fruits. Bright red fruits with pale green bristles taste vaguely reminiscent of grapes, only sweeter. Rambutan grows in the central and southern provinces (Chanthaburi, Pattaya region, Suratthani).
17. Rose apple
Rose apple (Thai name - chom poo). Season: all year round. There are two varieties of this fruit: one is really pink, the other is green. To taste, the fruits are similar to ordinary apples, only a little more sour. The most beautiful rose apples appear on the markets during the cool season - from November to March.
18. Salak
Salak, snake fruit (Thai name - la kham). The scaly fruits are burgundy-brown in color, the shape is oval and slightly elongated, reminiscent of a drop of water. The peel is thin and fairly easy to remove, but when peeling the fruit, you need to be careful: it is covered with small soft spikes. The flesh of the herring is yellowish-white.
19. Sugar apple
Sugar apple (Thai name - noi naa). Season: June to September. Under the bumpy green skin lies a sweet and fragrant milky flesh. If the fruit is ripe enough, you can eat it with a spoon. By the way, the basis of the special ice cream served in Thai restaurants is the sugar apple. The fruit loves a hot and humid climate, so it is grown mainly in the south of the country.
20. Carambola
Carambola (Thai name - ma feung). Season: October to December. Fruits are yellow or green, oblong. Cut across have the shape of a five-pointed star. Because of this, they have a second name - star fruit, or "star fruit". Ripe fruits are very juicy. The taste is pleasant, with floral notes, not very sweet. Unripe fruits are quite sour. They contain a lot of vitamin C. The fruit is mainly used for making salads, sauces, juices and soft drinks.
21. Tamarind
Tamarind (Thai name - makham thad). Season: December to March. Tamarind is a sour fruit, but a sweet variety grows in Thailand. Thais usually boil the fruit in water to get a refreshing drink.
22. Watermelon
Watermelon (Thai name - Taeng Mo). Season: all year round. Peak season: October-March. Appearance: Watermelons are small in size, with red or yellow flesh. Yellow ones are more expensive, because in Thailand it is the color of wealth. Taste: Sugar-sweet common to watermelon, refreshing in both varieties. Significantly sweeter than Astrakhan. Consumption: Necks, smoothies and fresh watermelon juice are popular. Used for figured fruit carving.
23. Banana
Banana - (Thai name - Kluai). Season: all year round. Appearance: yellow or green. Taste: very sweet, the smaller the size and thinner the skin, the tastier, but these are not stored. Long ones are stored better, they cost more. Very nutritious, they are eaten unripe with spices, semi-ripe dried in the sun, ripened deep-fried, boiled in coconut milk or syrup, the flowers are used in cooking various dishes.
24. Mandarin
Mandarin (Thai name - Som). Season: all year round. Peak season September-February. Appearance. Smaller than European varieties, with a thinner, greenish-yellow skin. Taste: sweet with slight sourness, very juicy. Compared to European varieties, not so bright taste. Consumption: In Thailand, they are mainly juiced and sold everywhere on stalls on the streets.
Fruits in Thailand by seasons.
