From mangoes to mangosteens, the fruits of Thailand are recognised as being among the world's best for flavour, texture, and aroma and for making perfect desserts.
Thailand’s most popular fruits are usually eaten raw, but some can be made into ice-creams, and some, like the little squat bananas, can be cooked and made into banana cake and banana bread. Here are some, with their phonetically spelled Thai name in brackets.
- Banana (Kluey)
- Thailand boasts that it has more varieties of banana than any other country. Large, medium, small and finger sized, these useful and tasty fruits are all sweet, but the small squat type are generally only used for cooking and make delicious banana bread.
- Carambola (Ma-fueng)
- The carambola is also known to Westerners as the chinese gooseberry, a somewhat acidic fruit more usually used in preserves, but can be eated raw.
- Coconut (Ma-phrao)
- Available in most tropical countries but Thailand’s coconuts are used perhaps in more ways than imaginable, coconut ice cream, flavourings for curries and desserts, custards, dried as a snack and the always popular drink of young coconut milk with ice and a little syrup topped with soda water, a perfect refresher on a hot day. The soft and tender young meat is a quick filler when hungry.
- Custard Apple (Noi-na)
- The custard applie is a many segmented fruit with lots of seeds. The segments break off easily in the hand and the taste is as the name describes it, like apples with custard.
- Durian (Doo-rien)
- The durian is Thailand’s fruit of fruits, characterised by a pungent smell and a taste that needs to be acquired. Sold in markets and some shops but not allowed in hotels because of the smell, which to most people is unpleasant
- Guava (Fa-rang)
- The guava is a crisp white fruit best eaten when young. Usually sold with a sugar/spice condiment by vendors at market stalls which is the traditional accompaniment to this fruit in Thailand.
- Indian Jujube (Phood-sa)
- The Indian Jujube is also known as the Thai Apple, the flesh is sweet and sour and crispy when eaten young. Comes in both round and oval shapes.
- Jackfruit (ka-noon)
- Jackfruit is a delicious fruit with a tangy flavour. The vendor will usually remove the large seeds before selling, leaving you with the sticky fruit. Can be bought in segments as the whole is rather big.
- Mango (Ma-muang)
- To experience the true flavour, a mango should be eaten when not quite ripe, usually when a bright yellow colour and not soft to the touch. Ripe mangoes are usually eaten as a dessert or a quick pick-me-up sweetener. Try sticky rice and mango, especially from a stall or kiosk specialising in this favourite Thai dish, the sticky rice often served warm in hollowed out bamboo canes. There is another mango, the green mango, which is crunchy and has the texture of an apple. The Thais like to eat these with salt, sometimes with a little sugar added.
- Mangosteen (Mang-kood)
- - Some call the mangosteen the king of Thai fruit . Thick, pulpy purple shell with a whitish pink sweet/sour meat that melts in the mouth. To open the interior, press down on the shell and twist and tit will break, exposing the soft, luscious fruit inside. Do not eat the bitter tasting red coloured shell of the fruit.
The copyright of the article Fruits of Thailand in Thailand Travel is owned by Mari Nicholson. Permission to republish Fruits of Thailand in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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