In this selection, you will get acquainted with unusual fruits from all over the world, which amaze not only with their eccentric shape, but also with their specific smell and spicy taste.

 

Beautifull

Beautifull

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Beautifull

Irene Grassi on Flickr.com

Beautifull

wplynn on Flickr.com

Beautifull

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Beautifull

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Krasivoplodnik is a deciduous shrub, a genus of the Lamiaceae family. This plant is native to China. More than 170 species of plants are known in the genus, which naturally live in tropical and subtropical regions of East Asia, Australia, North and Central America. The height of these plants varies from 1,5 to 3,5 meters.

As the name implies, this shrub has beautiful fruits. They are purple-colored berries that appear after the leaves fall and last all winter. But not only the fruits of the beautiful fruit are beautiful. In spring, it dresses with light green foliage, in summer its branches are covered with numerous flowers, in autumn the leaves change color to bright red or gold.

The berries are an important survival food for birds and other animals, although they will not eat them until other sources are exhausted. The berries are highly astringent and are used to make jelly and wine.

 

Cucumber tree

Bilimbi (or Cucumber tree)

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Bilimbi (or Cucumber tree)

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Bilimbi (or Cucumber tree)

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Bilimbi (or Cucumber tree)

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Bilimbi (or Cucumber tree)

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Bilimbi (or Cucumber tree) is a beautiful deciduous tree 5–10 meters high with a short trunk, cultivated in warm countries for its fruits.

Bilimbi is native to Malaysia. Currently cultivated in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Philippines, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania. In 1793, it was brought to Jamaica and soon spread to all the Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, Northern Argentina and the countries of Central America.

The fruits are elliptical, with weakly pronounced five ribs, 4–10 cm long. Growing in clusters. At the base, they are covered with a small star-shaped cup, and at their ends, the remains of a flower are visible. Unripe fruits are bright green in color and have crisp flesh, when ripe they become yellow-green, ivory or almost white. The pulp of ripened fruits is green soft jelly-like juicy and rather sour. Sometimes it contains several smooth brown disc-shaped seeds about 6 mm wide.

Bilimbi fruits are too acidic to be eaten fresh. Sometimes unripe raw fruits are consumed along with boiled rice, beans, fish or meat. Ripe fruits are added to curries, used to make soft drinks and marinades. Jam and jelly are also made from them, first, in order to reduce acidity, the fruits are pierced and soaked in salt water, then boiled with a lot of sugar. Due to the high concentration of oxalic acid in it, bilimbi juice is used to wash hands from paint, bleach white fabrics, and remove tarnish from brass.

 

Brazilian cherry

Grumichama – (or Brazilian Cherry)

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Grumichama – (or Brazilian Cherry)

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Grumichama – (or Brazilian Cherry)

Forest and Kim Starr on Flickr.com

Grumichama – (or Brazilian cherry) a slender straight evergreen tree 7,5–10,5 meters high, wild trees reach a height of more than 20 meters.

Grumichama is found both wild and cultivated in southern Brazil, Paraguay, and the southern United States.

The fruit is flattened, 1,25–2 cm wide. The fruit color of the Brazilian cherry varies from purple to black. Under the thin skin is white or red juicy flesh with 1-3 brown seeds and a cherry aroma. Fruit ripening period: April-May in Florida and November-February in Brazil.

Brazilian cherries are eaten in the same way as regular cherries. The berries are washed and consumed along with the peel. It is not necessary to gnaw the seeds, they are toxic (contain hydrocyanic acid).

Many desserts are made from grumichama – jelly, jam, jams, berries are used as a filling for pies, and sepals and leaves are added to fruit salads.

 

Cashew

Cashew (or Indian nut, or Anacardium western)

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Cashew (or Indian nut, or Anacardium western)

pixabay.com

Cashew (or Indian nut, or Anacardium western)

pixabay.com

Cashew (or Indian nut, or Anacardium western)

pixabay.com

Cashew (or Indian nut, or Anacardium western)

pixabay.com

Cashew (or Indian nut, or Anacardium western)

pixabay.com

Cashew (or Indian nut, or Anacardium western)

pixabay.com

Cashew (or Indian walnut, or Anacardium western) is a small evergreen tree 10-12 meters high, the fruit of which is a common food product.

The natural range of cashews is relatively small and includes mainly the east of Brazil. The artificial area includes, first of all, all of India, West Africa, Southeast Africa, Southeast Asia (primarily Vietnam). Also, cashews are grown in Iran, and in the countries of the former USSR – in the south of Azerbaijan.

What is often referred to as cashew fruit, or "cashew apples", is actually an overgrown juicy stalk, or, more correctly, a receptacle (receptacle). They are yellow or red, 5–11 cm long, pear-shaped or rhomboid-oblong in shape. Under the skin is hidden yellow fibrous, very juicy, slightly astringent, sour-tasting flesh. Botanists call such formations “pseudo-fruit”.

The true cashew fruit develops at the very end of the stalk, after the “apple” pseudo-fruit. It is a walnut that resembles miniature boxing gloves. It is double coated. The outer one is green and smooth, containing a corrosive phenolic resin. The inner one looks like a dense shell, covered with cells resembling honeycombs, under which the edible nut kernel is hidden, similar in shape to a human kidney. The average weight of one nut is 1,5 grams.

"Apples"

Cashew "apples", due to their juicy sour pulp, in addition to direct consumption, are used to make jams, jellies, compotes, seasonings called "chutney" and spirits. Depending on local traditions, the juice is processed or distilled. It is diluted with water and fortified with sugar to make a refreshing "caujina" drink that is as popular in Latin America as orange juice is in North America or Europe. Fenny is made in the Indian state of Goa. It is prepared from the fermented juice of cashew fruits by several sublimations, resulting in a very strong (up to 40 degrees) drink with a peculiar taste and aroma. Cashew "apples" are rich in tannin and have a tart, astringent taste, and also spoil very quickly.

Nuts

In many countries, cashew nuts are preferred. Compared to other nuts, cashew nuts cause significantly fewer cases of allergies.

Cashews are rich in proteins and carbohydrates, vitamins A, B2, B1 and iron, contain zinc, phosphorus, calcium. As an aid, these nuts are used for toothache, psoriasis, dystrophy, metabolic disorders, anemia. Cashew nuts are a common ingredient in Asian cuisine. They produce high-quality oil, similar to peanut butter. The energy value of 1 gram of cashews – about 5,5 kcal – is less than that of almonds, peanuts or walnuts. All kinds of sauces are prepared from cashew nuts.

Before use, the nut is peeled from the shell and shell, since caustic substances – anacardic acid and cardol, located between them, cause irritation when it comes into contact with the skin. Such cases are not uncommon among workers who carry out manual cleaning. The nuts are then roasted so that the remaining resin evaporates. That is why cashews are never sold in their shells.

Two fractions are obtained from the cashew shell by distillation. The solid is crushed and used in the manufacture of automobile brake pads and linings for them. The liquid fraction contains about 90% anacardonic acid and 10% cardol. There is significant potential for the use of the liquid fraction in the development of drugs, antioxidants, fungicides, and so on. In particular, it is used in the production of phenylamine, which serves as a hardener and modifier in the production of rubber, as well as varnish and drying oil. Due to its water-repellent properties, phenalamine is used in shipbuilding and ship repair for the manufacture of epoxy deck coatings. It is used in folk medicine in tropical countries and for termite control.

In Africa, cashews are used as an intoxicant, a means for applying tattoos, in Brazil, cashews are considered an aphrodisiac, a remedy for asthma, bronchitis, flu, indigestion, diabetes, in Haiti – a remedy for toothache and warts, in Mexico they discolor freckles, in Panama are treated for hypertension, in Peru they are used as an antiseptic, in Venezuela they treat sore throats, and so on.