Being in the subtropical zone, Taiwan is in a great location for growing all sorts of delicious fruit, and is also pretty well known for the fruit produced. Not only is there an abundant amount of fruit, but they are also all delicious! These are the Taiwanese Fruits from a Taiwanese Street Vendor I saw while I visited.
Let’s take a look at what types of fruits is typical to see at a Taiwanese Street Market:
Yellow Watermelons

You can find these babies here in the states, but not as commonly as in Taiwan. These yellow-interior watermelons are in any of the grocery stores in Taiwan. They taste just like the red version, but looks unique, and for some reason I feel fancier eating them…
Taiwanese Guavas

Guavas can also be found here, but the ones I’ve seen are NOT as beautiful as the ones I find in Taiwan. Not even close. Those here are all tiny, and when I tried buying some once, they were not nearly as sweet as those from Taiwan. Taiwanese Guavas are big, round, juicy, and delicious!
Starfruits (aka Carambola)

First of all, look how cool they look! Can you see why they are called “Starfruit”?

The taste, if I HAD to describe it using the taste of other fruits… is a little bit citrus-y and apples and plums? If they are super ripe, they are super sweet, if not so ripe, they taste a bit more sour. Well, that’s the best I can do with describing the flavor.
Papaya

The papayas found in Taiwan have the same story as guavas. Yes, you can find them here in the states, but they are not nearly as ginormous or sweet/yummy. Also, they are a lot more commonly eaten here (just like the guavas).
Wax Apples

I haven’t seen these in the States before, so I believe if you can, it is very rare to find… These babies are called Wax Apples… or apparently any of the following names: Champoo, love apple, java apple, royal apple, bellfruit, Jamaican apple, water apple, mountain apple, cloud apple, wax jambu, rose apple, and bell fruit.
Don’t be mistakened by the name, it doesn’t tastes or feel like apple at all. I think the only reason it is called that is because it’s red…and is a fruit. They are way softer than apples, and not as sweet/crunchy. I do love these a lot, and just realized I didn’t have any this trip back to Taiwan! ๐
Durians

These fruits can be BIG (as wiki puts it: 30 centimetres (12 in) long and 15 centimetres (6 in) in diameter, and it typically weighs one to three kilograms (2 to 7 lb)), but that’s not the most recognizable trait of Durians. That…would actually be the distinct SMELL of the fruit. Some people like the smell, some people HATE it with a passion. I agree with both somehow, but I definitely think it tastes kind of… yummy. You see, if you don’t know what you’re expecting, it’s custard-like texture might be a surprise.
Here it is being split up and making some people cringe and some people get hungry with its smell:

Coconuts

Yep, just your average coconuts. But look how nice they look! I just love that it’s so easy to find yummy fruit everywhere in Taiwan ๐
Sugar-Apples (aka Custard-Pineapple)

If you only clicked on this post because of that first pic, you’ve scrolled down far enough to learn about them! These are sugar-apples. Again, they don’t taste at all like apples despite its name. I definitely have never see these in the states, but again, super common in Taiwan. They are custard-like inside, but unlike the Durian, no one thinks it smells bad, and most people think it tastes yummy!
Pin this!

Looking for more posts about my travel in Taiwan? There’s plenty here!
Bob, that’s mangosteen! The QUEEN of fruits in Asia! Yum!
Hi Tina, I just returned from Puli, and in a couple of the fruit markets I saw a dark purple fruit, perhaps 2 inches long, that had points or projections at one end. While traveling in the mountains, I saw a few plants under cultivation that had hibiscus-like flowers, and it was obvious the developing seed pods matured into this fruit. I took a few pictures of the fruit and of the plant. Although one vendor gave me a few, I was afraid to eat them because I didn’t know if they needed to be cooked before eating (in case they were toxic if raw).
Thanks, Bob
Where to buy or order sugar apples????
where can I buy wax apple in Los Angeles . And when can I buy those.?
I’m in Atlanta, so I don’t know…. but you may be able to find it at Asian Supermarkets, that’s where I would start looking ๐
Custard apples, aka cherimoya! My favourite fruit – not common in the UK but you can find them if you look hard. Terrific post!
Strange but appealing fruits! Nice shots by the way, thank you for sharing,
Artphalt (http://artphalt.wordpress.com)
To have that variety of fruit here in NYC would be heaven. Some are available in Chinatown; like the stinking durian, star fruit, papayas, etc. But where or where can I get a wax apple like I had in the Caribbean? Thanks for checking out Fried Neck Bones, btw.
Reblogged this on and commented:
Fruit, Fruit and more fruit
nice pictures! all that fruit looks great ๐ taiwan looks very interesting… ive a friend over there, i ought to plan a visit…armed with camera of course
Yes, definitely bring a camera and be sure to post it on your blog! ๐
Delicious
We also have Wax Apples here in the Philippines! We call it – makopa ๐
My kids swear that yellow watermelons are better than the reds!!!