Ranging from my neighbour front yard to the deep depths of the Borneo rainforests we countdown
the top 10 fruits you’ve never heard of part 13.
Number ten, Cat Poop Berry Given that name by yours truly based on the
taste the cat poop berry or viburnum brandywine is a small dark purplish berry that grows
on bush that grows to 6 feet or 1.8 meters tall.
A popular bush to have among flower gardeners as they are deer resistant, not even the deer
will eat the berries.
While edible and apparently “people” make jam from these berries the taste is like an
elegant mix of a dignified glass of wine and a steaming hot pile from your cat fluffy the
taste will invoke a gag reflex.
I know this because I tasted these berries fresh my neighbours yard which can be seen
over on my rare food taste test channel called Unusual foods.
I’ll link up this episode at the end of this video if you want to check it out.
This cold weather fruit can be found growing in zones 5 - 9 and is able to hold it’s
green leaves down to 14 degrees fahrenheit or minus 10 celsius.
Not only will the leaves hold on through the winter but so will the berries as birds will
eat these out of desperation, looks like birds don’t like eating cat poop either.
Not only enjoyed raw, these berries are apparently consumed cooked and dehydrated.
Number nine, Pudu Hailing from Southeast Asia most notably Malaysia
and Indonesia the Pudu or artocarpus Kemando is found at elevations of 500 to 1500 feet
or 150 to 450 meters above sea level.
Measuring 131 feet or 40 meters tall this tree produces a lot latex and an edible fruit.
Wood is also harvested as terap timber.
Typically found growing on hillsides and ridges with sandy soil but sometimes found in swamplands
this tree will yield a small fruit that’s about an inch to an inch and a half or 25
- 40mm in length.
Being in the artocarpus family the pudu is essentially a tiny jackfruit.
Where they differ from the jackfruit is their mild flavoured pulp which is somewhat in the
middle between the taste of a breadfruit and a jackfruit being closer to the breadfruit
in taste.
If you don’t know what jackfruit or breadfruit it be sure to check out top 10 fruits part
6 after this video which has both of those fruits in it.
Much like the harvesting of a jackfruit extra caution needs to be had when harvesting these
fruits so you don’t end up consuming any of the latex from the tree as they can cause
stomach aches.
Number eight, Susun Kelapa Another tropical fruit yielding latex is this
the susun kelapa which is the Malaysian name for this fruit that comes in a small banana
shaped package.
While a common english name doesn’t exist a few are suggested including east asian rosebay,
coffee rose fruit and flower of love fruit.
It is found in Brunei, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and
Vietnam and is edible but mostly used medicinally.
White flowers turn into these red fruits, on the inside of these pods are small circular
segments that’ll pop out individually.
While not typically consumed this fruit is used to treat sore throats, ulcerations of
the nose, treatment of boils, hypertension, bruises, sprains and rheumatoid arthritis
and the root is used as a laxative.
While not good eating as these fruits are astringent like biting into an unripe persimmon
they do possess antimicrobial and antimalarial properties.
Another unexpected but interesting fact about the susun kelapa fruit or tabernaemontana
pauciflora is that the soft leaves, bark and latex from this shrub are mixed to create
poison darts.
These images along with the previous entry the pudu or artocarpus kemando were both graciously
supplied to us from Reuben on flickr who is the only person on the internet to have images
of these fruits.
Big thanks Reuben link to his flickr account is in the description.
Number seven, Coco plum Coming South America most notably Brazil north
to the Caribbean, as well as Mexico and southern Florida this small round fruit is also found
on the other side of the Pacific in West tropical Africa along coastal areas from Senegal to
Angola.
This slow growing small tree up to 20 feet or 6 meters tall, while sometimes grown for
its ornamental look is found usually where soil is extra wet or area that have been flooded.
Producing a wild grown tasty fruit that is 1-2 inches or 2-5 cm long, both the fruit
and seeds are edible.
Eaten raw or cooked this drupe or stone fruit is either white, red or purple on the outside
with sweet, spongy flesh on the inside.
Sometimes this fruit can taste almost tasteless with mild sweetness.
The purple skinned fruits have a superior taste to the white and red skinned fruits
but all of them contain a stone with 5 or 6 ridges that houses the edible seed.
Sometimes made into jams and jellies by stewing them with sugar the fruit and the leaves are
also used to create black dyes and an oil can be made from the seeds.
This tropical fruit is only grow in places that are warm as a hard frost will kill the
plant off.
Number six, Rambai Originally found in the forests of Borneo
the Rambai fruit was taken from Borneo and brought to other neighbouring countries by
James Motley hence the scientific name Baccaurea motleyana.
Because of this the rambai fruit is now found in Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia as well.
Growing on a huge tree up to 80 feet or 25 meters tall, these trees are grown as an ornament
tree, for the fruit and for lumber production.
The rambai fruit has a firm peel which houses 3 segments of fruit that contain 3 - 5 seeds
each.
Offering a very juicy initial bite eating the peel is optional as it has a sour taste
to it.
While this looks like the langsat fruit it’s in a different family and you can’t eat
the shell of the langsat.
Eaten raw, made into drinks, cooked and added to curry, wine and jam the taste can vary
a lot per fruit from acidic to sweet.
Being slightly oval shaped and measuring 1-2 inches or 2-5 cm this small fruit almost looks
like a potato before it is opened.
Mature trees can produce an obscene amount of fruit, I mean really you couldn’t even
climb this tree there are so many fruits.
Never to be a commercially produced crop this tree takes a larger amount of space compared
to other crops, takes a very long time to produce its first set of fruit, is huge making
it hard to harvest the fruit and the tree is often moist making it hard to climb it.
Only showing up in local markets a couple times a year, locals will just go pick some
of the fruit off wild trees and bring them into town.
Number five, Cabbage Bark Fruit Coming from the equator region of africa ranging
from Sierra Leone to Uganda, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, and Caribbean island this fruit
comes from the cabbage bark tree which produces this essentially unnamed fruit whos scientific
name is Andira inermis.
Found along roadsides, woodlands, pastures, and riverbanks among tropical rainforests
to dry savannah areas this tree prefers a wet tropical environment..Growing up to 100
feet or 30 meters tall this massive tree when full grown will pump out tons of cabbage tree
fruits.
These green fruits will initially be confused with being a mango having a similar size and
green outer appearance.
On the inside is a large seed much like a mango with a white to slightly yellowish flesh.
The seeds are toxic and need to be removed before consumption.
Not only are the seeds toxic but so is the bark of this tree.
Both containing alkaloids berberine and andirine when burned it is said if the smoke from the
wood gets in one's eyes it’ll cause blindness.
This toxic smoke is often used to drive bats out of a place they aren’t wanted.
While the outside of the bark is toxic the inner part of the bark is used to treat snake
bites… who figured that out?
Now don’t think we weren’t going to get to the name cabbage bark, this names originates
from the foul smell that comes from the bark of this tree that smells of festering cabbage.
Despite the bark wreaking the leaves are used to make a beverage among the locals.
Big thanks to African Plants website for giving me permission to use this footage, they are
linked up below.
Number four, Barhi Dates The barhi date or the hot summer wind date
is a more round and amber colored date when ripe.
They were brought to California in 1913 from Basra Iraq.
Nicknamed the honeyball date, these dates are unique in that they are the only date
on the planet that can be eaten in their semi ripe or full round hard state.
Now dates are technically berries with a ridge seed that come in soft and semi soft types.
The softer the date the lower the sugar content and higher the moisture.
Common date varieties you’ve likely heard of like medjool and deglet noor need to ripen
until they turn golden brown before they can be eaten otherwise they’ll be horribly astringent.
The barhi dates are have a nice sweetness and are mildly astringent when consumed in
their firm yellow state.
Barhi dates taste different based on their ripeness level semi ripe, fully ripe or dried
which has their taste ranging from fresh sugar cane to a coconut butterscotch flavour.
Dates can live for 100 years, grow 100 feet or 30 meters tall and produce up to 300 lbs
or 136 kg of fruit a year.
Most of all of the dates produced for the United States dates come from a small region
of southern California.
Number three, Asian Pear Native to east asia the asian pear, chinese
pear, korean pear, japanese pear, taiwanese pear, zodiac pear and sand pear where once
only grown in this region of the world but have since spread to many other countries.
Today they are found in Australia, New Zealand, United States and Canada but their home will
always be in asia I mean really Korea has an asian pear museum.
Not commonly used as an apple would be in pies, sauces and jams because the asian pear
has a crisp bite to it that contains a lot of water with a grainy texture.
Being a large fragrant fruit that has multiple different varieties some of which have a sour
tasting core, which is my favorite.
The fruit is packed full of juice with firm pear like flesh that when cooked is added
to vinegar or soy based sauces or used in marinating food.
Often sugar is replaced with the asian pear in recipes.
Being low in fat, high in fiber this fruit is rich in potassium, vitamin k, vitamin c,
copper and helps promote healthy blood cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
Number two, Coffee Berry Originating from Ethiopia, the earliest writing
of this fruit comes from an Ethiopian philosopher from the 10th century describing a beverage
prepared with the coffee berry.
The coffee berry is in fact the fleshy fruit that wraps around the coffee bean.
Usually there are 2 blue-green seeds on the inside which are fresh coffee beans!
2 billion cups of coffee are served daily how many of those people do you think know
a berry was wrapped around their beloved bean?
The smooth skin of the coffee berry is bitter but the flesh on the inside is juicy and sweet.
It tastes like a mix of cranberries, watermelon, raspberries, hibiscus and cherries.
Natural mutations have caused some coffee berries to produce only 1 bean on the inside
which will yield a sweeter more flavorful coffee.
The majority of coffee or coffee berries are grown in brazil, vietnam, colombia, indonesia
and ethiopia.
Caffeine is present in the coffee bean but also in the leaves and the coffee berry, so
you could just eat some of these berries in the morning to get the boost of energy you’re
used to from your coffee.
Being rich in antioxidants and providing anti inflammatory, immune boosting and free radicals
fighting properties, the coffee berry is considered to be a super fruit.
Not only eaten raw the coffee berry is used in beauty products, essential oils and nutritional
supplements.
Number one, Annatto Native to mexico, the caribbean, center and
south america annatto or achiote as it’s called in mexico, atsuwete in the philippines,
or lipstick fruit is this hairy pointy shaped pod that contains a handful of small seeds.
Wrapped around the seeds is an aril or soft fleshy which contains the bright colors annatto
is known for.
Believe it or not cheddar cheese is yellowish white and is colored that deep orange color
with annatto.
Spanish mercenaries discovered annotto in south america while searching the amazon for
cinnamon.
It was brought by the spanish to the philippines in the 16th century where it became a local
favored spice and used tint the color of fabrics and foods like rice and desserts.
Annatto has a preservative ability to it which prevents foods from spoiling making it invaluable
in old timey days.
Ancient Aztecs used this spice as body paint and war paint which is where it’s other
name lipstick fruit came from.
Primarily consumed as a spice it has a decent source of protein, calcium and iron.
The brightly colored seeds are high in carotenoids, an antioxidant that protects against cell
damage and helps aid with hepatitis, diabetes, malaria, diarrhea, heartburn and fever.
That does it for this episode if you want to see me eating the number 10 the cat poop
berry be sure to check out my other channel here, for jackfruit and breadfruit check out
top 10 fruits part 6 or if you want to see how I grow many of the fruits and vegetables
on these lists my 3rd channel earth monkey has those videos.
Until the next one my friends have a good one.