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NutriBase - Fruit Glossary Category: Food and Drink > Fruit Glossary Date & country: 13/11/2008, USA Words: 142

Plum
There are hundreds of varieties of this edible fruit. Colors include blue, green, purple, red, and yellow. The flesh is thick and juicy and the flavor ranges from sweet to tart. Plums are eaten out-of-hand and used in sauces and desserts.

Poha
Also known as 'cape gooseberry,' this fruit has a bitter-sweet, juicy flesh. This fruit is eaten out-of-hand and used with meats, pies, jams, and savory foods.

Pomegranate
The pomegranate is an orange-sized fruit with a hard leathery skin. Inside are hundreds of edible seeds with a sweet pleasantly acidic taste. Pomegranates are eaten out-of-hand, used in salads, and sprinkled over desserts.

Pomelo
Also called 'shaddock' and 'pumello,' this large citrus fruit is very similar to large grapefruits, but can weight up to 25 pounds. May be prepared and served any way that grapefruits are prepared and served.

Prickly Pear
The fruit from several varieties of cactus. It is gaining popularity in the U.S. Sweet and somewhat bland, prickly pear are served whole and used in candies and preserves.

Prune
A dried plum. Traced back to Roman times, the prune is popular for its ability to store well. Commercial dehydration has replaced sun-drying as the method of producing plums.

Puerto Rican Cherry
A cherry-like fruit from a small tree in the West Indies and adjacent areas. This fruit contains a high concentration of vitamin C. Also called 'acerola' and 'Barbados cherry.'

Pumpkin
A large orange gourd related to the muskmelon and the squash. Pumpkins are popular in pies, but can be prepared like any winter squash. The seeds, which are known as 'pepitas,' are often husked and roasted to produce a nutty snack food.

Quince
The round pear-shaped fruit of the quince tree. The flesh tastes somewhat like a cross between an apple and a pear. Popular in jams, jellies, and preserves, this fruit is normally better for cooking than for eating out-of-hand.

Rag Gourd
The fruit of any of several tropical vines of the gourd family. The dried insides of these gourds can be used as a sponge. Also called the 'sponge gourd.'

Raisin
A dried grape. Raisins have a higher sugar content and a different flavor from grapes. Raisins are eat out-of-hand and used in cereals, puddings, cookies, cakes, muffins, stuffings, salads, and rolls.

Ramons
The seeds of a tree from the mulberry family that is grown in Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. These seeds are boiled, ground into flour and made into bread. Also called 'Jamaican breadnut.'

Raspberry
A strongly-flavored berry made up of many connecting drupelets (individual sacs of fruit, each with its own seed). Varieties include golden, black, and red. The red type is the most common. Attached hulls indicate immaturity.

Red Banana
Available in some markets is the short, chubby red banana. This variety of banana is sweeter than the extremely popular yellow variety known as the 'Cavendish.'

Rhubarb
The rhubarb is a very tart member of the buckwheat family. It is generally eaten as a fruit but is actually a vegetable. It is used in sauces, jams, and desserts. Rhubarb leaves contain the toxin 'oxalic acid' and should not be eaten.

Rose Apple
The oval, yellow fruit of various tropical trees belonging to the myrtle family. These fragrant fruits not generally eaten out-of-hand but are most often used in making jams, jellies and confections.

Roselle
A tropical plant of the mallow family that is cultivated for its thick, red calyx and bracts, used in making jellies and as a cranberry substitute.

Sapodilla
A large evergreen tree of tropical America that bears an edible fruit. The sapodilla is the source of 'chicle,' the key ingredient in the manufacture of chewing gum.

Sapote
This tree, native to Mexico and Central America, is also called the 'marmalade tree' or 'sapota.' It offers a sweet, edible fruit. 'Sapote' is also used to refer to the 'sapadilla tree.'

Satsuma Orange
A small Japanese orange that belongs to the Mandarin family. It contains relatively few seeds.

Scallop Squash
A flat, whitish variety of squash that features a scalloped edge. Also known as 'cymling' and 'pattypan squash.'

Soursop
The large, dark-green, slightly acidic and pulpy flesh of the fruit of a small West Indies tree called the soursop. Also called 'guanabana.'

Spaghetti Squash
This creamy-yellow watermelon-shaped squash is so named because its flesh, when cooked, separates into yellow-gold spaghetti-like strands. Avoid greenish squash (indicating immaturity).

Sponge Gourd
The fruit of any of several tropical vines of the gourd family. The dried insides of these gourds can be used as a sponge. Also called the 'Luffah.'

Star Apple
The purple, white, green, yellow, or rose-colored fruit of a West Indian tree. When cut open, the seeds are disposed into the shape of a star. Also called 'caimit.'

Strawberry
This hardy member of the rose family is a red, juicy sweet-tart berry. The French 'European Alpine' strawberries are tiny, very sweet berries and are considered the finest. Eaten out-of-hand, used in wines, liqueurs, and in desserts.

Summer Squash
The fruit of various members of the gourd family. Summer squash has a thin edible skin, soft seeds, high water content, and a mild flavor.

Surinam Cherry
The yellow to deep red, cherry-like fruit of a Brazilian tree of the myrtle family. These fruit, which are now grown in the U.S., are slightly acid and are eaten out-of-hand and used in jams and jellies. Also called 'pitanga.'

Sweetsop
Also known as 'Sugar Apple,' this is the sweet pulpy fruit of a tropical American tree. The skin of this heart-shaped fruit is sweet and custard-like. It is similar in flavor to a mild cherimoya. Eaten raw and in desserts and in ices.

Table Queen Squash
An oval winter squash with a ribbed, dark green skin and slightly sweet orange flesh. May be eaten baked or directly from the shell. Also known as 'acorn squash.'

Tangelo
A cross between a tangerine and the pomelo. This fruit contains only a few seeds and provides a juicy, sweetly tart taste.

Tangerine
A thin-skinned citrus fruit descended from the mandarin orange. It has a delicate, somewhat spicy tart. Named after the African city of Tangiers (even though they originated in China).

Tomatillo
A small fruit, also called the 'Mexican tomato,' that is related to the tomato and the cape gooseberry. Their flavor is said to resemble a cross between lemon, apple, and herbs. Used in guacamole and many sauces.

Tomato
A fruit from the nightshade family (like the potato and eggplant). The U.S. government classified it as a vegetable for trade purposes in 1893. Tomatoes should not be refrigerated--the cold adversely affects the flavor and the flesh.

Tunka
The melon-like fruit of a tropical Asian vine belonging to the gourd family. Also called 'white gourd.'

Vegetable Marrow
This edible squash-like gourd, also known as 'marrow squash,' is related to the zucchini. It has a bland flavor and is often stuffed with a meat filling.

Watermelon
Originally from Africa, this melon has a sweet, moist red flesh. Asians roast the seeds, and pickled watermelon rind is popular in some parts of the world. If slapping the watermelon returns a resounding hollow thump, it is ripe.

White-Flowered Gourd
A common variety of hard-shelled gourd, also called 'bottle gourd' and 'Calabash gourd.' This gourd is used in the West Indies to produce a very popular syrup. Its shell is often used to create bowls and other utensils.

Yellow Mombin
The edible fruit of a tropical American tree that is plentiful in northeastern Brazil. It is bright yellow, oval, averages an inch long, and features a soft, juicy sub-acid pulp surrounding a large seed. Also called 'hog plum.'

Youngberry
A hybrid variety of blackberry with a dark red color and a sweet juicy flesh.

Zante Currant
This fruit of the Zante grape is a tiny, dark raisin. It comes from Corinth Greece and is used primarily in baked foods. The Zante Currant is unrelated to the other fruit called the 'currant.'

Zucchini
A popular summer squash with an off-white flesh with a light, somewhat bland flavor. Zucchini can be steamed, grilled, sautéed, deep-fried, and baked.