Natal plum / Carissa

Native to coastal South Africa these guys had a thin skin, juicy, sweet, semi-grainy flesh with a few little, hard seeds. Found at Exotica Nursery, Vista, CA. Photo by Chris Mathews.

Finger limes / Caviar limes

Native to Australia but now being grown in California, finger limes about the size of half of your pinkie finger and have individual juice vesicles that have a very similar taste to a lime. found at Wholefoods Tustin Ca. photo by Chris Mathews

Wampee / Clausena lansium

Native to Southern China and parts of Vietnam, I first got the opportunity to try these guys off the tree at the Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, FL with Ian Maguier; and they were great. Once you peel the papery skin, wampee's are about the size of a grape, with large, hard seeds. The sweet, minimal, juicy flesh tasted like a peach / white peach combo. I found them again in Fullerton, CA and these were a lot more acidic, but similar. Photo by Chris Mathews.

Jambolan / Java plum / Jambul

Native to India and Burma, theses date-sized fruit have a thin skin, a juicy sweet-tart flesh with a slight astringent flavor, and a hard seed running almost the entire length of the fruit. Found on the tree in Fullerton, CA. Photo by Chris Mathews.

Chocolate (fuyu) Persimmons

Unlike the the Hachiya persimmon this hard to find non astringent variety know as tsurunoko in Japan can be eatin hard or soft and has a sweet flavor, a thick crunchy skin that can be peeled if needed. Found at Wholesome Choice Irvine Ca photo by chris mathews,

prickly pear / cactus pear / tunas

Grown on the Opuntia ficus cactus that is also used for its cactus pads (nopales) they have a sweet watermelon type flavor with hard edible seeds.

Thomcord Grapes

A "seedless" hybrid of a Concord and a Thompson grape these have a delicious Concord flavor without the weird skin separation and gelatinous seeded flesh typical to the Concord. The aborted seeds in the Thomcord, though slightly larger than the Thompson, added a tolerable crunch. Found at Trader Joe's Irvine, CA. Photo by Chris Mathews.

Canistel / egg fruit

Sometimes referred to as the Maya fruit, the Canistel is said to be native to Campeche, Mexico and other parts of Mesoamerica. It is often used in ice cream, custard style pies, and other dairy-based desserts because the fruit does not cause dairy products to curdle or sour. They have a dry, yet sticky texture reminiscent of a hardboiled egg yolk and a sweet potato, pumpkin flavor. Found at Robert is Here and Fairchild Gardens in Homesead, FL. Photos by Chris Mathews.

Sapodilla / Zapote chico

Believed to be native to the Yucatan Peninsula in southern Mexico, these are the fruit of the tree that was used to make the original gum (chicle) made from latex derived from the bark. One of my favorite fruits, these guys taste like root beer and caramel with a slightly grainy texture and are about the size of a Roma Tomato. These are a must try. Found at Robert is Here and Fairchild Farms in Homestead, FL. Photos by Chris Mathews.

Spanish lime / mamoncillo

Native to Central and South America, and the Caribbean, these look quite a bit like a key lime, but once you open them up they are like a lychee that melted and got slimy with a sweet / tart citrus flavored flesh that sticks to the seed in the middle. Once you start sucking on them it seems like some of the slimly flesh gets stuck in your throat. Found at Robert is Here, Homestead, FL. Photos by Chris Mathews.

Sugar-apple

Native to the tropical areas of the Americas, sugar apples are in the cherimoya (Annona) and soursop family. About the size of a baseball these guys have a sweet, soft, juicy, grainy flesh and a slight floral flavor around hard seeds. They are eaten by squeezing the fruit in the center, causing the segmented skin to spread open. Found at an unnamed fruit stand in Homestead, FL. Photo by Chris Mathews.

Muscadine Grapes / Bronze Scuppernong Muscadine

Native to the southeastern United States, Muscadine grapes are also known as American wild grapes. The bronze colored cultivar are referred to as Scuppernong and have a slightly milder flavor than the dark variety. About the size of a large cherry tomato they have a thick skin a few hard seeds and a flavor similar to a concord grape with a hints of musky / resin, and a slightly bitter skin. Found at Publix "greenwise" in Boca Raton Fl. Photo by Chris Mathews

The lesser known flavors of Mexico

huauzontle, epazote, verdolagas, chipilin, mamey sapote, chili chilaca (dried pasilla), chili mirasol (guajillo dried), tunas (green prickly pear), white chayote. found at north gate market in santa ana ca. photo by chris mathews

coffee berries / coffee cherries

The coffee cherry is the fruit that encases the seed (referred to as "beans" due to the resemblance) that is used to make coffee after it is dried and roasted. Out of hand the skin has an almost vegetable flavor with slight tannin, but the thin layer around the seed is sweet and mild; reminiscent of white peach and jasmin. Found on the tree in Fullerton Ca. Photos by Chris Mathews.

Gooseberries

Too tart to be good consumed out of hand, gooseberries are mainly used in pies, dried, or made into a jams. They are about the size of of a blueberry. Found at Albertsons Ladera Ranch, CA. Photo by Chris Mathews

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Bhut Jolokia/ Naga Jolokia/ ghost chili/ ghost pepper

Definitely one of the forerunners for the hottest chili on the planet, the ghost chili is 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. Anybody want to take a run at this bad boy? Let me know. Found at Taco Asylum in Costa Mesa, Ca, thanks to Lee. photo by Chris Mathews

Cayenne Pepper

Named after the town of Cayenne in French Guinea this cultivar of capsicum annuum generally rates between 30,000 to 50,000 on the Scolville Unit. Normally used in its dried and ground form, fresh it is a staple of Szechuan cuisine. Not normally available commercially, I grew these from seed in my apartment in Irvine, CA. Photo by Chris Mathews.

Chokecherry / Prunus virginiana / Capulín / Capolcuahuitl

A relative of the cherry and native to North America and Mexico, about size of a blueberry these guys tasted like a sweet cherry with a tannic bite. I was excited to find these since I have never seen them available commercially. Found on the tree in Garden Grove Ca thanks to Noe. Photo by Chris Mathews

Loquat

This was my third run-in with Loquats. However, this was the first time that I experienced their true flavor profile and felt they were worth writing about. Typically harvested too early due to their extremely fragile nature, the ones that I have tried in the past have not been representative of their real taste. Additionally, they are normally overpriced. With the fact that they are grown in backyards all over Southern California it's weird that I have never tasted a good one, but these were a different story. I found these at a Persian market in South Orange County and they were obviously from a local backyard orchard. Additionally, these were affordable at about $4 per pound and sold in prepacked clam shell boxes. The taste is similar to an apricot, apple and orange blend, and had the consistency of an apricot with a thick skin that I decided to remove. They were light and refreshing. Found at Crown Valley Market Mission Viejo, CA. Photo by Chris Mathews.

Black Velvet Apricot

This golf ball sized aprium (apricot plum hybrid) has a cool looking almost black skin with fine fuzz, a sweet apricot flavor and a tangy plum skin. Found at Gelsons Irvine Ca. Photo by Chris Mathews

Lychee

Originally native to China and about the size of a walnut, theses had a sweet perfume tropical flavor with a juicy dense flesh. Found at Crown Valley market in Mission Viejo Ca . photo by Chris Mathews

San Francisco's China Town

red and green grapes, mini ataulfo mangoes, golden kiwis, Hawaiian papayas, red prickly pears, cherries, lychees and longans. photo taken at sf china town by chris mathews.

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Mulberries

sweet plum type flavor with little acidity found at wholesome choice market irvine. photo by chris mathews

green almonds / fresh almonds

Baby Kiwi / Kiwiberry / Hardy Kiwi

These fuzzless completely edible cousins of the kiwi are about the size of a large olive and sometimes have a reddish blush. Sweeter, and a bit juicier than a kiwi, they have a grape like texture and Kiwi/ melon/ black grape-type flavor. found at trader joes irvine ca photo by chris mathews.

Limequat

This Kumquat / Key lime hybrid is slightly larger than its parents an has a acidic pulp and juice with a sweet edible skin. Found at the Santa Barbara farmers market. photo by Chris Mathews

Manzano Pepper

This golf ball sized hot pepper with it distinctive black seeds rates higher than a Serrano on the Scoville heat index. Mainly used for fresh salsas, once i removed the seeds it tasted like a yellow bell pepper but not as sweet with a nice mild heat. Found at the Santa Barbara farmers market. photo by chris mathews

Red Guajes / Leucaena

The seeds of the guaje can be eaten raw or roasted with salt. They are also used in making a mole or ground into a powder with cheese and used as a seasoning. These guy although a little over mature left their distinctive bitter slightly garlicky flavor in my mouth for at least 24 hours. found on the tree in mission viejo ca. photo by chris mathews

Jackfruit

The largest of the tree born fruit, Jackfruit can weight up to 100lb (mine weighed about 10). Once you get through the meat like butchering process the fruit reveals a deliciously sweet firm chewy flesh that tastes like juicy fruit gum. Found at Ranch 99 market in Irvine Ca. photo by Chris Mathews

White Sapote / Zapote Blanco

This delicious, extremely fragile fruit is known as the sleep sapote (cochitzapotl ) in Nahuatl , has been known to cause drowsiness. The thin inedible skin changes from green to yellow while ripening and has a sweet vanilla custard flavor and consistency with a hint of pear and banana. found at the Santa Barbara farmers market. photo by chris mathews

Sumo / Dekopan

A long time favorite in Japan this seedless mandarin/orange hybrid just hit the Californian market for the first time a few days ago. About the size of a softball this deliciously sweet, easy to peel sumo has a perfect balance of sweet/tart flavor and a juicy melting flesh. found at Zion market Irvine Ca. photo by Chris Mathews

Variegated Pink Lemon

This cool looking variety of Eureka lemon has pink flesh , few seeds and a strong lemon flavor. Unfortunately the juice is more white than pink. Found on the tree at Home Depot Irvine CA. Photo by Chris Mathews

Indian Jujube / Ber

These guys have a thin crisp skin and airy white firm flesh reminiscent of apples in taste and consistency. They are about the size of a walnut and have a hard seed running almost the length of the fruit. At this stage they are slightly under ripe and continue to a reddish color but flesh becomes more mealy. Found at Nina's Indian Grocery in Lake Forrest Ca photo by Chris Mathews

Vaniglia Sanguigno / Vanilla Orange

This almost acidless partially pink flesh (pink color is in the albedo and flesh next to the rind )sweet orange is mildly delicious with a watered down orange julius type flavor. Found at the San Clemente farmers market. photo by Chris Mathews
Thanks to Ed Stover.

Green Dragon Apples

This cross between a Japanese Orin and a Golden Delicious smell and taste great like cotton candy, quince, candy apple, comice pear, but were a little mushy for my taste. Found at Ralphs in Irvine, Ca. Photo by Chris Mathews

Kaffir Lime

This distinctively fragrant variety of tropical lime provides an irreplaceable flavor to Southeast Asian dishes by way of its leaves, zest and rind; while the juice in generally considered too acidic for use in cooking. The rind which is particularly oily when squeezed, also offers strong insecticidal properties. Found at San Clemente Famer's Market. Photo by Chris Mathews.

yuzu

This citrus fruit is about the size of a lemon and packed full of seeds. Used mainly as a flavoring for savory and sweet dishes, the yuzu is desirable for its intensely scented rind and zest. Found at San Clemente Farmer's Market. Photo by Chris Mathews.

red currants

these tart /sweet delicate berries have a thin skin with hard seeds similar to a raspberry. they can be eaten fresh, used as a accompaniment in salads, garnishes, in drinks and can also be made into a jam. normally only available in the northern hemisphere in the summer, these were grown and shipped from Chile. purchased at gelsons market, irvine ca. photo by chris mathews