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

buddha's hand

this wonderfully smelling citron has a think rind, white pith and a minimal amount of flesh if any. its peel is mainly use for zesting or candying. it is also used as a religious offering at Buddhist temples, where it is said that Buddha prefers a closed group of "fingers" to resemble a praying hand. found at crown valley market mission viejo ca. photo by chris mathews

surinam cherry

about the size of a raspberry these guys have a thin skin and sweet tart melting flesh that has a slight hint of resin. picked off the tree at living green nursery in lake forest ca, thanks to justin galias. photo by chris mathews

lady apple

this old world heirloom variety is smaller than most apples(about the size of a plum) is firm and crisp with a sweet tart flavor. found at ralphs irvine ca. photo by chris mathews

calamondin / kalamansi

these grape sized, cross between a kumquat and mandarin are tart with a sweet skin. found at 99 ranch market irvine ca. photo by chris mathews

ca

yellow strawberry guava

these guys were highly fragrant with a mildly sweet guava flavor. found on the tree in mission viejo ca. photo by chris mathews.

pithecellobium dulce / manila tamarind / guamuchil

chestnut / coconut type texture with a hint of sweet and hint of savory flavor. they get sweeter when slightly toasted. found on the tree mission viejo ca. photo by chris mathews

mamey sapote

this fruit is delicious, they taste like pumpkin pie with a hint of rootbeer with a custard flesh. found at northgate market santa ana ca. photo by chris mathews

blue agave

uncooked agave is similar to jicama once its cooked it is sweet as sugar with a melting stringy flesh . found at the jose cuervo factory tequila, mexico. photos by chris mathews

tejocote

these guys smelled great(fruity bubblegum) but tasted like a flavorless crab apple. they are used mainly in a mexican drink called ponche. found at northgate market santa ana ca. photo by chris mathews

xoconostle

these are like the sour cousins of the prickly pear pronounced (cho-co-noh-s-tle) too bitter to eat fresh they are mainly used in salsa, soups, jellies, and traditional candies. found at northgate market santa ana ca. photo by chris mathews.

water caltrop

aquatic fruit nut type thing. underneath the hard bull horn shell they have a dry crumbly white flesh. after being boiled they tasted like dried powdered oysters- found at 99 ranch market photo by chris mathews

cherum

this new variety cherry /plum hybrid has a sweet pluot type flavor. found at gelsons irvine ca. photo by chris mathews

persimmon (hachiya)

delicious sweet spiced flavor with a slimy juicy stringy flesh, this varity must be extremely soft to eat. found at zion market irvine ca. photo by chris mathews

feijoa

these have a distinctive aromatic smell with a slightly gritty sweet guava type flesh nearer to the skin and more gelatinous seed pulp in the center. fruit can be peeled or cut in half and eaten with a spoon. found at crown valley market mission viejo ca. photo by chris mathews

tamarind (sour)

these guys have a hard brittle outer shell with a sticky acidulous flesh attached to the seed pods. it is used in desserts , jams, blended into drinks ,sorbets and candies. found at wholesome choice market irvine ca. photo by chris mathews

jujube

dry apple type flesh with slight brown sugar flavor. found at zion market irvine ca photo by chris mathews

gold kiwi

this yellow flesh variety of kiwi has a of sweet tropical fruit type flavor, and is much less acidic and less "hairy"than green kiwi. once the fuzz is rubbed off the skin is completely edible.found at my albertsons ladera ranch ca) photo by chris mathews

rambutan

sweet refreshing tropical flavor with gelatinous flesh around a center seed- found at 99 ranch market in irvine ca) photo by chris mathews

durian

sweet smooth onion garlic flavor with a custard type flesh. found frozen at the 99 ranch market irvine ca. photo by chris mathews