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Are you wondering what are the delicious fruits that grow in the Caribbean? Well, you have just landed on the answer in this amazing article.
The Caribbean islands are known for its tropical climate with most islands having two seasons being the wet and the dry respectively.
This makes the region an ideal environment for the growth of several species. Most of the fruits are consistent across all the islands.
However, they have different names depending on the island you visit.
So let us get started on our comprehensive list of delicious fruits that grow in the Caribbean.
1. Mangoes
This is perhaps the most common fruit in the Caribbean that is available in abundance in every Caribbean island.
There are numerous varieties of mangoes such as julie and peach.
This fruit can be used both green or ripe. The green fruit is at times combined with pepper and eaten as a snack. Green mangoes at times are also used to make juice.
Red mango is a popular snack in Trinidad & Tobago. Additionally, mango chutney is also well loved on this island.
2. Guava
Guava is yellow when it is ripe and consists of a fleshy inside with many small seeds.
Depending on the type of guava, the color of the interior could be white or red.
Guava can be eaten or used to make guava juice.
Guava is also popular in jams and jellies. De La Grenade Industries in Grenada and Froosty in St Lucia have their own guava jams which are excellent souvenirs from these islands.
On the Spanish Caribbean island of Cuba, guava is the primary ingredient in casquitos de guayaba, a traditional Cuban desert.
3. Sapodilla
Another mouthwatering fruit to try while in the Caribbean is sapodilla. The skin as well as the fleshy interior is brown in color.
Most people consume the outer skin so it is important to rinse these thoroughly. There are large black seeds on the inside.
Sapodillas are mostly eaten and are not used to make drinks and in confectionaries.
4. Tamarind
Tamarind is a fruit that grows in a shell that needs to be broken to get to the fruit. Inside the fruit there are multiple pods within each there is a fleshy fruit with a seed on the inside.
Tamarind is also used to make juice and also to make sauces. This sauce is often consumed with a variety of finger foods and side dishes.
Baron Foods Ltd located on the Caribbean island of St Lucia has an amazing tamarind dip that you should try.
5. Passion Fruit
The flavor of passion fruit truly embodies what the Caribbean is all about.
This fruit grows on a vine and is usually yellow in color when ripe and the seeds and inside pulp are used to make juice.
Passion fruit juice is often on the menu of most restaurants and hotels so be sure to try it out.
This fruit is not often eaten by itself due to the large amount of seeds on the inside.
6. Bananas
This fruit is widely grown in many of the Caribbean islands and was a major fruit exported from the Caribbean.
Nevertheless, after the Banana Trade War exporting bananas from the Caribbean to Europe became increasingly unprofitable.
As a result, many of the Caribbean islands pivoted to tourism as their main income earner.
Bananas are primarily eaten on their own but are also used in smoothies and to make banana bread.
Green bananas are also consumed steamed with other ground provision and served with breakfast and lunch time meals.
7. Grapefruit
This consists of a white fleshy interior with seeds that is used primarily to make juice.
Some varieties are extremely sweet and hence are eaten by the locals straight from the tree without juicing.
Lemons, limes and oranges are also available in abundance and are from the same citrus family being the Rutaceae as the grapefruit.
8. Cashews
These are red in its exterior with a white fleshy interior with a large seed on the inside.
Cashews are often eaten without juicing the fruit.
9. Genip
This fruit has several names depending on the Caribbean island that you visit. For example, they are called skin up in Grenada.
The season for genip is usually in the summer time so during the months of July and August.
Genip has a green exterior which is bitten to expose a seed covered with a light orange flesh.
This fleshy interior around the seed is eaten. The green outer covering as well as the seed is discarded.
Due to the size of the seed, many Caribbean mothers avoid giving genip to small children.
10. Soursop
Soursop is a fruit that is green in its exterior with numerous white fleshy pods with individual seeds on the inside of each pod.
This fruit has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its cancer fighting properties.
Grenada as well as St Vincent and the Grenadines are known exporters of soursop in the Caribbean.
The leaves of the soursop tree are also used to make tea.
11. Breadfruit
This fruit forms an important staple in the diet of Caribbean nationals and it is used in the preparation of numerous dishes.
Oil down which is the national dish of Grenada is made with breadfruit as the principal ingredient.
Alternatively, the national dish of St Vincent and the Grenadines is roast breadfruit and fried jackfish also has breadfruit as a main ingredient.
Breadfruit was first brought to the Caribbean in 1793 from Tahiti to feed slaves to St Vincent and the Grenadines.
12. Papaya
A descendent of this first breadfruit tree still remains today at the Botanical Gardens which is the oldest in the Western hemisphere.
This is normally eaten at breakfast time or as a snack and contains small black seeds on the inside.
The ripe fruit is orange. The green pawpaw is used in cooking especially various types of meat.
This fruit is sweet and a must try when in the region.
13. Plantain
Along the same lines as the breadfruit, this is a staple in the breakfast and main meals for Caribbean people.
Fried plantains usually accompany eggs for breakfast. They are also boiled and sliced or baked.
Mofongo and tostones are two traditional Puerto Rican dishes that use plantains as the main ingredients.
Yes, plantains are actually a fruit that comes from the musa genus which is the same family as bananas.
14. Pineapple
These are yellow in color when ripe and can be eaten by itself or used to make juice or smoothies.
They do take about two years to grow and tends to be more expensive when compared to fruits such as grapefruits.
15. Five Finger
Also called Starfruit or Carambola depending on the Caribbean island this fruit is consumed by itself or used to make juice.
The fruit receive its name from the five individual ridges that can be seen especially when sliced.
Final Thoughts: 15 Delicious Fruits That Grow In The Caribbean
We trust that you found the above article informative especially if you are visiting the Caribbean for the first time.
We are confident that you will find these fruits on the islands mouth-watering and enjoyable.
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