Jamaica is home to a wide assortment of fruits celebrated not only for their delicious tastes but ample health benefits as well. Because our tropical climate many of these fruits are available year-round. Visitors can indulge in these juicy delights no matter when their trip is planned. While some Jamaican fruits are available in other countries, many others can only be experienced while visiting the island. To give you an overview of Jamaican fruits, below is a list of some of our favorites.
Mango
Loved by both Jamaicans and Americans, the mango can be eaten alone or in curried dishes, salads, and juice drinks. Ranging in colors of green, red, yellow, and orange, mangoes grow in numerous varieties on the island, each differing in taste, texture, and smell. Visitors to Jamaica may find mangoes much tastier because they are more flavorful when left to ripen on the tree than when picked green for exportation.
Star Fruit
Star fruit, also known as carambola, receives its name from the star shape that appears after you cut one in half. With a waxy skin that begins as yellow and ripens to green, this delicious treat ranges in taste from zestfully tart to mildly sweet.
Guava
Because of its intense, appealing aroma, you can usually smell a guava before you ever see it. Oval-shaped, the guava ranges in color from red to yellow and purple. With a thin skin, the entire guava can be eaten and tastes sweet when ripe with a tart aftertaste.
Papaya
The Jamaican papaya, or pawpaw, is a versatile produce because it can be used in food dishes, as an aid for digestive problems, and as meat tenderizer when used green. Comparable to a melon, the papaya is ripe when it turns yellowish-orange with a sweet taste.
Ackee
Jamaica’s national fruit, the ackee is commonly used as the main ingredient in the island’s traditional food dish, ackee and saltfish. This pear-shaped produce features a mild, nutty taste, which is why it is commonly curried over rice or cooked with tomatoes, onions, and codfish. Ackee is poisonous until the flesh ripens to a red color, while the black seeds inside remain toxic.
Stinking Toe
This odd produce not only resembles a big toe but also features an offensive odor. However, visitors should not let that stop them from discovering the delicious pulp hidden inside the seed pod. Stinking Toe is also used locally to relieve rheumatism and headaches.
Sweetsop
Also known as sugar apple, sweet sop is round and blue-green with long, knobby outer sections with white flesh that is fragrant and tastes like custard.
Soursop
Dark green and prickly, soursop features a creamy pulp like a banana with a citric flavor often compared to the combined tastes of pineapples and strawberries. Soursop is promoted for containing many health benefits.
Naseberry
Naseberry, also known as sapodilla, is brown and oval-shaped with reddish-brown flesh that tastes sweet with a hint of other flavors likened to apples and cinnamon.
Banana
The banana is technically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants. Bananas are grown worldwide. The skin ranges in color from pink to yellow, and the fruit inside is starchy, soft and sweet. It is eaten by itself as well as used in desserts and frozen drinks.
The chef at Sunset at the Palms hand picks the best fruits to use in his delicious dishes.
