You’ll be hard pressed to find someone who's never had a strawberry or apple. But what are the odds you know someone who’s had, or even knows what a plumcot or rangpur is? Believe it or not, those are real fruits that people around the world enjoy every day! Through controlled cross-pollination, farmers have given birth to a whole new category of fruit — hybrid fruits! The next time you’re in the supermarket, keep an eye out for some of these uniquely tasty fruits.
Plumcot
As you may have guessed by its name, a plumcot is a cross between a plum and an apricot, so one thing’s for sure — it’s incredibly sweet! With its smooth, dark coloring, and plum-like shape, it’s often mistaken for a traditional plum.
Rangpur
A rangpur may look like an orange from the outside, but its taste is much more that of a lime and lemon. Though you may be a bit hard pressed to find rangpurs here in the States, they’re incredibly popular overseas and are actually more common than both lemons and limes in Costa Rica.
Peacotum
Peacotums are a cross between several fruits, predominantly a peach, apricot, and plum. Though they taste like melons, they have the texture of a peach.
Tangelo
As potentially the most popular hybrid fruit known here in the United States, tangelos are a cross between a tangerine and either a pomelo or a grapefruit. Larger than a traditional tangerine, tangelos are sweeter than grapefruit and have a juicier, more tangerine-like flavor.
Limequat
Unlike most other citrus fruits, limequats have a sweet, edible skin. But that sweetness stops at the door, since their pulp is often described as being very bitter. For that reason, people tend not to eat them whole and instead mix their juices into jams and sauces.
Tayberry
By combining two of our favorite berries, blackberries and raspberries, growers have managed to create one super berry — the tayberry. Though people love its uniquely sweet taste, tayberries haven’t made their way to many dinner plates because they’re relatively difficult to pick.
Pineberry
Picture a strawberry. Now, imagine if instead of being bright red with small white seeds, it was white with red seeds. Essentially, a pineberry looks like a strawberry that’s been flipped inside out. And though they may look like strawberries, they tend to taste like pineapples.
Yuzu
With the shape of a grapefruit and the skin of a lemon, it’s no surprise that yuzus are full of citrus juice. In East Asia, yuzus are incredibly popular and are often incorporated into ponzu sauce — a watery, dark brown sauce that accompanies many fish dishes.
If your palate isn’t quite adventurous enough for these fruits, you can find all of your tried-and-true favorites (like our chocolate covered strawberries) over at Fruit Bouquets!
AUTHOR
Tara Carlson graduated from Hofstra University with a degree in Public Relations and loves any and all things creative writing - which is why she is thrilled to be working with Berry Chatty. When she's not writing, you can probably find her swimming at the beach, catching up on the latest movies (she's a big fan of award season!) and playing soccer.