The Weird World of Colombian Fruits

Posted on 18. Oct, 2011 by Steph in Destinations, Photos, South America

Most people think of cocaine and coffee when considering Colombian agriculture, but in actuality Colombia is a spectacularly fertile place. Not only does Colombia grow a large percentage of the flowers imported to the USA, it’s got an incredible diversity of fruits.

Seriously, Colombia has fruits you’ve never even heard of, never even dreamed of!

Fruit is super popular here. Every restaurant has at least on jugo del dia on the menu and street carts sell all sorts of unrecognizable fruits. Recently I got the chance to visit one of Bogota’s largest fruit markets and try a whole bunch of the interesting fruits that are unique to Colombia. Here are a few:

Lulo

In addition to having the most adorable name of any fruit ever, these are super popular in Colombia. These tart little fruits look like a kiwi stuffed inside of a tomato. They are mostly served as a juice. You can eat them raw but you’ll get a mouthful of slimy seeds.

photo credit: ximenacab

Tomate de Arbol (Tamarillo)

That’s right the tree tomato. This is actually my favorite fruit I’ve tasted here so far. You know how everyone says tomatoes are fruit but then they get lumped in with the veggies anyways? This is a really fruity tomato- it’s sweet and tart but it still has a little bit of that tomato flavor.

Granadilla

Looks kind of like an orange on the outside, but on the inside…. so gross looking. It kind of looks like frog eggs: seeds cased in a thick clear jelly. If you can get past appearances it tastes pretty good: it’s a member of the passionfruit family but sweeter, and the seeds are crunch and edible.

Uchuva

These bright little fruits are delicious! They are also called Peruvian cherries but are closely related to the Tomate de Arbol up there. They are the size of a cherry tomato but bright yellow and bursting with tart flavor. I’ve seen them served at restaurants as finger food. They are also apparently super good for you.

photo credit: I likE plants!

Guanabana

The soursop is a big green spiky thing- about the size of a football or even larger. When you cut them open the innards are white, custardy and well… really freaking gross. You pick off small pieces of the gooey inside- each bit contains a large seed. It’s supposed to taste kind of like a creamy pineapple, but I was so icked out by the texture I really couldn’t tell you. I think it’s probably better in juice.

Carambola

Otherwise known at the star fruit- you can also find them all over South East Asia and India. They are called star fruit because when you slice them lengthwise you end up with a bunch of star shapes. Their flavor is hard to describe: it tastes kind of like a citrusy apple or pear. They are full of vitamin C!

photo credit: leoncillo sabino

Zapote

According to the internet, this is also known as a chupa chupa. They are kind of a dull brown color on the outside, inside is thick and orange, similar to pumpkin. Using your teeth, you kind of scrape the sweet insides off of the hard outer skin. It tastes kind of sweet but also pretty mild. I liked it.

Pitayas (Dragon Fruit)

You may know those bright pink dragon fruits so popular in Asia. These are a little different. They have the same spiky exterior except they are yellow instead of pink. Inside is also similar: white with tiny black seeds, but the taste is not as sweet.

Avocado

You already know about avocados of course, but these giant green fruits are quite different from the run-of-the-mill Hass avocados we’re used to eating at home. In addition to being larger, smoother and greener, the insides are light and creamy. They are a staple here and people eat them by the slice, sprinkled with salt. So yummy!

This is in addition to the usual suspects: oranges, watermelons, strawberries, blackberries, apples and a whole slew of other things I can’t remember right now. Colombia is a fruit lover’s paradise!

Pin It

Tags: blogsherpa, colombia, cuisine, photo essay

31 Responses to “The Weird World of Colombian Fruits”

Nicole
18. Oct, 2011
I love this. Looks like you’re having a great time.
Reply to this comment
Joel Tillman
18. Oct, 2011
Did they happen to have any Jackfruit, Mangostein, Lychee or Black Sapote there?
Reply to this comment
Alison
18. Oct, 2011
What a colour explosion – certainly beats apples and bananas The only one of these I have tried is the star fruit, which was delicious. The Lula looks tasty.
Reply to this comment
Phil
19. Oct, 2011
Half my pictures from Colombia are of the fruit aisles in the supermarket. Buying salted avocado on the street is one of the best snacks (almost a full meal really). Never tried Guanabana, but sounds like I didn’t miss much.
Reply to this comment
Tobias
19. Oct, 2011
Great collection of the delicious fruits of Colombia.
But you forgot my favorite fruit in Ecuador and Colombia. It’s a fruit called ‘lulo’. You should try it, have a look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_quitoense
Reply to this comment
- Tobias
  19. Oct, 2011
  Oh sorry, you mentioned lulo as well.
  Anyways, great article!
  Reply to this comment
Amanda
19. Oct, 2011
Yum! I’ve never heard of most of these, either, but most of them sound tasty.
Reply to this comment
Dean
19. Oct, 2011
Looks delicious, I love trying new fruits and exploring fresh food markets. Also, you can get star fruit here in Australia as well, but only in the tropics.
Reply to this comment
Erik
19. Oct, 2011
I love this type of feature. Just reminds me there are so many things out there I know nothing about, like fruit in Columbia.
Many of them look delicious!
Reply to this comment
dtravelsround
20. Oct, 2011
They look delicious. I had no idea some of these even existed — I want to try all of them!
Reply to this comment
Will - Gap Daemon
20. Oct, 2011
As a veggie I’m most definitely in favour of this post! Yet another fantastic reason to head to Colombia.
Stop making me jealous!
Reply to this comment
alexis
20. Oct, 2011
I miss star fruit! I feel like I’ve been living in the desert for too long! I recognize some of these fruits but star fruit is definitely one of my favorites!
Reply to this comment
jenne
21. Oct, 2011
In Ecuador there are the same fruits and many more
Reply to this comment
Erin
21. Oct, 2011
Colombia has the most diverse and tasty fruit selection of any country we have visited – even better than Thailand where we are now. Lulo juice was my favourite, but I also loved the various varieties of passionfruit and mora (like blackberries).
I went on a mission to try all the Colombian fruits but only got to about 23 and there were still so many more I wanted to track down.
Reply to this comment
Brendan
21. Oct, 2011
The funny this is you’re still only scratching the surface. I’ve been here for about 8months over the past 5 years and when the cook at my house brings be fruit I still have to say “what is this???” about 4 days a week haha . I am going to miss the Colombian people when I leave… and I am going to miss their fruit.
Reply to this comment
Abi
22. Oct, 2011
Dragon fruit – it just has such an amazing name!
Reply to this comment
Andi of My Beautiful Adventures
22. Oct, 2011
I loved the fruit when I was there! Que delicioso!!!
Reply to this comment
vibeke
22. Oct, 2011
Your pictures are great! This is a case of a photo saying more than a million words, and you’ve definitely managed to captures the juiciness and freshness of all these Colombian fruits. Thanks a lot for a refreshing post!
Vibeke
Reply to this comment
Abhijit
23. Oct, 2011
A very colourful and enjoyable post!
Reply to this comment
Claire
23. Oct, 2011
I could not get enough pitayha juice when I was in Nicaragua. But they were the pink ones and you take the bright pink pulp out and mix with sugar and some lime juice and it is DELICIOUS!! and don’t get me started on the avocados……….
Reply to this comment
Zoe
23. Oct, 2011
I had Guanabana in New Calidonia. They called it something like Cocosan there, but the picture and your description fit it perfectly. It is actually very nice, I ended up eating it for breakfast some days.
Reply to this comment
Cole and Adela (fourjandals)
25. Oct, 2011
I hope they were more delicious than they looked!
Reply to this comment
Clara
01. Nov, 2011
Great post! I love the photos of all the fruit!
Reply to this comment
Patty Meneses
07. Nov, 2011
Maracuya, lulo, mora, mango, pina, curuba, tomate de arbol, guayaba…ALL yummy! But…OMG… you missed out on the guanabana juice? It’s DE-licious! AND even the pulp…after you remove the pits…it’s soft and sweet. I miss that about Colombia…the bio-diversity and all the wonderful fruits/plants/animals/landscapes that leave you in awe
Reply to this comment
Claire
08. Nov, 2011
Great photo’s, I hadn’t heard of many of those!
Reply to this comment
Tobias
18. Nov, 2011
great photos! I love trying new fruits. Kept stuffing my face with green mangoes and dalandan in the Philippines.
Now I’m craving…
Reply to this comment
Dayna
18. Dec, 2011
Ohhh those fruits look so tasty! The zapote kind of weirds me out, but I’m sure I would try it anyway!
Reply to this comment
Ariel
15. Feb, 2012
WTF is this? and i quote “Most people think of cocaine and coffee when considering Colombian agriculture…” Keepin stereotypes alive, happy now?…you’re doin’ it great…moron!
Reply to this comment
- Steph
  15. Feb, 2012
  Hey Ariel, sorry you feel that way! My point was actually that Colombian agriculture is much more than those common stereotypes. If you look around my blog I’ve actually written about a dozen articles here trying to showcase the real Colombia. It’s one of my favorite countries!
  Reply to this comment
  - Ariel
    15. Feb, 2012
    Ok, i just… i’m sorry..i’m not proud of the way i write you… Maybe i’m way too sensitive ’bout this things…actually i`m not even colombian =) love the fruits, tho…
    Reply to this comment