uncommon fruits and veggies

This fruit was originally found in Mexico although it is also popular in the Philippines.The super sweet interior, which looks similar to a potato, is often compared to candy.

This green veggie, known by a variety of different names, including sea pickles, sea asparagus, and pickleweed, grows on salt marches and beaches.While sea beans can be eaten raw, they are very salty so they typically need to be cooked in water to tone down the saltiness.The finished product tastes and feels similar to asparagus.

The starfruit, or carambola, is especially fun to serve because its slices are star shaped.The fruit has a waxy skin and can be eaten unripe for a tarter flavor or ripe for a sweet and sour taste.It has been compared to apples, citrus fruits, and plums.Starfruits are now a common find in the tropical fruit section of American supermarkets.To serve, simply cut off any brown edges and the bottom, where the fruit was picked off the tree, then turn it horizontally and cut into star shaped pieces.

While called an apple, this fruit looks more like a raspberry because of it lumpy outer shell.Inside, sugar apples have a sweet yellowish flesh that has the texture and taste of custard.In fact, another name for the sugar apple is custard apple.This fruit is popular in Southern Asia, although it is native to the Americas.Growers in Taiwan combined it with a cherimoya to make the atemoya.

The sunchoke, or Jerusalem artichoke, is native to Northeastern America.The root is actually a species of sunflower, but this type of sunflower is grown for its vegetable tuber.Sunchokes have a sweet and nutty flavor said to be similar to artichokes or salsify.

Tomatillos are in the tomato family, but they remain green when ripe instead of turning red.They are an important part of Mexican cuisine and are often used in sauces.While they look like unripe tomatoes, tomatillos are tarter in flavor.

Native to Jamaica, ugli fruits are a combination of grapefruits, oranges, and tangerines.They are sweet and juicy, and their wrinkly, yellowish, ugly peel does not do the inner citrus segments justice.

White asparagus and regular asparagus are actually the same exact vegetable,despite their color differences.White asparagus is grown without sunlight so it never turns green.White asparagus is popular in Europe and is considered superior to the green variety because it is tender and less bitter.

These small red fruits are native to China.Also called Chinese bayberries or Chinese strawberries, yangmei may look like berries, but they grow on trees.The small red circles that make up the outside of the fruit are eaten along with the inner flesh just watch out for the small brown seed found in the center.

Yuzu is a citron native to East Asia.Its trees can survive in cold climates, which is rare for a citrus fruit.Much like lemons, yuzu arent typically eaten alone because they are tart.The zest and juice are often used in cooking, especially in Japanese food.