Sci-Friday: My Top 5 Earth fruits that are completely out of this world!
Fruits that are so weird, they look like they're from another planet.
I want to start off by saying this week has been crazy! So I am glad that Sci-Friday is once again upon us. This weekly event can serve to give us all, both reader and writer a much-needed break from the grind of living on planet Earth.
It’s time to prepare yourself and your taste buds, to open your mind to my top 5 earth fruits that are so strange they could be cast as a tasty extra in any Sci-Fi film or TV show that has ever been made.
Before you read this, please take the time to check out these great authors and fellow participants of the now infamously majestic, Sci-Friday. In no particular order here they are -
Honorable mentions from Sci-Fridays past -
andNow, my top 5 Sci-Fi fruits that can be found right here on planet Earth!
Fruit Of The Hala Aka Puhala Tree
I have never had the opportunity to sample this alien-looking fruit but according to the interwebs, (yes that just happened), this fruit tastes like a combination of mango and pineapple with notes of banana punctuating the mild, sweet, and tropical flavor of The Fruit Of The Hala Aka Puhala Tree.
Rambutan
Although Rambutan is native to southeast Asia it looks like it was dropped off here by E.T himself. It makes you think, what kind of creature is that? The Rambutan definitely fits the bill for an out-of-this-world fruit. When I first saw a Rambutan I thought, how am I supposed to eat this, or more like, who would want to eat this?
This fruit would fit right in on a Klingon dinner table, but I’m afraid its sweet and juicy flavor would probably disappoint most Klingons. I highly recommend this one.
Durian or Rotting Flesh Fruit
Durian
It’s not so much the look of the rotting flesh fruit, but instead the powerful and nasty aroma that it emits when ripe. This fruit reminds me of what a creature from another planet might smell like. Durian is so putrid that it has been banned in several public places in its homeland of Southeast Asia.
It stinks, it’s something Worf would appreciate, yet it’s kind of good. To me, the rotting flesh fruit smells and tastes like a mixture of rotting onions, gasoline or turpentine, sweaty armpit (not the good sweaty armpit) the bad sweaty armpit, and wild fermentation.
Somehow, under the right circumstances, this can taste good in a rotting, fermented sort of way.
Dragon Fruit
Dragon Fruit is reminiscent of something you would see in a faraway jungle world just after stepping out of the Stargate. It looks like a tasty peace offering from a friendly alien species. Good hospitality is universally appreciated.
As gorgeous as Dragon Fruit is, it is lacking in flavor in my opinion. To my tastebuds, this fruit is very bland or almost dirt-like. Maybe this fruit really is meant to be tasted by a visitor from a galaxy far away.
Horned Melon or Kiwano
The Horned Melon or Kiwano does not look very inviting. Its spiky exterior says don’t even think about touching me and definitely don’t cut me open to look inside. This jelly-like melon does not hail from the depths of another world’s ocean but instead can be found on Earth in southern Africa.
During the dry season in the Kalahari desert, it is one of the few reliable water sources that can be found. The flavor profile of the horned melon goes between that of cucumber, zucchini, banana, and passion fruit with a little lime and a touch of slime for texture.
I second Rambutan. Some kind of tasty spider lichee contrivance.
Ramubtan is yummy! Durian... not so much! Ewww! Although the hubs loves it. Smells like a cross between banana, garlic, pineapple and dirty socks!