Fruits in Grenada – trying new things

The produce in Grenada is limited and I can’t find many of the fruits I’m used to. It’s not like our grocery stores in Canada which, regardless of the chain you choose, have typically everything you need almost all year-round. And usually the fruits that are available at the store are imported, like strawberries and plums, so they’re very expensive. Like CAD $17 for a small pack of strawberries that normally ranges from $3.99-$5.99 in Canada. Since I love fruit, I’ve started to try new fruits in Grenada. Here are the ones I’ve tried so far.

New fruits in Grenada #1: Passion fruit

My favourite new fruit is passion fruit. Initially, I mixed up the name with dragon fruit even though I’ve had dragon fruit and know exactly what it looks like. I think it’s because there are Starbucks refreshers that have dragon fruit and passion fruit, and I couldn’t remember which one tastes like what lol. I thought that like dragon fruit, passion fruit was going to be on the mild, almost flavourless side.

Couldn’t be more wrong.

Passion fruit has a very strong, tart and citrus-like taste, with some hints of sweetness. And it smells really good. The taste reminds me a little bit of guava, which I absolutely love. The fruit here is pale yellow on the outside, small and round. You cut all the way through the middle to get 2 halves and you can scoop the fruit with a spoon. There are large seeds inside but they’re edible.

Whatever passion fruit drinks they sell back home must be so watered down, because they’re nothing like the fruit. Those drinks don’t give you a true sense of how flavourful this fruit is. I guess making passion fruit juice gets expensive since there’s very little fruit inside. You can eat it in one scoop.

New fruits in Grenada #2: Ackee

I don’t think I would have tried Ackee unless my friend got it because they just look like small limes. In fact, we were trying to find it again recently and what we thought was ackee was actually small green plums so they’re easy to confuse with other things. I’m so glad I tried it because it tastes so good. In fact, it tastes very similar to lychee!

I think there are a few varieties of ackee. But the ackee available in Grenada are small and green and come in a bunch. You gently crack the skin between your teeth and then peel it off. It comes off very easily. Then you suck on the flesh until it’s gone and in the middle is a large seed, just like with lychee. Ackee has a little bit of a sour taste while lychee is more sweet. But otherwise, the taste and texture are very similar.

New fruits in Grenada #3: Golden apple

I can’t find a good picture for this. Golden apple is very green and hard when unripe, and it has sort of an oval shape. That’s the only way I’ve seen it being sold here so far. So when you buy it, you need to let it sit for a few days. As it ripens, it will turn golden-yellow, hence the name. I think I let mine sit too long because some parts of the fruit looked like it was going bad. But other parts hadn’t fully ripened so I’m not sure if I experienced the true taste.

To eat golden apple, you need to remove the skin with a knife and cut off the fruit around the large seed in the middle. The parts I was able to eat were sweet and sour. The texture and taste reminded me of a mix between mango and pineapple. It had the fibrous, vein-like parts that you see as soon as you peel a mango, right next or part of the mango skin. And the flesh is a little crunchy like pineapple.

Not new but better/interesting: honeydew & oranges

These aren’t new fruits for me but the honeydew melons here are amazing. And the oranges are interesting because they’re green on the outside even when they’re fully ripe. Once you cut them open, they’re orange on the inside and taste sweet. It’s just strange to see at first because I’m used to oranges that look very orange on the outside. Actually, I’ve noticed that a lot of things here are green. The oranges, the golden apple, and also the lemons even when they’re fully ripe and juicy.

Now a little more about the honeydew. I love this melon but I’ve only ever had 2 types of experiences with honeydew back home. Either it’s really sweet or completely flavourless. But in Grenada, it’s not only sweet but also crunchy. I hate when honeydew or any melon is mushy. That texture just completely detracts from the taste. So to get fruit that is both sweet and crisp in texture – it’s like fruit heaven for me. I can’t wait to get it again. It’s been hard to find recently so when I do, I’m buying two.

So those are some of the fruits in Grenada I’ve tried so far.

Have you tried any of these fruits?

-M

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