Kerala – god’s own land makes for the pristine and richly refreshing environment. The tall coconut trees lining the roads, peaceful backwater boat rides delicious south Indian dishes, and welcoming down to earth folks, this place on every travel enthusiast’s bucket list. The fruits and vegetation here are grown organically.
When you’re in Kerala and wish to get the best taste of this tropical exotic land than trying out the fruits here will be one way of achieving that experience. Traveling, staying, and exploring locally lets you meet the locals, interact with them, and get the real vibe of that place.
Here are a couple of fruits that you have to try during your vacation there:
Custard Apple
These deliciously sweet fruits which consists of many seeds inside covered in white sweet flesh is a very famous fruit of Kerala. This can be found on a tiny semi-green or deciduous tree and has a green color to it which looks very hardy from the outside. It is mainly found in regions that fall under the tropical area and consists of humid and warm climate, hence Kerala offers the perfect environment for it to grow and thrive. Although a native of West Indies and southern Mexico it has acquired a substantial liking among the Indian crowd. One can find it easily among the fruit vendors and they come in varying sizes ranging from 7-12 cms.
Musa Banana
Did you know that everyday around 50-60 tonnes of bananas is exported from Kerala? Known locally as Vaazha or Musa Banana, this special kind of fruit is a native to Southeast Asia but is grown on a very large commercial and non-commercial scale in the south Indian states (including Kerala) and West Bengal. Interestingly enough these bananas are available in a variety of colors when they turn completely ripe ranging from red, purple and even yellow. The unripe bananas are cooked as savoury local dishes and the ripe ones get very sweet and are consumed as a healthy fruit option. Every part of a banana tree from its trunk stems to its leaves is utilized by the people of south India.
Indian Gooseberry
These largely cultivated small-sized fruits which are known locally as Nelli holds a lot of health benefits and has also been known to be used as a crucial part of the Ayurvedic medication in fresh as well as dried form. This fruit that grows in small bunches tastes like a combination of sour, bitter, and like an astringent. A common practice is to drink some water while eating this fruit as then it will diminish the sour taste. It helps in curing various problems related to digestion, fever, constipation, cough, asthma, etc. it also makes for a significant part of the ingredient utilized for the preparation of Chyawanprash. People also prepare pickles from it for daily household consumption.
Black Plum
Known for its sweet and savoury flavor and found mainly on the hills of India, Kerala is home to a special kind of plum called the black plum. This is a very quickly growing tree with a lifespan of around 100 years. The exterior of the fruits is black in color (hence the name) while the pulp is pink colored. In fact, the wood of this tree is highly water-resistant and extremely durable and is also planted by the locals for its ornamental value. March to April are the months when the tree starts flowering and by June the fruits also start developing. Initially, the fruits is green colored and turns black with time and as it ripens. The fruit is utilized to prepare wine, vinegar, jam, syrup etc. and they have a lot of nutritional value being high sources of vitamin A and C.
Manila Tamarind
In South India, tamarind are found everywhere and used as a significant ingredient in most of the local dishes. This evergreen tree bears tamarind that keeps the pain away on consumption and is a much loved raw material for cooking among the locals. These delicious type of tamarind variant grow very quickly on small branches and bear greenish-white flowers. In this case also the bark of this tree is boiled and its juice is used for curing bowel movement. The fruit ripens and its pulp becomes edible from the months of April to July whereas on the other hand the hard timber of the tree is used for purposes like cart building, as agricultural tool etc.
Cucumber Tree
Not to be confused with the common cucumber vegetable, cucumber tree is a fruit which looks and tastes very differently from the cucumber that we use normally in salads. The tree is leafy and very green which remains that way throughout the year but grows best in a region that receives even rainfall throughout the year. The trunk and branches of the tree bears all the flowers and fruits. An unripe cucumber fruit is bright green in color with a crispy texture and as it ripens changes its colors to yellowish which on consuming tastes sort of acidic. The fruit looks very quirky on the outside with a light green tinge and glossy thin skin that can be eaten as it is or along with a bit of salt.
Guava
Did you know that a simple guava is the healthiest fruit in the world which is filled with oodles of goodness of rich vitamins and minerals? In Kerala, these delicious sweet fruits are grown on small shrubby trees that are evergreen in nature and consist of numerous strong branches. It is not a rare fruit and can be easily found across this state with the most common variety being the apple guava. One humble piece of guava consists of iron, protein, vitamin B3, vitamin B4, etc. even the different parts of the tree holds several medicinal values and is multiplied mainly with the help of birds, animals and insects.
On a closer look Kerala has numerous delicious, famous, and rarely occurring fruits grown n a wide scale. Go there and make sure to try these delicious fruits and more to make your holiday even more memorable.
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