10 Exotic Fruits Of Belize You Didn't Know Existed

Breadfruit is commonly eaten fried as a snack. Other ways include:

1. Fried in coconut oil
2. Boiled or steamed
3. Cooked in coconut milk

• Taste: Potato flavor with taste of fresh bread
• Other Names: masapan, pana, breadnut, mapén, buen pan
• Species Name: Artocarpus altilis
• Nutrition: High in Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium

Craboo is commonly eaten fresh and ripe. Other ways include:

1. Stewed in a jar with sugar and water
2. Fermented in vinegar
3. Crushed in evaporated milk
4. As craboo wine
5. As craboo ice cream.

• Taste: Combination of pear, lychee, banana
• Other Names: changunga, muruci, murici, nanche, nance, nancite, chacunga, kraabu, savanna serrette
• Species Name: Byrsonima crassifolia
• Nutrition: High in Vitamin C, Fiber, Potassium

Sadly, many locals haven't discovered the magic of cacao. Most of the cacao is only enjoyed by the traditional Maya families and the rest is exported.

• Taste: Dark, bitter, like unsweetened chocolate
• Other Names: kakaw
• Species Name: Theobroma cacao
• Nutrition: High in Antioxidants, Iron, Magnesium

Locals eat the cashew nuts after it's been toasted. The cashew fruit is then used to make cashew wine, cashew jam, and cashew stew. Outside Belize, it's normally used as a cheese replacement due to its creamy texture and flavor.

• Taste: Nutty, cheesy, buttery
• Other Names: caju
• Species Name: Anacardium occidentale
• Nutrition: High in Healthy unsaturated fats, Copper, Antioxidants

This strange little fruit is normally eaten with salt and chili pepper. It can be eaten ripe or unripened. Sometimes, locals put them in a brine of salt water and pepper to preserve for later.

• Taste: Sour, acidic, mildly sweet
• Other Names: ambarella, june plum, caja manga, casharana, jocote de mico, jobo indio, mangotin
• Species Name: Spondias dulcis
• Nutrition: High in Vitamin C, Phosphorous, Calcium

Locals love eating kenep just as much as we enjoy eating craboo. It's a pastime for us to grab a bag of these natural treats and eat the entire bag. Finding the ripest and juiciest fruit by observing the quality of the green shell is a fun game to play.

• Taste: Sweet, acidic
• Other Names: talpa jocote, mamón, limoncillo, skinip, huaya, or mamoncillo
• Species Name: Melicoccus bijugatus
• Nutrition: High in Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Fiber

Since it's rare, the common way to eat it is raw after it has ripened. The flavors are exquisite.

• Taste: Sweet and sour
• Other Names: purple mangosteen
• Species Name: Garcinia mangostana
• Nutrition: High in Antioxidants, Vitamin C, Folate

Locally, noni is used as plant medicine. It is normally mashed up and taken in spoonfuls as medicine in the morning and evening. Locals combine it with other flavors to make it more pleasant. Alternatively, it is used as wine.

Noni and its juice is claimed to be used to treat cancer, diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol problems, high blood pressure, HIV, zheumatism, psoriasis, allergies, infection, and inflammation. It's believed that the fruit can relieve sinus infections, menstrual cramps, arthritis, ulcers, sprains, injuries, depression, senility, poor digestion, atherosclerosis, addiction, colds, flu, and headaches. It is further claimed that the juice can heal scratches on the cornea of the eye. This mouthful of information comes from an old local blog post.

• Taste: Stinky cheese, bitter
• Other Names: morinda, Indian mulberry, beach mulberry, cheese fruit
• Species Name: Morinda citrifolia
• Nutrition: Rich in Antioxidants, Vitamin C, Biotin, Folate

When in season, starfruit is normally eaten raw since the whole fruit is edible. We don't do it much, but juicing starfruit would be a good idea along with using it as garnish for drinks and salads.

• Taste: Combination of apple, pear, grape and citrus
• Other Names: carambolo, balimbing, ma fen, kamaranga
• Species Name: Averrhoa carambola
• Nutrition: High in Vitamin C

Soursop is delicious when eaten raw, but locals prefer preparing it as a juice and even better, as ice cream. It's common to find homemade soursop ice cream at small stores or sometimes sold by vendors on small pickup trucks selling on the streets.

• Taste: Sweet, sour, like natural ice cream
• Other Names: guyabano, guanábana, anona, graviola, and corossol
• Species Name: Annona muricata
• Nutrition: High in Vitamin C, Antioxidants