Vietnam is located in a tropical zone which means that we find all kinds of unusual fruits in our region. This is an opportunity for tourists to try fruits that they are not used to eating. Some are more popular than others like the famous but very special Durian.
I’m going to skip fruits that are very popular in Vietnam like Mango or Litchi since everyone knows them. I will instead do an article on the most unknown but no less excellent ones.
Durian
How can we talk about fruits to try in Vietnam without talking about Durian, it is the fruit par excellence to try in Vietnam.
Of course, you have to be adventurous since it has a rather particular smell and taste, even our best French cheeses cannot match it. The Vietnamese love it, you can even find Durian ice cream. Its flesh is yellow and soft and the fruit is particularly large but in the markets you can buy it already cut.
It is the only fruit prohibited on planes and some hotels forbid you from bringing it into their establishment… It is found almost everywhere in Vietnam but the province of Vinh Long produces one of the best Durians in Vietnam
The best time to eat it: from May to August.
Dragon Fruit (Thanh Long)
This fruit is called Dragon Fruit in French and commonly called Pitaya. The inside of the fruit resembles a kiwi and from the outside, it has a rather particular shape since it is covered with a type of scale, hence its name.
Originally from South America but imported by the French to Vietnam, it is found in 3 types: red skin with red flesh, red skin with white flesh (the most common) and yellow skin with white flesh.
Its taste is sweet, light and crunchy. It’s one of my favorites.
Longan
From the same family as Litchi, Longan is also called Dragon’s Eye because it looks like an eyeball when the fruit is open (see photo above). The exterior of the fruit is hard and thin. Inside, its pulp is translucent. The tiny fruit is soft, juicy, sweet and succulent.
Longan is a tropical fruit rich in nutrients. It is used in the preparation of lotus seed soups and is also one of the tonics used in traditional medicine recipes.
Mangosteen
The fruit resembles a plum except that the rind is hard and is inedible. Inside, the color of the flesh is white and the fruit is divided into several parts like a clementine. The taste is sour and sweet…
Mangosteen is one of the fruits richest in natural antioxidants.
Jackfruit
This immense fruit (it can weigh more than 20 kg) is sweet with a strong smell but far from Durian. It tastes like a mix of pineapple and mango. Its texture is a little rubbery. At the market, you often find it cut up. At the same time, it has to be better, you can imagine bringing a fruit of this size back to your hotel.
The Jackfruit tree is used to build houses or furniture.
