When traveling to Asia, everyone dreams of enjoying plenty of different fruits
Fruits in Bali are another reason to come to the island, because the variety of types, flavors, and shapes won’t leave anyone indifferent. Of course, Bali also has watermelons, bananas, pineapples, and so on. But in this article we’ll talk about the fruits we’re not used to seeing on store shelves, and some of them you may have never seen at all. They all grow in Bali and the neighboring islands
Avocado (local name: Alpukat)
Season: all year round
Avocado has a green skin and is shaped like a pear. Inside there is slightly greenish flesh and a large pit. The fruit is rich in vitamins and микроelements. It is sold all year round, but during the low season the fruit is firmer. The taste of a ripe avocado is nutty, and the texture is like softened butter. An overripe avocado becomes too soft, so it’s better to buy slightly green fruit that will ripen in 2–3 days
Pineapple (local name: Nanas)
Season: all year round
This is also an exotic fruit, even though it has become familiar to us. Choose pineapples by smell. If you can sense sweetness even through the skin, it’s a good one to buy. Greenish pineapples will be more sour. The juiciest and sweetest fruits are the elongated ones, while small round ones often have a citrus-like note
Bananas (local name: Pisang)
Season: all year round
There are actually many types of bananas. They differ in length, shape, and size. And of course, in taste
Guava (local name: Jambu biji)
Season: all year round
Guava is a fruit that looks like a large green apple (although there are varieties with raspberry-colored skin, but not in Thailand). Today it’s a very popular fruit in Thailand, even though it comes from South America. People prefer to eat it slightly unripe and with the peel, when the flesh is still firm and tastes sweet-and-sour (more sweet). When guava ripens, it becomes softer and the flavor is less pronounced. Guava flesh is white or pink. Inside, a large area is filled with inedible seeds (from about one hundred to several hundred). Guava is often used for making desserts
Durian (local name: Durian)
Season: December–March
People are divided into two types: those who love durian and those who hate it — there is no in-between. That’s because this green-yellow fruit, about the size of a small melon and covered with sharp spikes, has such a strong rotten smell that many airlines officially ban it on board, as the smell can linger for weeks. You’ll especially notice the aroma when you open the durian — some people can’t handle it at all. But don’t rush to judge: the taste doesn’t quite match the smell. For many, the flavor is associated with creamy dessert, or with potatoes with garlic and sour cabbage
It should not be eaten together with alcohol, and it is also not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women
Jackfruit (local name: Nangka)
Season: April–September
First of all, jackfruit is the largest tree-grown fruit in the world. Its weight can reach 30 kg or more and its diameter up to 60 cm
It looks a bit like durian, but with a smoother surface
Because of its size, jackfruit is usually sold already cut into pieces. But if you want to buy a whole fruit or half and take the pieces out yourself, it’s best to use gloves — otherwise it will be hard to wash the sticky sap off your hands. Of all Bali fruits, jackfruit is one of the most filling: it contains about 40% carbohydrates, as well as vitamin A, potassium, calcium, and more
Carambola (local name: Belimbing)
Season: all year round
This fruit is popular primarily because of its unusual shape. The elongated fruit has a star shape in cross-section, and even its color matches — from pale green to rich yellow and even orange. The texture of the surface is very similar to a обычный bell pepper. In taste, it brings to mind pineapple, kiwi, and apple, but more mild than all of those. Thanks to its unusual look and pleasant, delicate flavor, carambola is often used as a garnish for various dishes and salads
Coconut (local name: Kelapa)
Season: all year round
This is probably one of the most popular and полезный fruits on our planet!
Its importance as a source of vitamins and minerals beneficial for humans is hard to overestimate. Add to that the many полезные qualities of coconut water, coconut milk, coconut flesh, and the coconut itself — and you get a fruit that cannot be ignored!
Lychee (local name: Leci)
Season: all year round
Lychee fruit looks and tastes very much like strawberries. It has a bright pink peel with small scales, and the flesh is white and very sweet. You should not eat the peel, and the seed inside should also be discarded. Lychee is one of the juiciest and most aromatic tropical fruits in Indonesia. It is often added to cocktails, desserts, and even cosmetics. The fruit is famous for its high content of vitamin C, phosphorus, and iron
Longan (local name: Lengkeng)
Season: June–September
At first, these sandy-brown balls don’t look very appetizing, but the fruit is quite juicy. The taste is simply sweet, not overly so. They peel easily, but if stored for a long time they dry out and become harder to peel. Inside there is a hard smooth seed
Mango (local name: Mangga)
Season: October–February
There are several varieties of mango on the island, and all of them are very tasty. The fruit has an exceptionally sweet, rich, bright yellow flesh. Inside there is a long flat seed. To check ripeness, smell the mango — ripe fruit has a juicy sweet aroma. Mango is rich in vitamins A, C, E, as well as selenium and potassium. Mango improves vision and skin condition
White mango (local name: Wani Biji)
Season: December–March
A fairly unique fruit that grows only in Bali. The taste is moderately sweet and not for everyone. But it’s definitely worth trying! If you find a ripe one, it can be very tasty when chilled. It also has a pleasant, interesting aroma. Usually it’s not peeled — it’s cut and eaten. Buy it like mango: it should be slightly soft
Mangosteen (local name: Manggis)
Season: May–July
The fruit looks like a small round eggplant, but its taste and inside are completely different. Inside are white soft segments, shaped like garlic cloves, but as tender as peach flesh. These segments are the edible part, and their sweet-and-sour tropical taste is amazing and hard to compare to anything else. A ripe fruit is roughly the size of a medium apple
Passion fruit (local name: Markisa)
Season: January–April
It is a bulb-shaped fruit with a маленьким stem. It grows on a vine and also comes from Latin America, although it has long taken root in Asia. It has an orange dense peel and is very light. That’s because inside the hard оболочка there is an airy white jelly-like pulp with edible crunchy seeds, best eaten with a spoon. The taste of passion fruit is unusual and refined. So much so that in English it is called “passionfruit.” It contains a wide range of vitamins from A to K, and is recommended for intestinal and liver issues, low blood pressure, and also as a natural fever reducer. A ripe passion fruit should give slightly when pressed. Experienced travelers say that Bali’s passion fruit is much tastier than in Thailand and the Philippines, so be sure to add it to your shopping list
Papaya (local name: Pepaya)
Season: all year round
A large green-orange fruit shaped like a melon. It comes from South America, but now its palm-like trees can be found in many tropical countries, including Bali. Inside papaya there is bright orange flesh and small seeds in the center. It is juicy and moderately sweet — great for fresh juices and salads, although usually it’s eaten right away as is. In Bali, papayas are usually large — from 3 kg. The easiest way is to cut it lengthwise into slices like a melon, peel off the skin, remove the seeds, and eat it. Papaya is so beneficial that it is recommended for people with digestive issues, because it contains the enzyme papain, which helps cleanse the body. Papaya also strengthens the immune system, contains antioxidants, and is harmless for the figure. When choosing papaya, do not buy a shiny, красивую green papaya
Pepino (local name: Buah Pepino)
Pepino, or melon pear, looks like a yellow melon with dark vertical stripes, but its surface is smooth rather than rough. The flesh has a delicate aroma and a wonderful sweet taste похожий to melon. Before eating pepino, first remove the peel, which has an unpleasant запах
Dragon fruit / Pitaya (local name: Buah naga)
Season: May–October
Pitaya, better known as dragon fruit, is a bright pink fruit with funny green scale-like tips. The flesh is white with many tiny black seeds and has a sweet, watery taste reminiscent of banana, kiwi, and strawberries. Dragon fruit is very beneficial, especially for endocrine issues and stomach problems
Pomelo (local name: Jeruk Pomelo)
Season: all year round
In nature, pomelo can be very large (up to 10 kg and up to 29 cm in diameter), but the fruits sold and eaten usually weigh around 1–1.5 kg
Pomelo color can range from greenish to yellow. The flesh texture is like other citrus fruits — pale pink, pale green, or almost white and translucent (depending on the variety). The taste is sweet-and-slightly-tart with a barely noticeable bitterness
Rambutan (local name: Rambutan)
Season: May–October
These red-green “hairy” fruits attract attention first of all because of their unusual appearance. The taste is sweet-and-sour, not overly sweet, and very refreshing. They peel easily — just remove the skin. One inconvenience is that the flesh can come off together with the thin膜 around the seed, but everything chews fine and you don’t need to worry. Some people eat the seeds too, but I prefer to discard them
They are usually sold in clusters
Sapodilla (local name: Sawo)
Round sapodilla fruits, slightly larger than a fist, are covered with a brownish velvety skin resembling kiwi. The flesh is yellowish-pinkish-brown, soft and sweet, with a texture like an overripe pear and a flavor reminiscent of dried fruits
Soursop / sour cream apple (local name: Sirsak)
Season: June–September
Soursop is used to make ice cream and desserts, salads, and it is also eaten fresh or added to shakes. The fruits are harvested while still green and unripe, because ripe fruits split when they fall to the ground due to their weight. After harvest, they are stored in a warm place where they ripen and become soft
You can eat the pulp with a spoon, or cut it into cubes and eat with a fork. It is eaten roughly like papaya. Soursop is rich in vitamins and minerals. It has a beneficial effect on intestinal flora, normalizes liver function and stomach acidity, and removes excess uric acid from the body, so it is recommended for conditions such as arthritis and rheumatism. It contains витамins B and C
Salak / snake fruit (local name: Salak)
Season: all year round
Salak, also known as snake fruit, is a small unusual fruit with a peel that looks very much like snake skin (hence the name)
The taste of salak is hard to describe, and there are many different opinions comparing it to apples, strawberries, and citrus. It has both sweetness and a little tanginess, so the best option (as in everything) is to try it and form your own opinion :). The fruit is small, about the size of a kiwi. The peel is thin, and under it there are two to four segments with a seed. Their texture varies and is also hard to describe — it can be crumbly and crunchy, or juicy like an apple
Tamarillo (local name: Terong Belanda)
Season: May–September
A sweet-and-sour dark red fruit with a quite interesting taste. It’s convenient to cut it and eat it with a spoon. It is also great to add to shakes. The peel is usually not eaten
Tamarind (local name: Asam)
Tamarind fruits look like pods up to 3 cm wide and up to 20 cm long
The contents of these pods are surprisingly similar to dates, both in appearance and taste. That’s why tamarind is often called the Indian date
Inside these “dates” there are 5–7 small harmless seeds, like beads. As mentioned above, tamarind tastes like a date, but it also strongly resembles dried fruits like apricots and prunes, and there is something in its flavor that is similar to apple jam and chewy caramel candies
Of course, this is not all of Bali’s fruits, but just a short list of what is worth trying first
So where can you buy fruits in Bali?
- at a local market
- in the Nirmala or Pepito supermarket (in the latter, prices will be 2–3 times higher)
- order fresh juice in a café
- stop on the way home and buy from locals at a roadside stall
- on the beach from vendors — already cut into pieces in bags, or they will cut the fruit right in front of you
Some fruits grow right in home gardens, or you can pick them on the way home. For example, in rented houses you can often find a papaya or mango tree, and on the way home you might pick jackfruit
You can buy whole fruits and stretch out the pleasure, or you can grab a tray of already cut fruit for a quick snack on the beach
When buying, always pay attention to seasonality: out of season, fruits are several times more expensive and not ripe enough because they are imported, while in season everything is local and costs almost nothing
