Many travelers, while traveling to exotic countries, pay a lot of attention to acquaintance with local cuisine. And this is the right strategy! Each nation has its own cooking traditions and special serving rules. Studying local cuisine helps to better understand the cultural traditions and mentality of the indigenous people of the region. Each region also boasts its own fruits and vegetables. During any trip, you should definitely try seasonal plant foods. What are the most delicious and healthy fruits in Bali?
Gourmet Paradise in Bali: Myths and Reality
For one tourist trip to try all the fruits of the resort is almost impossible. It may take several months to learn to understand the local food exotic well. The thing is that most local fruits and vegetables have at least three different names: in Russian, Indonesian and English. On sale there are various varieties. You can buy fruit in Bali at local supermarkets, markets and street ruins. Very popular among tourists are trips to farm plantations, where after excursions tastings are held, during which you can purchase your favorite products. The cheapest way to buy fruits and vegetables is on the street rubble and markets. In supermarkets almost all year round you can buy everything that grows in Bali. But at the same time, there is a high risk for “non-native” purchases of spoiled or immature fruits. On the trading shelves you can see a wide variety of fruits: from pineapples and watermelons familiar to everyone to full-fledged exotic such as mangosteen and rambutan. Many native species of fruit-bearing plants grow in only a few countries.
Habitual exotic
In Bali, tourists from Russia can try the already famous exotic fruits in their fully ripened condition. In local markets, you can buy ripe and juicy pineapples year-round. Fully ripened fruits strike with their sweetness and piquant sourness. You should not buy the smallest pineapples, despite their attractive appearance, they are usually not ripe and are no different from relatives sold in Russian supermarkets.
During a vacation in Bali, you should definitely try at least once a local watermelon. The giant striped berry here may have the traditional red flesh or yellow. To taste, all varieties of watermelon differ slightly among themselves.
Any Bali fruit market will offer customers many varieties of mangoes. When choosing this fruit should be especially careful. Some varieties in local cuisine are used only in salads, they should not be bought for snacks and tastings.
Another pride of Bali is pomelo. This is the largest citrus in the world, fully ripened pulp is very fragrant, without a bitter aftertaste.
Durian is the most unusual fruit of Bali!
If you ask the locals which fruit is most delicious, durian will most likely be recommended. It is a large fruit, about the size of a melon. Thick enough thick peel covered with spikes. Cutting durian is a dubious pleasure. With sharp tools you can get to the fleshy flesh of a yellowish tint. The fruit has a pronounced persistent aroma. Locals consider it sweet and bewitching, and to someone it seems out of habit it is heavy and putrid. It is for this reason that durian is forbidden to carve and eat on the territory of many hotels. All other fruits in Bali can be eaten anyway. But if you still decide to try durian, find out in advance in what places such a meal is legal and will not hurt anyone.
Dragon fruit - amazing cactus fruit
What fruits in Bali are most popular with tourists? Topping the list is pitaya, also known as dragon fruit. In local markets it can also be seen under the names: Markisa and Buah naga. Pitaya got its popular name for its unusual appearance. These fruits grow on large cacti, their outer shell resembles tongues of flame. Ripe fruit is large enough, its weight should be at least 0.5 kg. The pitaya pulp is soft and watery, tastes like kiwi and strawberry. In Bali, several varieties of dragon fruit are consumed. In ripened form, they may have a flesh of white or red color, with a large number of small black grains. This fruit is not only very tasty, but also healthy. Pitaya is rich in vitamins C and B, calcium, phosphorus and iron.
Snake fruit
Salak among tourists is better known as snake fruit. This fruit deserves its name due to the peel resembling the skin of a snake. Herring grows on a thorny bush in clusters. The fruit has an elongated teardrop shape with a pointed tip. Ripened fruits may have a reddish and brown hue. Before eating, snake fruit should be peeled. Under it there are several slices of light elastic pulp. It tastes both sweet and sour. Some tourists believe that it looks like nuts and pineapple at the same time.
Mangosteen or mangosteen?
Manggis is often called the most delicious fruit in Asia. It is called differently: mangosteen and mangosteen. Only the essence remains unchanged: these fruits in Bali can be bought everywhere and at any time of the year, just like apples in Russia. The fruit is medium sized with incredibly juicy sweet flesh. Ripe mangosteen breaks easily with your hands. Slices of white pulp hide under a purple skin. This fruit is eaten fresh, added to sweet salads and used when brewing tea. Mangosteen is rich in antioxidants, vitamins E and C, magnesium, zinc and calcium. Residents of Bali eat it for medicinal purposes. They believe that this fruit can improve digestion.
Sour cream and cream Bali apples
In the fruit season in Bali, in winter you can easily find a sirsak, or sour cream, in every fruit shop. Its peel is usually green, depending on the variety can be covered with pimples or spikes. Edible flesh of sirsak is white. Many locals and tourists like the fruit due to its fresh taste. If the sirsak seems sour to you, it makes sense to try it again as part of traditional drinks. In Bali, sour cream cocktails are very popular. They contain the pulp and juice of the fruit, as well as sugar syrup, softening the natural acidity. When visiting fruit markets, also pay attention to silicone. This is a distant relative of the sirsak, characterized by a smaller size and a sweeter taste.
Passion fruit - a taste familiar to everyone!
Passion fruit has long ceased to be considered exotic for the Russians. In our country, puree from this fruit is actively used in the production of packaged juices, desserts and dairy products. And yet it is much tastier than passion fruit in Bali, where it can be picked directly from a tree. Ripe fruits have a red or yellow skin that should easily burst under the fingers. The pulp of the fruit is liquid, has a delicate taste. It is most convenient to eat passion fruit, cutting the fruit in half. The pulp can be selected with a spoon. Interesting fact: passion fruit is no exotic in Bali. Incredible fruits grow here at every turn. Passion fruit is sold year-round; it is part of many drinks and desserts.
Rambutan is the hairiest fruit
Like many other fruits of Bali, rambutan got its name for its bright appearance. Fruits are small in size, grow in bundles on a tree. The outer surface of the shell is covered with long bristles. The fruit is like a hedgehog or a fluffy brush. From here came its name, the word "rambut" in translation from Indonesian means "hair". Rambutan in ripened form has a red peel and white translucent flesh. Almost everyone likes this fruit, since the flesh is moderately sweet and juicy. Rambutan is sold everywhere and is one of the cheapest fruits.
What else is definitely worth a try in Bali?
The largest edible fruit growing on a tree is called jackfruit. Fruits weighing 10-12 kg are considered normal. Under the embossed greenish or brown peel, a yellow flesh is hidden, divided into large lobes. An interesting fact: unripe jackfruit in Bali is used as a vegetable in cooking, and ripened is used as fresh fruit.
In season, the prices for Bali fruits are very low, and every tourist can afford to try a wide variety of local nature gifts. In most cases, the price per 1 kg of fruit does not exceed $ 2.
Guava is a unique local fruit rich in vitamin C. The ripe fruit has a sweet flesh of red or white color. Guava is often compared to strawberries and bananas to taste.
Lychee is a small fruit with a raspberry-red embossed skin. Edible flesh is transparent milk, easily separated from the skin and large bone.
Savo is often compared to kiwi because of its appearance. This fruit has a velvety skin of yellowish and brownish hues. But to the taste, its flesh is more like a pear, very sweet, slightly grainy.
Bali also has its own “melon” - pepino. The fruits of this fruit are quite large, the flesh is translucent or saturated yellow. Pepino is recommended to be cleaned before serving, as its peel has a not quite pleasant aroma.
If you want to try the most ripe and delicious fruits and vegetables in Bali, it is better to go on a trip in winter. Many types of fruits begin to ripen in the middle of summer, but their cost is high. Since mid-autumn, prices have fallen sharply in local markets, with virtually no overripe fruits and vegetables. In the spring, for gourmets there is an “off season”. Exotic fruits in Bali in May can be purchased only in supermarkets, where prices are very high.