Fruits and Candies of Cartagena

 I love to try new things.  And who doesn't love fruit and candy.  We've been trying candies and today picked up a variety of fruits we'd never eaten.  Here's my report.  I'll be adding more as we eat them.  Ok, we've been too busy eating all the candy to write about them but that will happen soon.

This photo shows two mangosteen and a caimito  I learned to love mangosteens when I lived in Myanmar.  I rate mangosteens a solid 9.5.  Roland rated the mangosteen a 7.

This is a caimito, also known as a star apple.  I'd rate it a 6.  I'd be happy to eat it again, but it is bland so I wouldn't buy it again.  Roland gave it an 8.

This is a passion fruit (maracuya).  It is hard on the outside, almost like a gourd.

I liked this one a lot.  I'd rate it an 8.  Loved the taste, not wild about the seed crunchiness.  Roland rated it a 5.

This is zapote.  It looks like a potato.

Called nispero in Spanish, loquat in English.  The taste and texture is just like eating pumpkin pie filling.  I'd rate it a 8.  Roland gave it a 7.  His lower score is because he's not a big fan of pumpkin.  I'd definitely buy it again.  It would make great ice cream, I think.

This guy is the size of a small apple and called lulo.  Very popular here it is like a cross between a pineapple and a lemon.  It is very tart and often used to make juice.  

Roland laughed at my reaction after my first bite.  It is very tart!  Especially after the rather bland zapote.  I'd rate it a 7.  Might be good with sugar, as a juice but a bit too tart for me, plain.  Roland gave it a 2.5 - it was just too tart.  He compared it to eating rhubarb.

This is a nispero. It looks like a cross between a coconut and a potato on the outside.  It has a large seed on the inside, similar to a mango.  But the flesh is more solid.

The skin is tough and it is harder to cut up than a mango since it is mostly seed.  But delicious.  I scored it a 5 because it is a lot of work.  Roland rated it an 8.  I'm lazier.

This is a granadilla.

Lots of small, crunchy seeds that look like fish eyeballs.  Having said that, I'd rate a granadilla a solid 9.  Not to sweet, not too tart.  I'm just a huge fan of crunchy seeds.  But delicious and I'll definitely eat it again.  Roland rated it an 8, which is high, for him.

This is all the flesh from 1/2 of the large fruit we haven't identified yet.  

This is a la pitaya or dragon fruit.  

The dragon fruit, to me, is very bland.  I rated it a 7.  Rolando rated it an 8.