6 Controversial Fruits in China That Challenge Even the Boldest Eaters
While most fruits are adored for their sweetness, juiciness, and delightful fragrance, some stand out in the fruit basket for all the wrong reasons. These fruits have unusual textures and strong flavors that can push the limits of even the most adventurous eaters. If you’re up for a challenge, here’s a look at six controversial fruits in China that have made many say, “I can’t handle even a bite.”
1. Avocado
Texture: The avocado has a unique texture that’s creamy and dense, like butter. When ripe, it carries a subtle plant-oil flavor, which may feel a little plain or even greasy to some people. The experience of eating avocado is not for everyone, as its flavor can come off as somewhat unrefined or oily.
How to Eat It: Avocados can be chopped into small pieces and mixed with yogurt to create a fresh salad, balancing out the avocado’s richness with yogurt’s tartness. Alternatively, it can be added to sandwiches for a more filling bite or blended into smoothies, making it smoother and more drinkable. However, its distinctive taste will still linger. 
2. Eggfruit (Canistel)
Texture: The eggfruit is powdery and dry, offering a mild sweetness. Its flavor is faint and reminiscent of egg yolk, which can make it feel somewhat dry and lacking the juicy, refreshing qualities that typical fruits have.
How to Eat It: It’s often made into eggfruit tea, where its flavor is softened by blending with the aromatic taste of tea. As a fruit spread, it can be turned into jam and used on bread for a unique twist. You can also use it to bake cakes, although its special flavor still stands out.
3. Hala Fruit (Firefruit)
Texture: The hala fruit has a gel-like consistency with numerous seeds inside. The taste is faint, almost devoid of sweetness, and it’s slippery with a raw, grassy aftertaste, which can be jarring for some.
How to Eat It: You can scoop out the flesh and mix it with honey to balance its blandness. Adding it to a fruit salad will enhance the flavor with the mix of other fruits. In certain regions, hala fruit is paired with spicy sauces to create an interesting combination of fresh bitterness and heat.
4. Ginseng Fruit
Texture: The ginseng fruit is crisp and juicy, with a mild, almost faint flavor. It has a delicate fragrance, somewhat like a mix of cucumber and melon. However, it lacks the strong, distinct sweetness that many people look for in fruits.
How to Eat It: The fruit can be stir-fried with pork, which allows it to soak up the savory flavors of the meat. It can also be served cold with vinegar or sugar to add layers of flavor, though its inherent mildness remains.
5. Salak (Snake Fruit)
Texture: The snake fruit’s tough, scaly skin is hard to peel, revealing a white, crunchy interior. The taste is sweet and sour, but its strong, pungent aroma, which is a cross between durian and jackfruit, can be off-putting to some.
How to Eat It: When made into candied fruit or preserved in syrup, the overpowering scent diminishes, and the fruit becomes sweet and chewy. Some even pickle it, which tones down its sharpness. In Southeast Asia, it’s often paired with dishes to add a unique, fragrant twist, but those unaccustomed to the smell may still find it challenging.
6. Heart Fruit (Cocoa Fruit)
Texture: The heart fruit has a soft, semi-transparent texture. It’s tender and sweet but carries a unique aroma reminiscent of ripe persimmons mixed with a subtle creaminess. This scent can be difficult for some to tolerate.
How to Eat It: You can turn it into a jam and spread it on bread or pair it with desserts to enhance its sweet flavors. If you prefer a fresh approach, you can toss it into a salad with lemon juice or sugar to mitigate its intense fragrance. Steaming it also changes the texture, making it even softer, though the signature flavor remains.
