Top Rarest Fruits Found on the Earth

You’re used to eating apples and oranges, but have you ever seen a horned cucumber? Around the world, there are many unique fruits that most people have never heard of. Here are some of the rarest fruits that you didn't know existed.

Buddha’s Hand: This unusual fruit, given its name for its finger-like appearance, can be found in the far east, in countries like China, India, Malaysia, and Japan. Buddha’s hand is often used as a perfume for rooms and clothes. In Buddhist temples, they’re used as an offering. Tradition has it that Buddha prefers the “fingers” of the fruit to be in a position where they resemble a closed hand, symbolizing an act of prayer. When eaten, you’ll enjoy a taste similar to citrus fruits, but it contains no pulp or juice. It can be used in desserts, dishes, or alcoholic beverages.

Miracle Fruit: Originating from tropical west Africa, the miracle fruit can perform a unique trick on your sense of taste. After eating this delicious red berry, your taste buds get temporarily rewired, making sour fruits like lemons taste like sweet candy. The effect lasts for about 30 minutes until your saliva washes away the protein that causes this. The berry itself has low sugar content, with a mildly sweet tang. Ackee Known as the national fruit of Jamaica, Ackeeis a pear-shaped fruit considered one of the best delicacies on the Caribbean island. But be careful to only eat this fruit when it is ripe, which is when the fruit has a bright red to yellow-orange look, naturally opening revealing the black seeds. Eating the fruit when it’s green and not ripe will poison you. The inside of this rare tropical fruit can have a mild buttery flavor and a texture like scrambled eggs. Jabuticaba This grapelike fruit can be found in Brazil and other parts of South America. Jabuticaba gets its name from an extinct language called Tupian. Jabot means tortoise and caba means place, combined to mean the place where you find tortoises. These rare exotic fruits can be eaten raw, or be used to make jellies, jams, juice, or wine. The flesh of the fruit can taste sweet, and the skin has a sharp, acidic taste.

Hala Fruit: Native to Eastern Australia and the PacificIslands, the Hala fruit has a sweet taste to it. In addition to being tasty, it also makes for great dental floss with its green tips. But beware about leaving these fruits out in the sun long. It can ferment and produce a foul odor, which has earned it the nickname of “stink nut”. You can feel free to eat the fruit raw or cooked.

Noni: Common across southeast Asia, noni is a fruit that's known for having a strong smell and a bitter taste. This fruit has been used for making powders, cosmetic products, oil, and juice drinks. Indigenous groups also once used this fruit during times of famine, giving it the nickname “the starvation fruit”. Noni can also be used to create a yellow-colored dye. While sometimes used as traditional medicine, there’s no known clinical evidence to support any medicinal benefits. Camu Camu If you ever take a trip to the lowlands of the Amazon, you might spot this fruit. Camu Camu is known to be very acidic. For that reason, the flavor is often masked by being mixed with milk or water and having sugar added to it. Camu Camu has a subtle aroma that’s not as noticeable in comparison to other fruits on this list. Unfortunately, the fruit is at risk of being endangered due to overharvesting.

Monkey Fruit: No, we’re not talking about bananas. We’re actually talking about a fruit that is native to India and Sri Lanka. It’s sometimes referred to as the wood apple or the elephant apple. Hindu temples will sometimes have the monkey fruit trees within their compound as sacred trees. Hindu worshippers may use it to give offerings to their gods Shiva and Ganesha. These fruits, though sugary, often have a sour taste. But they can be eaten raw, or used for making fruit drinks African Horned Cucumber What do you get when you combine the taste of a banana and a passionfruit? You get the African horned cucumber. Just as the name indicates, this interesting fruit has horns on the outside of it, and when ripe has orange skin with a lime green jelly-like flesh. It’s one of the only sources of water during the dry season in the Kahalari desert. In general, it can be eaten as a snack, and the flavor can be enhanced with a small amount of salt or sugar. Cupuacu If you like chocolate and pineapple, you'll love the smell of this fruit. Cupuacu can be found deep in the Amazon, in the jungles of Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and northern Brazil. The fruit happens to be the national fruit of Brazil. People describe the taste of the fruit as being a mix of pear, banana, passion fruit, and melon. Brazilians often use it to make sweets such as chocolate and ice cream.

Mamey: If you eat milkshakes and ice cream in theUS or Mexico, you may have already tasted this unique fruit before. Originating from Cuba and Central America, Mamey has brown skin with pink to reddish inner flesh. The fruit is often eaten raw but is also used to make smoothies, milkshakes, ice cream, and fruit bars. Mamey has also been used to produce jellies and beauty products. And if you’re looking for an excellent source of vitamin B6 and Vitamin C, then taking a bite out of this fruit will be just what you need.

Black Diamond Apples: Grown in the mountains of Tibet, Black diamond apples look like a fruit that came straight out of the Disney Movie Snow White. Don’t worry, it won’t poison you and put you to sleep. The apple developed its deep dark color through receiving lots of ultraviolet light during the day but experiencing the sharp changes of temperature at night. Despite the different colors on the outside, the apple’s color on the inside is white and bright like every other apple. However, they’ve been described as tasting much sweeter than regular apples, so you’ll be sure to experience a unique taste from this fruit. Those were some of the rarest fruits in the world. What rare fruits have tried before?