What the dickens is that next to the watermelon?

Even an ordinary breakfast buffet can spark a voyage of culinary discovery.

China is the world’s largest overall producer of fruit, although on a per-capita basis, consumption is less than Western countries. Most of the crops are also used domestically; about the only common exported fruit you’ll encounter at your supermarket are cans of Mandarin oranges.

North American staples such as apples, peaches, grapes, melons, and pears, are widely grown in northern and central China. Further south, as the climate grows hotter and wetter, citrus starts to take over. Pineapple, banana, coconut, and avocado will be familiar, but as you walk past the buffet or through a street market, new shapes, colors, and flavors are revealed. In southern cities, fruit stands at the airport are a convenient way to bring fresh flavor back home and earn guanxi with appreciated gifts.

(Needless to say, you can’t bring these back home with you without getting into serious trouble with your Customs agency. Enjoy them while you’re in China and patronize your local Asian grocery when home.)

Here is a photo guide to some of the unique produce you may encounter in Guangzhou or other southern provinces:

1. •Dragonfruit
   

Actually native to Central and South America, this fruit comes from a cactus! The name certainly suggests itself due to the fierce color and large scales. The flesh is seedy like a kiwifruit, but the flavor is mild - almost no flavor, actually.

1. •Jujube
   

You thought this was candy. It’s a real fruit - about the same size as the candy and as sweet. Eaten like dates (there’s a pit), popular in tea, and also used to soothe coughs.

1. •Kiwifruit
   

Actually the Chinese Gooseberry, but the New Zealanders were the ones to develop the export market, so their invented name is what you know.  Bet you’ve never had one just picked yesterday, though!

1. •Lychee / Litchi
   

A favorite flavor of East Asia, but almost never encountered in the States. Clean yet syrupy sweet with no tartness; a berry flavor somewhere past raspberry. The texture is firm like an unripe pear. Once you’ve had it you’ll want more.

1. •Longan
   

A similar texture and size to lychee but the flavor is more pearlike.

1. •Carambola / Starfruit
   

Not entirely alien to the West, but it’s fresh in South China. Strong, not too firm, tart, citrusy.

1. •Rambutan
   

Another scary-alien-looking fruit, but inside more like a lychee. The seed can also be baked and eaten (not good uncooked though.)

  

1. •Loquat
   

Distantly related to apples, and apparently good for making jams and pies. Loquat syrup is used in Chinese medicine to soothe throats. Sweet when soft and yellow like these:

1. •Mangosteen
   

Still another scary-looking fruit, but the ‘mango’ part of the word tips you off to the flavor. Reminds me of a pomegranate, but not mushy inside, more of a peach.

1. •Passionfruit
   

You’ve consumed the flavoring in juice and sweets; here’s what it actually looks like. The white part is rind - you eat the jelly-like inside and seeds.

1. •Pomelo
   

This grapefruit-sized citrus is becoming a popular flavoring. Sweeter than grapefruit yet still tart. The ones grown in America are pink on the inside.