20 Tasty White Fruits You Need to Try Out
When it comes to fruits, bright colors are on trend right now – from deep purples to rich blues, vibrant oranges, and reds.
And let’s be frank, there are plenty of good reasons for that. For example, brilliantly-colored fruits tend to be packed with health-giving antioxidants and a wide range of minerals. But perhaps it’s time for white fruits to have a moment in the spotlight.
Like their rainbow-colored counterparts, they’re also low-calorie and often include a spectrum of minerals. They contain generous amounts of B-complex, C, and K, and similar dietary fiber levels. Despite this, they can’t compare with brightly colored alternatives in nutritional terms.
Still, if you’re looking to add some contrast to dark berries or bring out the vibrant green of gooseberries, it’s worth adding some white fruit.
As few fruits have white or cream skins, in this article, we’re going to include lots with colorful skins but pale cream or pure white pulp. So, if there’s a white fruit you love that’s not on our list, share it with us in the comments below!
1. White Strawberries
White strawberries are an astonishing sight – like regular strawberries reversed. Crisp white skin and flesh dotted with red seeds. You won’t know whether to eat them or to admire them, but if you’re looking for a conversation starter, they’ll get your guests talking.
And when you do bit into them – what a delight! They’re sweeter than ordinary strawberries, with a pineapple-like taste.
White strawberries are still mainly cultivated in Japan. So although you can find them in luxury food stores in the US and Europe, expect to pay a premium. White jewel strawberries, a type of white strawberries cultivated in Japan, sell for around $10 a piece and are some of the most expensive fruits in the world.
2. Coconut
Snow white coconut meat can be added to a range of savory and sweet dishes, enjoyed as a crunchy, low-sugar snack, or used as a garnish on cakes and desserts. Mix it with water to make coconut milk, a delicious lactose-free alternative to cow’s milk.
Coconut is a staple ingredient in many Asian cuisines. However, solid white coconut oil has been enjoying a boom in the US and Europe recently as keto fans appreciate its elevated levels of MFAs (medium-chain fatty acids).
3. Bananas
Bananas are arguably the world’s most popular fruit. They are also incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed raw, baked, or roasted.
Their pale flesh adds a sumptuous creamy contrast to brilliantly-colored berry salads or smoothies. And they make the palest yellow smoothies, ice creams, and flavored yogurts.
Bananas pack a powerful nutritional punch, rich in potassium and fiber. They also provide a valuable dose of healthy prebiotics to help digestion, so they can be enjoyed daily as part of a healthy and low-calorie diet. Lesser known is perhaps that banana leaves can also be used for cooking.
4. Dragon Fruit
Dragon fruits are best known for their striking crimson and bright green skin, studded with big soft spikes. But beneath that striking exterior, you’ll find white flesh studded with tiny black seeds.
Dragon fruit pulp is typically sharp and sour, perhaps with a hint of sweetness. Add chunks to a fruit salad to introduce an intriguing and unexpected taste and a burst of juiciness.
5. Pineberries
Although they look like white strawberries, pineberries are a hybrid of the South American strawberry and the North American strawberry. They taste like pineapples with the texture of strawberries.
Due to their small-scale cultivation, they’re challenging to find. However, if you can find this petite aromatic variety, they’re well worth adding to your fruit bowl.
6. Cherimoya (Custard Apple)
These are also known as ‘ice-cream fruit’. The succulent, grainy white flesh of the cherimoya is studded with large inedible black seeds. This luscious fruit has tasting notes of banana, vanilla, strawberry, or papaya.
Because of their seeds, they’re typically enjoyed raw. Chill, cut in half, and scoop the luscious ‘custard’ with a spoon.
7. Rambutans
Imagine a giant grape with distinctive orange-red skin covered in long, soft spines, and you’ve got a good idea of what a rambutan looks like.
Break the skin open, exposing a juicy, almost translucent white pulp with a beautiful fragrance.
Rambutans can be eaten raw, cooked, or used for decorative purposes.
8. Lychees
The translucent white flesh of lychees is covered with a knobbly, deep pink rind, which is easy to break open with a thumbnail.
The delicate flavor and aroma of the juicy pulp is often compared to strawberries, watermelons, citrus, and even rose water.
Ripe white lychee flesh adds an unexpected soft texture and a burst of sweetness to fruit salads or green salads. In addition, it makes an intriguing syrup for ice creams, cheesecakes, and cocktails when boiled with sugar.
9. Noni Fruit
Perhaps you enjoy the challenge of ‘extreme’ fruits, such as durians. If so, you’ll love these exotic fruits.
The noni fruit, native to Polynesia, has several names: Indian mulberry or hog apple. It’s also known as ‘cheese apple’ or even ‘vomit apple’, which should tell you everything about the aroma and flavor.
It looks a little like a small, knobbly white pineapple. However, under the weird exterior is a white center, which is high in antioxidants and has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries.
However, there’s one more name for this unusual food: starvation fruit. Because, in times of famine, people would only eat it if the alternative was to die of hunger.
Let’s move on!
10. Soursop (Guanabana)
Don’t confuse these with the cherimoya or custard apple, though the two fruits are related. Soursop has a green spiky exterior and white flesh.
While the cherimoya offers pure sweetness, soursop is sharper, more pineapple-like, with a citrusy tang. In addition, the texture of soursop flesh is smoother and creamier than the grainy pulp of cherimoya.
11. Mangosteen
Mangosteens are characterized by their rigid purple exterior and sweet, juicy white pulp. This can be enjoyed raw or included in smoothies and tropical fruit salads for a delicious burst of flavor. It may be available in specialty stores, canned, dried, or frozen if you can’t find fresh mangosteen.
Mangosteen is highly nutritious as it contains a range of unique antioxidants.
12. White Guavas
While most guavas have pink flesh, white varieties with distinctive white flesh resembling an apple’s are available.
White guavas have a sweet-sharp flavor with a delicate sour aftertaste. The tropical flavor works well in cooked dishes, or they can be enjoyed raw.
13. White Transparent Apples
Known as the white transparent in Europe and the yellow transparent in the US, this unusual apple is prized for the translucent whiteness of its crisp, succulent flesh.
Because of its robust and sour flavor, this variety makes a perfect cooking and baking apple, keeping its firm texture in crumbles, pies, and creamy white sauces. It’s also used in juices and ciders.
14. White Mulberries
As white mulberries mature, they turn pinkish red, distinct from the more common black or red varieties. They have a mild, sweet flavor with notes of honey.
They can be enjoyed in all the same ways as other bramble fruits. As well as making delicious preserves, they also partner well with rich meats, cheeses, citrus fruits, and mint.
15. Baobab Fruit
The chalky white flesh of ripe baobab fruit is slightly sweet with a subtle sour tang. Imagine a mild lemon-flavored yogurt, and you’ll be getting close.
Packed with nutrients, it’s considered a superfood. However, you’ll only find it outside Africa in powder form.
16. White Peaches
The succulent white flesh of these peaches has a delicate sweetness and a fragrant aroma. They can be enjoyed raw, in smoothies or fruit salads, but when cooked, they dissolve quickly into a mushy paste.
They partner well with berries and other soft fruits, nuts such as pecans, cheeses and a range of herbs including thyme, rosemary, and basil, spices including ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom,
17. Tsu Li Pears
Tsu Li pears are also called ‘duck pears’ due to their dumpy shape. They’re prized for their brilliant white pulp, which is crisp and juicy in equal measure. They have a delicate pineapple fragrance and balance sweetness and sourness perfectly.
Although they’re considered dessert pears, they can also be baked, grilled, poached, or roasted.
18. White Wonder Watermelon
The rare White Wonder looks like any other watermelon with its thick stripy green rind. But inside that rind hides crispy, creamy-white flesh with a grainy texture.
The flavor is delicate and slightly sweet but more reminiscent of cucumber than the honeyed sweetness of a fully ripe red variety. Best eaten raw to savor the refreshing juiciness.
19. White Currants
White currants are an ideal, low-calorie snack. Though considerably sweeter than their tart red or black counterparts, they retain the characteristic sharpness. Their distinctive fragrance carries the floral notes of Muscat grapes combined with sour cherries.
Due to their eye-catching hue, they can be used in the same ways as other bramble fruits or used as decorations and garnishes.
20. Snowbank White Blackberries
These beautiful snow-white berries have a milky, translucent appearance – like clusters of tiny pearls. Yet, they’ve been bred to offer all the flavor of a typical blackberry. Although they can be used the same way as other blackberries, it seems a shame to cook with them because they don’t add color.
Instead, they make an exciting addition to fruit displays or add a dramatic and unusual contrast to chocolate, pink, or purple desserts.
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