For the food adventurers, fruit in another country is an exploration on its own. Whilst I may have tried similar fruits to be these back home, more all of the below fruits, this was my first time buying and trying them. I’ve not included widely available fruits likes apples, strawberries and persimmon (I think persimmon might be easily found nowadays?)
Korean Pear
Similar to a nashi but more watery, the Korean pear is available all year around but are cheaper at the end of summer. They are very juicy and have a sweet taste to them. They all large in size and heavy! Apparently they are good to eat when the seasons change. The skin is quite tough so it is best enjoyed without the skin.
Jujube
You may have seen these in the dried version- red dates. They are quite popular across Asia particularly in hot drinks, desserts, soups or eaten dried. This was the first time I had seen and tasted the fresh version. They are like a little crunchy apple. It is slightly sweet, somewhat juicy and contain a hard seed inside (not edible!). They make a great snack and are one of those good health foods that are full of vitamins. These are found towards the end of summer and are a popular Chuseok fruit. The browner they are, they sweeter and riper they are.
Shiny muscat grapes
THE grapes to try. A bunch of these grapes will probably cost you around 10,000 won on a good day. Imagine grape flavoured lollies….this is exactly what it will taste like. These can be found almost all year round but are great mid-late summer.
Campbell Early Grapes
I felt like this had a deeper flavour than the shiny muscat. Really sweet, the skin detaches easily from the inside. I wasn’t sure if you were suppose to eat the skin or not but I alternated between eating it and not eating it. The skin is chewier than the shiny muscat grape. Best around mid-late summer.
Tangerines
I have seen these tangerines available starting in summer but it is in winter that these are sold everywhere. Most are seedless and sweet. They are often sold in packs or bags of 10 but these are sure to be easily consumed! A taste of Jeju!
Korean Melon (Oriental Melon)
Readily available during summer, these melons are sweet and yellowish on the inside. It has the texture of a rock melon but is smaller. There are many seeds in the middle that cannot be eaten.
Hallabong Oranges
Available mid winter, you might smell these before you see them. They are so fragrant and seemed freshly picked once they all appeared in the supermarket. The season for these is quite short. They are sweet, tangy and have that aroma of ‘orange when you squeeze the skin’.
Which of these would you something that you would try/have tried? Thoughts?
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