Weird produce finds

There's this really great little country food market near my dad's house called Delicious Orchards (DO for short).  They have really yummy, fresh fruits and veggies.  Not to mention baked goods and ice cream and meat and cheese and all sorts of other stuff.  It's so great that Queen Latifah even mentioned it on The Tonight Show once (but I can't find the link - it was back in the Jay Leno period and the links don't work on the Jimmy Fallon site.  Womp.).

But I mostly go there for fruits and veggies.  They beat the heck out of the options at the supermarket.  They've got all the basics - I usually get apples and avocados and peppers and lettuce and broccoli, etc. - but I also often come across some new-to-me food that either looks funny or has a funny name that I just need to try.  This is apparently a trait that runs in my family, as my dad will often bring home strange foods just because he liked the way that they looked.  

So, yes, weird names or looks get me to try strange things.  Either that or my sister insists that I need to try something. I'm pretty good about at least trying something new - I won't necessarily like it, but I'll give it a whirl. 

Here is some of the strange produce that I've tried lately: 

• Kumquats:  This was my sister's idea, and they kind of weirded me out.  First, they look like mini oranges, but you don't peel them.  You just eat the skin.  Second, they were super duper sour.  Like involuntarily pucker your lips sour.  I guess if you like sour things, these are great, but I couldn't get over the whole eating the skin thing. (But they still have a really fun name to say!)
• Gooseberry:  I first came across these at Easter brunch when one was used as a decoration on my dessert.  Then I bought a whole container of them and made my sister eat them all.  They're a bit strange too - they're sour and they're not as firm on the inside as you'd expect them to be.  They kind of pop in your mouth when you bite them.  Almost like a Gusher. But they're not bad, especially if you pair them with something sweet to balance it out.
• Mangosteen: Beside the weird name, what drew me to this was the cost.  It was something like $18 a pound.  Which is crazy.  After discussing it with my sister and her boyfriend (we all saw it on separate occasions and thought it was crazy-priced) and doing some research, I actually made my second trip to DO for the day to buy one.  They're fairly small, so it cost maybe $5 or so. Which is still a lot.  But since they apparently have really short growing seasons and strict import laws, how could we pass up the opportunity, no matter the price.  Plus, we'd read reviews where people said crazy things like it was the best fruit they've ever tasted.  I mean, come on.  So we bought it and failed to follow the directions and cut into the fruit by mistake while trying to get it out of it's little shell.  We split it into several (very small) pieces and each tried one, expecting to be blown away.  And we were....not.  For all the hype, it was just ok.  I mean, it had a decent taste, but definitely was not worth $18 per pound.
• Rambuten: This was next to the mangosteen.  The weird porcupine look made me want it. It was also pretty expensive, but nothing like the mangosteen.  Maybe like $5 per pound?  It was also much easier to peel open. But, again, not really worth the price.  It was kind of slimy (think eyeball), but not super tasty.
• Pluot: This is a hybrid plum/apricot.  I regularly forget the name of these and call them Plutos.  Close enough.  They are juicy like a plum but have a bit more of a sweet and sour taste to them.  This is another sister find and I get them occasionally, or just eat hers when I'm there.
• Date:  I know that this is pretty common, but I've just never had one before.  But I saw them in the bulk bin and decided we needed to try them.  I mean, they look like big raisins or figs or something, so how bad can they be.  So I bought two.  The texture was not my favorite, but I suppose I would eat them if they were the only option available.  Or if they were stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon.  Because how can you go wrong then?
• Ugli Fruit:  This is one of my favorite finds.  My sister actually suggested it, and I love it. As the name suggests, this fruit is ugly looking.  It's a hybrid citrus fruit that's kind of a monster - it usually barely even fits in a bowl.  You can either peel it and eat it like an orange or cut it and eat it like a grapefruit.  It's got a great citrus flavor and is super juicy, which I love.  They're a lot more expensive than an orange or grapefruit - around $2.50 a fruit, usually - and you'll get some weird looks from people when you eat it, but in my opinion, it's totally worth it!

There you have it.  Some of my recent adventures in the produce aisle.  I wonder what other fun fruits and veggies I've been missing out on all my life.