New Fruit for Rosh Hashanah

[chicago maven]

After years of the “same old - same old”, does anyone have any suggestions for a good tasting new fruit for Rosh Hashanah that is relatively easy to find?

[cheesecake17]

We had something called monster fruit- looked like corn on the cob but with soft kernels. The outside was dark green, with kernels that fell off when the netting wrapping was removed. Inside was white with kernels that had to be cut off with a knife. Really delicious, kind of tasted like pineapple but not as tart.

[SoCal Mother]

The dragonfruit was a hit because it was so pretty and didn't taste nasty. The consensus was it was a "tasteless kiwi." Whew!

[zsero]

We had tamarillo. The last time I had this was about 30 years ago; it wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered it. Not really any more sour than a gooseberry. I still won't mind if it takes me another 30 years till I next try it. But my nephew decided he liked it, so he got all the leftovers.

[DebbyT]

Update on Dragon Fruit;
We had the one that's white inside...and completely tasteless (though the texture is nice). My daughter tells me that the ones that are pink inside are delicious! Oh well...

[SoCal Mother]

It's become a bit of a family joke. Every year Daddy (DH) buys yet another inedible nasty tropical fruit. We have a dragonfruit this year. At least it LOOKS pretty...

(We eat kumquats and papayas all year round...)

[GilaB]

I think a lot of the problem is that we're seeking out unfamiliar fruit, so we lack the knowledge to say if we're choosing a good one, or to tell if it's ripe yet. Add to that the fact that most of these are exotic fruits without a good distribution chain in the US (so they're old, or picked very underripe, etc.) and the deck is really stacked against us. I remember one year buying a cherimoya, and coming away thinking it tasted like a cross between a pear and a pine tree. Of course, once I had a good one years later, I realized that the one I'd bought had been incredibly underripe, but there was no way for us to know that at the time.

[mamaleh]

Horned melon (Cucumis metuliferus) has been grown in California for the past few years. If you are in SoCal, Gelson's carries it. It's a favorite among the South African and Zimbabwe Jewish communities here. Cheaper than dragon fruit.

[DeisCane]

Just got some starfruit at Eden Gourmet in South Orange, NJ. They had 4-5 "interesting" fruits up front. I'm sure the EGs elsewhere do as well.

[chowdog613]

My understanding of the Halacha is even if it is a "seasonally new to you" variety of a fruit that you often eat, that it merits shechiyanu; eg if you always eat delicious apples and will now be having a Jonagold ( a fave), JonaGold gets a shecheyanu. Consult your local rav. That all being said, we will be having a Carribean Red Papaya as the new fruit on the second night.

[marissaj]

Fairways (paramus) had a bunch of stuff- they even had prickly pears (sabras?) on sale- 3 for $1.29. they also had quince, mamey and some of the other stuff mentioned above! the only thing i haven't seen anywhere are pomegrantes, which is really annoying.

[DebbyT]

Thought I saw them in Julios. They definitely had the containers of seeds.

[GilaB]

I just bought a mamey sapote from a Hispanic tropical fruit stand on the street in NYC. It's completely new to me (something that's been getting harder to find over time!), and I'll report back after the yom tov.

[DeisCane]

Mamey milkshakes are delicious!

[GilaB]

I could see how it would work well in a milkshake. By itself, I don't think anybody hated it, but even I (who love all things fruity other than cherries, the more exotic the better) found it a little strange - perhaps too sweet, with an odd mouthfeel. Not bad, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it again.

[DeisCane]

It can be VERY sweet. Growing up in Miami I have eaten it enough that the texture is not problematic to me but I can understand that comment.

[cappucino]

We got a pepino melon (size of an avocado, whitish with purple stripes) which usually goes over well. Also got something I've never seen before and forgot the name of (name was on a card in the store). It is the size of a walnut, brown and hairy. Anyone know what I'm talking about or what it will taste like?

[vallevin]

Rambutan? Can't remember the taste,

[GilaB]

If it's brown, a rambutan has definitely gone bad. I'd also describe it as spiky rather than hairy.

[DebbyT]

My daughter had dragon fruit roadside in Israel this summer and told me they were amazing. So I just bought 2 in Teaneck. I hope I didn't make a mistake. Got 1 star fruit for her. Julio's has a terrific selection of interesting new fruits.

[queenscook]

Hope your experience with the dragonfruit is better than those of us who wrote about it above. Report back after yom tov, if you can.

[vallevin]

Oy......Debbie I got the Julio's $12 dragonfruit a few years ago,,,it wasn't bad it was just tasteless.

[cappucino]

Yes, that's it. They all were brown so how could they all be bad?

[cappucino]

It was rambutan and it was ok. The kids loved it because it was hairy and brown on the outside and looked like an eyeball on the inside (actually felt like an eyeball too). It tasted sort of like a grape.

[queenscook]

We had rambutans also, and ours were also brown. One of the five I bought was a bit moldy, but the others were OK. Wouldn't go out of my way to get them again, plus they were really expensive: something like $14/lb, which worked out to about a dollar apiece. We also had fresh figs, and a guest brought a lychee-like fruit that was called a longan. The longans weren't as good as the last time I had lychees; they started out fine, but had an aftertaste I didn't like.

[rockycat]

If you get a chance, try both of those canned. The quality is a lot more consistent and they really are very tasty. If you see arbutus, give that a try, too.

[joyofkosher]

you can find lychee at any asian grocer - it is a fun "new" fruit that is as easy to eat as an olive and my kids love!

[shoelace]

they used spiny melons on chopped last week, i know ive seen them at asian grocers and fairway, from what i hear theyre kinda mushy, taste like cucumber/kiwi/banana/grapefruit, theyre what im planning on, as bc ive been shopping at fairway this year, ive had most of the stuff available locally thats out there

[queenscook]

I was reminded today (by a picture I saw on a recipe site) of kumquats. That's another new fruit relatively easy to find.

Remember, in order to say the shehechiyanu on the new fruit for Rosh Hashana, it just has to be something you haven't had yet this season, not something you've never had in your life, so there's really lots to choose from for many people.

BIG CAVEAT: I'm not an expert on the halacha, so I may be greatly misstating here, and I'm sure there are many specifics to be aware of, for those who are very careful about such things, so don't go just by what I'm saying.

[vallevin]

That's how I understand the halacha as well.

[zsero]

You're right. It must be something that's only available seasonally, and that you haven't yet had this season. Shehecheyanu is not just said on Rosh Hashana but every time you eat a seasonal fruit for the first time that season.

[queenscook]

And of course this is Chowhound and we're all into food and all that, but from a strict observance standpoint, a new fruit is not necessary at all. First of all, the new fruit is only there as a fall-back because according to one opinion, the two days of RH are really just one long day, so to justify the saying of "shehecheyanu" on the second night, we have a new fruit present so we can say it on that. However, we can also say it on a new significant garment. And if we happen not to have a new fruit or a new garment, we STILL say it, because the halacha is that we do say it, since most opinions hold that RH is, in fact, a two day holiday.

Don't get me wrong, I still always try to have a new fruit around, especially for the fun and interest factor, but no one here should think it's a do-or-die thing. It's getting harder to find a "new fruit," partially because there's so much less seasonality with fruit routinely being shipped from half a world away these days, and partially because many formerly "exotic" fruits are now so common. Years ago, you were lucky if you EVER saw a pomegranate (here in NY, anyway), let alone were able to find one in time for RH; now that they have been dubbed one of the superfoods of the decade, they're certainly no longer rare or unusual. Ditto for so many others (starfruits come to mind).

[chicago maven]

Thanks again to all that replied. Where else but on kosher Chowhound can you get advice on food and divrei torah at the same time?!

[4greatkds]

Pomegranetes have been readily available in any fruit store for at least 35-40 years because i remember my parents cutting it open for me on RH many years ago!

[queenscook]

Are you speaking of ONLY at RH when storekeepers/managers knew to get them for the holiday or at other times of the year? (Presuming you lived in a Jewish area where the fruit stores knew to get them at RH time.) They are a wintertime fruit; did you ever see them in the winter 35-40 years ago?

[ferret]

Not so exotic, but I'm seeing them in the stores - currants (both red and white).

[mommysmazal]

We tried Monstera Deliciosa one year but you have to be careful. Looks like a cucumber with corn kernels. When it is ripe, the kernels start lifting off leaving the fruit exposed. Cut the fruit off the core. Taste is similar to a pineapple maybe mixed with kiwi. Certainly was unusual and definitely new. Chag Sameach. We have done Dragon fruit as well. A trip to an Asian market before Yom Tov always seems to yield a surprise.

[queenscook]

When I bought the Monstera Deliciosa one year, I asked in the store, "How will I know when it's ready?" He just said, "Don't worry, you'll know." I had no idea what he meant--until the kernels started flying off! As for the Dragonfruit, it's pretty, but I found it had no flavor at all. Maybe I got a bad one?

[vallevin]

words...out....of....my....mouth

I spent $11 on a single dragonfruit here in Teaneck....and it was indeed tasteless

Please don't disparage the durian, if eaten quickly it does taste like a custardy pineapple.

[GilaB]

Dragonfruit is really quite surprisingly bland, especially when you consider the crayon-pink exterior. I've eaten plenty of them where they're grown, and it's not just a side effect of their being shipped a long way, either.
Fun fruit I ate while in that neighborhood (although I don't know if you can get any of them locally): rambutans, custard apples (really fabulous), plenty of litchis, and mangosteens.

[zsero]

Mangosteens are best eaten wearing clothes that you don't mind getting stained with indelible purple. Other than that, mangosteens, lychees, and rambutan all seem to taste about the same. They look much the same inside too. And durian looks like that too, only bigger.

Dragon fruit is a cactus fruit, like sabra, and it basically tastes like water. I guess the texture is the big deal.

[GilaB]

I like sabras, but find dragon fruit too bland. It makes sense that you find them similar, because dragon fruits grow on a very cactus-y tree; I'd bet they're related.

Rambutans and litchis are pretty closely related, and I find the tastes similar although certainly not the same. Mangosteens taste very different to me.

[rockycat]

Longans can be found at the Asian market, too. Similar to lychees. My problem is that these are all regular fruits at our house. The quince would be something new if I could find it.

[gentlyferal]

I was just thinking of sabras, which I know as prickly pears. I used to find them at Mexican markets.

[vallevin]

Durian...at any chinese food store w/ fresh produce, kind of like a round pineapple. Beware, it starts to stink 10 min after opening.

[queenscook]

"Stink" is hardly a strong enough word; we had to take ours outside immediately, the smell was so bad. One guest had enough courage to try it, but it went right into the garbage after that. I couldn't possibly imagine making a shechiyanu on it again.

[zsero]

In Singapore there are signs on all elevators and on public transport forbidding durians. They're sold at outdoor fruit stands. The experience of eating durian has been described as like eating a delicious sherbet in an outhouse. Personally I thought it tasted OK but not that great.

I didn't know they were shipped to America. I wonder how the ship crew stands the smell.

[queenscook]

It doesn't stink until it's opened . . . in my experience, at least

[mrotmd]

Beware that it is not really a Chinese food. It actually belongs to South East Asia...Malasya, Brunei, Thailand... Just as we don't want to stereotype Kosher food, let's not group all far east foods because they are very different. I can't use Durian for Rosh Hashana because it is found comonly in Fresh Markets here and I've had it already this year a few times :)

[zsero]

Then there's probably something common in the USA and Europe that's exotic to you. On my first Rosh Hashana in the USA, the people who invited me for the second night had two fruits; the traditional pomegranate, and something that was then new and exotic to Americans: chinese gooseberry (aka kiwi fruit). This was the first time they'd ever had a "kiwi", as they called it, while to me it was commonplace, though the first I'd had that season. But I'd never seen a pomegranate, which to them was something one has every year.

[rockycat]

If you're have the seudah out on the deck, then maybe. The Spouse is only allowed to have durian outside the house, never in. And isn't there something about not saying a bracha when there's that particular smell around? Makes it hard to say the shehechiyanu then. :-)

[DeisCane]

Have you tried quince?

[cappucino]

That's funny. I was just going to suggest that. Did a carmelized quince that everyone loved.

[ferret]

I take it nobody's Hungarian? Quince compote was a staple at our house every year.

[DeisCane]

I don't think it's universally used by Hungarians. My wife's family lives in Budapest and I've never been served quince in their home.

In fact, the first year we got quince for RH, my wife didn't know what it was.

[ferret]

I'm not suggesting it's universal, just that one person's common is another's "new." My mother typically made it for Rosh Hashonah, partly for the tradition and partly because it was in season - and my father really liked it. The family was rural, nowhere near the big city, so it may just be regional.

[Himishgal]

Yep... good 'ol bisalma compote - definitly a Hungarian favorite. Anu always gave the kids the extra syrup juice - delicious but extremly high in calories!

[chicago maven]

Thanks. I've never tried it. how does it taste? Does it have to be cooked?

[DeisCane]

Yes, it must be cooked. It's ridiculously bitter and hard when raw.

But cooked in a compote, it really has an autumnal flavor that fits well on the RH table.

[Fibber McGee]

Have a recipe? That sounds very interesting. My family always goes to my brothers' in-laws for RH, and we always bring the same relish tray. I think this would be a nice change or just a good complement.

[DeisCane]

Never made it but if you add some cloves and cinnamon, this one seems accurate to my memory from a taste perspective:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...