List of culinary fruits facts for kids

Various fruits for sale at a grocery store in Tønsberg, Norway

This article is about fruits that people can eat, either raw or cooked, in different food cultures. When we talk about "fruit" here, we mean a culinary fruit. This is any tasty part of a plant that looks like a fruit, even if it doesn't grow from a flower's ovary. It also includes some sweet or semi-sweet vegetables that are used in cooking like fruits, such as rhubarb.

Many parts of plants that are technically "true fruits" in science are actually called vegetables when we cook with them. For example, tomatoes and zucchini are botanically fruits, but we usually think of them as vegetables. That's why they aren't on this list. Also, some botanical fruits are considered nuts, like the brazil nut, so they aren't here either. This list organizes fruits based on their scientific plant families.

Pomes

A basket full of apples

Different pear varieties

Sapodilla fruits

Pomes are a type of crunchy fruit that has a tough, inedible "core" in the middle. This core holds the seeds, which are often arranged in a star shape. Think of them like apples!

• Apple (Malus domestica)
• Pear (Pyrus communis)
• Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica)
• Quince (Cydonia oblonga)
• Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota)

Drupes

Plums

Apricots

The coconut is a drupe.

Ways to slice a mango

Drupes are fruits that have only one seed inside, which is often called a "stone" or "pit." This seed is usually very hard.

• Apricot (Prunus armeniaca)
• Avocado (Persea americana)
• European Plum (Prunus domestica)
• Coconut (Cocos nucifera)
• Mango (Mangifera indica)
• Peach (Prunus persica)
• Lychee (Litchi chinensis)
• Longan (Dimocarpus longan)
• Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba)

Botanical berries

Blueberries

Grapes

Bananas on grocery store shelves

Bilimbi

Botanical berries are fruits that have a thin outer skin and are mostly made of soft flesh with many seeds inside.

• Banana (Musa acuminata)
• Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)
• Grape (Vitis vinifera)
• Guava (Psidium guajava)
• Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa)
• Papaya (Carica papaya)
• Pomegranate (Punica granatum)
• Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
• Bilimbi (Averrhoa bilimbi)

Pepos

Watermelons

Cantaloupe and slice

Bael being made into bael ka sharbat, a popular Indian drink

Horned melon (kiwano)

Pepos are a type of fruit with a hard, thick outer skin (called a rind) and soft flesh inside. Their seeds fill up the inside sections. Melons are great examples of pepos.

• Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)
• Muskmelon (Cucumis melo)
• Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo var. reticulatus)
• Honeydew melon (Cucumis melo var. inodorus)
• Kiwano (Cucumis metuliferus)
• Bael (Aegle marmelos)

Hesperidiums

One whole lemon and one cut in half

The buddha's hand, a uniquely shaped variant of citron

Lime and blossom

Also known as citrus fruits, Hesperidiums have thick, leathery rinds. These fruits are usually sour or acidic and look like a wagon wheel when sliced.

• Orange (Citrus × sinensis)
• Lemon (Citrus × limon)
• Lime (Citrus × latifolia)
• Grapefruit (Citrus × aurantium f. aurantium)
• Mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata)
• Pomelo (Citrus maxima)
• Citron (Citrus medica)

Aggregate fruits

Wineberries

A sliced cherimoya

Half of a raspberry

Aggregate fruits are a group of many small fruits that all grow from a single flower.

• Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa)
• European red raspberry (Rubus idaeus)
• Blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis)
• Cherimoya (Annona cherimola)
• Soursop (Annona muricata)
• Black mulberry (Morus nigra)

Multiple fruits

The pineapple is a multiple fruit.

The jackfruit is known for being the world's largest fruit.

A halved Fig

Multiple fruits are formed when many different flowers grow together to create one larger fruit.

• Pineapple (Ananas comosus)
• Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
• Fig (Ficus carica)
• Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)
• Cempedak (Artocarpus integer)
• Monstera deliciosa (Monstera deliciosa)

Capsules

Cacao pods

Mangosteens, sliced in a way that exposes the carpels

Bacuri

Capsules are a type of pod fruit that have several sections (called carpels) inside.

• Cacao (Theobroma cacao)
• Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana)
• Durian (Durio zibethinus)
• Ackee (Blighia sapida)
• Bacuri (Platonia insignis)

Legumes

Legumes are a type of pod fruit that splits open along a single seam and comes from one carpel.

• Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)
• Ice-cream bean (Inga edulis)
• Carob (Ceratonia siliqua)

Follicles

Follicles are a type of fruit that comes from a single ovary and also splits along one seam to release its seeds.

• Dead man's fingers (Decaisnea fargesii)
• Sour fig (Carpobrotus edulis)

Plants with edible fruit-like structures

Juniper berries

Modified fleshy cone of Podocarpus elongatus

Rhubarb made into rhubarb pie

These are parts of plants that aren't technically fruits, but people use them in cooking as if they were.

• Rhubarb (Rheum × hybridum)
• Juniper berry (Juniperus communis)
• Cashew apple (Anacardium occidentale)
• Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

See also

• List of inedible fruits
• Fruit
• List of fruit dishes
• Tropical fruit
• List of vegetables