During your Costa Rica surf trip, you are sure to encounter many types of tropical fruits. We have them all here…mangoes, papayas, bananas and then some that maybe you aren’t familiar with. These other tropical and exotic fruits may be intimidating at first, but don’t hesitate to jump right in and enjoy the tasty and healthy treats that Costa Rica has to offer. You will quickly discover that some of these tropical fruits are your new favorite foods.
One of the strangest tropical fruits in Costa Rica is the Guanabana or “Soursop”. This fruit is large, green, and it is covered in spines. While the fruit may be intimidating in appearance, the flesh of this fruit is delicious. Guanabana is a great fruit for milkshakes, especially when mixed with bananas or papayas!
Carambola or Starfruit is another popular fruit in Costa Rica. You may recognize this yellow fruit that cuts out into fun star-shaped slices. When ripe, the fruit is sweet and also makes for a great juice or as a colorful addition to a fruit salad.
Tamarindo or Tamarind is a sweet and sour fruit that makes for a refreshing juice. This fruit can be eaten raw, but you will have to sort out the seeds as you are enjoying the flesh. Tamarind is possibly one of the best tropical fruits in Costa Rica!
While there are many exciting tropical fruits in Costa Rica, two of the most popular tropical fruits in Costa Rica are the banana and the plantain. While the two fruits look extremely similar there are some key differences between the two fruits. The banana is extremely sweet and has a somewhat mushy structure that makes it a delicious treat. The plantain has a much starchier structure. In Costa Rica, plantains are often served in place of vegetables as a side dish (instead of French fries) and can be made into both chips or “patacones”.
So how can you tell the difference between bananas and plantains? In order to tell the difference between a banana and a plantain, you should take a look at the flesh when it is ripe. The plantain is normally a bit larger than a banana and has extremely thick skin, which is normally green but as it ripens will get yellow. The skin of a banana is thinner than that of plantain often times quite a bit smaller than the plantain.
Costa Rica has an abundance of tropical fruits to enjoy. During your surf trip in Costa Rica, we hope you’ll try out as many of our local and exotic fruits as possible!
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