Uganda – the Best Tropical Fruit Lover Destination in Africa
Discover Uganda -The Tropical Fruit Basket of Africa on a Safari
Uganda -The Tropical Fruit Basket of Africa- Visiting the Pearl of Africa -Uganda on a Safari is a Foodie Adventurer’s Delight.
Uganda is truly the Fruit Basket of Africa, over 50 varieties of Bananas, Pineapple –that is simply the Best, Passion Fruit, Mangoes, Watermelons, Jackfruit, Papayas, Citrus Fruits, Star Fruit, Avocados and even Apples – Uganda is Africa’s Fruit Basket.
Uganda is also home to some of the Best Avocados, green oranges that range from sour to sweet, lemons that are green with what seems like warts on them, but the taste is the same. Fruit Lovers on Safari will love Uganda, the Tropical Fruit Basket of Uganda.
Uganda is the Best Destination for those on the lookout for a Fruit Foodie Adventure Safari – it is the Tropical Fruit Basket of Africa.
Uganda’s Flavorful, delicious fruit alone is worth time in the Pearl of Africa.
Uganda -The Tropical Fruit Basket of Africa – Uganda – the fertile Pearl of Africa with its pleasant climate, fertile soil,
plentiful rain is a place where fruit lovers will find paradise with filled tropical Fruit that will delight your senses. It is no wonder that Winston Churchill wrote in his 1908 book.
“My African Journey” Uganda is from end to end one beautiful garden where the staple food of the people grows almost without labor. Does it not sound like a paradise on earth? It is the Pearl of Africa.”
When you visit this paradise on Safari, this Pearl of Africa, and eat its tasty fruit, you will undoubtedly agree with Winston Churchill and his description of Uganda.
Uganda -The Tropical Fruit Basket of Africa. The fruit is plentiful in Uganda. Wherever you go, you will find fruit stands on the side of the road. Pineapple vendors with wheelbarrows in town, women are carrying baskets containing small eating bananas for sale and the town markets that are found almost everywhere, including the famous Nakasero Market where you will be astounded by the fruit on display.
Uganda – the Pearl of Africa is truly a fruit lovers paradise – Uganda is “Africa’s Tropical Fruit Basket.” You will never forget the Taste of our Pineapple or Bananas. They are the best.
Fruits that you will find and taste in Uganda – The Tropical Fruit Basket of Africa
Uganda Africa’s Banana Republic, and that is a compliment since Uganda grows more Bananas in Africa than any other nation. Bananas are a primary food item for many Ugandan, and locally it is called Matooke – plantain type Banana. Eating Banana are the small and sweet ones called Menvu here, and the larger ones, as you would find in the West, are called Ndiizi.
Eating Bananas are found everywhere and are eaten at any time of the day as a fruit snack. They are also used in making Ugandan pancakes called Kabalagala. For a special treat, there are the sweet cooking bananas called Gonja. They are often roasted over charcoal and sold by vendors in town. Some people coating the Gonja Bananas with a batter – I like to use Gonja Bananas in stir-fry dishes with chicken and vegetables slicing the Gonja Bananas – something that always surprises my Ugandan friends.
Uganda’s versatile Bananas – found in almost everything from Waragi – Uganda’s Gin to Banana Chips and everything in between
Uganda has the best Pineapple, sweeter, juicy, and the lower in acidity than Pineapple found elsewhere, and they are inexpensive. You will often have some pineapple at hotel restaurants, lodges, or tented camps for breakfast in Uganda or at other meal times.
The Pineapple in Uganda is so good that you can even eat the center of it. They are found everywhere year-round, but there are peak seasons in which the best tasting Pineapple can be had.
Enjoy some pineapple, while visiting Uganda – you will be amazed and agree with us that Ugandan Pineapple is simply the best and a cut above the rest.
You can buy dried Pineapple here and take them home. Pineapple Pizza with ham can be had in Uganda, and you rarely see it used in stir-fried dishes, but you can always suggest it.
Uganda’s Pineapple – it did not originate here but was perfected in the Pearl of Africa.
Mangoes:
You will see lots of Mango Trees in Uganda. I have a huge one across the street and in season partake of the mangoes. There is only one thing about Mangoes in Uganda is that Ugandans eat them while still green – whereas most Westerners like them a bit riper – do not despair you can pick them where you are buying them and get lots of them at a meager price – full of color and bursting with flavor.
Many Ugandans eat mangoes without cutting them like we would eat an apple. You can also get mango juice here, mango ice-cream or sorbet – some restaurants of better quality even have fruit salads that contain mangoes, among other things.
One can use mangoes to muffin or sweet bread, mango pancakes and mango French Toast and use mangoes in stir-fry dishes along with Pineapples and firmer Gonja Bananas.
Passion Fruit:
Passion Fruit Trees are found all over the country – if you are buying some, look for the more purple-colored type which grows in the higher altitude areas such as in the Kasese districts in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains, some even call them Kasese.
You can also find yellow passion fruits, and no matter which one you pick– both make excellent fruit juice, which is often served in hotels, restaurants – make sure and ask if they used bottled or boiled water rather than tap water.
You can also buy Passion Fruit Juice in supermarkets almost everywhere in the country. A great juice to have along on a Gorilla Trek in Uganda.
There could be many more uses for Passion Fruit from a Passion Fruit Wine to Passion Fruit Soda, and Passion Fruit flavored Waragi in between.
Citrus Fruits:
You can find Oranges, Tangerines, and Lemons in Uganda. Here they both grow in the wild and on farms. They can be bought in fruit and vegetable markets all year-long. There is one thing that you will find most of the citrus fruit here – they will look different.
Oranges are mostly green (both sour and sweet kind), and so are tangerines, Lemons are also more on the green side and have what looks like warts on them.
All of them taste fine, and for those that do not want to partake in a green orange, tangerine or lemon – citrus fruits with the colors you are used to are available almost everywhere in Supermarkets.
The Oranges and Tangerines here are also often used to make orange juice at hotels and restaurants in Uganda. The actual flavor of the citrus fruits here is quite tasty though they look different from what you are familiar with. Be a bit daring and try something that you might not be used to, especially the lemons with wart-like bumps.
Watermelons:
Watermelons are found here all year long, and most Watermelons are round and smaller in size in most cases. Seedless watermelons do not exist here, and if they do, they are not seen in most markets(supermarkets have recently introduced them).
The flavor is excellent, and it pays to do what many do here – has the seller of the watermelons take a knife and cut a small triangle out so that you can see that it is a quality, ripe melon that most likely you will enjoy.
As with most fruit here, the price is most reasonable, and you could try your bargaining skills when buying any fruit, including watermelons. I find the melons very tasty in Uganda thanks to its fertile soil and sunshine.
Seedless watermelon is found mostly in larger supermarkets with a produce section.
Papayas:
Papayas grow almost everywhere in Uganda, you can see them in many gardens, even at hotels, lodges you will find papaya growing – they ripen to become yellowish and soft.
Papaya is often served at breakfast or for a dessert at lunch or dinner or is a part of the fruit platter that you have ordered at a restaurant here in Uganda.
Not only is papaya tasty, but the tall trees are beautiful decorations in local gardens with their tropical look perfectly fitting into equatorial Uganda.
You might find Papayas here quite a bit larger than the ones you are used to, but they are bursting with flavor.
You will like the papaya here in Uganda, add some pineapple and mangoes and get even a more of a tasty treat.
Most visitors to Uganda are unfamiliar with the watermelon-sized Jackfruit that grows on trees here in Uganda, and once again, those trees are found near homes, hotels, lodges. Ugandans enjoy Jackfruit a lot and see it as a treat. Westerners, on the other hand, either loves it or dislike it. More like it – it is different, a bit sticky, and the list of fruit that those who partake of it compare it to is endless.
I think it has a flavor and texture that merely unique to Jackfruit, and there is no real comparison.
You have to try it – it is not often available in restaurants here, however many Ugandans consume it at home, and hopefully, during your time here, you have the opportunity to taste some Jackfruit in Uganda.
Don’t miss the chance to eat the different fruit found here in the Pearl of Africa.
Avocados:
The avocado Fruit, like many others, is not native to Uganda. However, one could say that it has been perfected in Uganda because of its favorable climate, fertile soil, and the farmers that till the ground and tend to the crops such as Avocados.
The avocado grows on trees here, and you can find it readily sold in open markets and at vegetable and fruit stands throughout Uganda.
It is eaten fresh after being cut into slices and supplements the diet of many Ugandans. You will find it served in restaurants, hotels, and lodges.
Avocados or as they are often called here, Ovacados are usually eaten with meals here in Uganda.
Those on a vegetarian or vegan diet will find them especially tasty.
Coffee is a fruit grown in Uganda:
Coffee was born and raised in Africa, Uganda is home to the indigenous Robusta Coffee Plant. However, it also produces many tons of high-grade quality Arabica Coffee.
What most do not realize is that coffee is a fruit – A coffee bean is a seed of the coffee plant and the source for coffee. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit, often referred to as a cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit.
In Uganda, you can have some high Nectar from the Coffee plant, but though grown here, its most excellent coffee is not always offered in midrange or budget hotel and lodges, a reason we have come up with a coffee Lover Survival Kit.
In Supermarkets, some of the best examples of great Ugandan Coffee are brands such as Gorilla Conservation Coffee, Big Gorilla Coffee, and others.
Vanilla – yes – Vanilla is a Fruit from an Orchid Plant grown in Uganda:
Vanilla is the fruit that is making quite a few Ugandan Families wealthy since it is the most expensive spice around. Vanilla in Uganda is the fruit of an orchid plant, which grows in the form of a bean pod. Although there are over 110 varieties of vanilla orchids, only one, Vanilla planifolia, produces the fruit, which gives us 99 percent of commercial vanilla. Vanilla Orchids thrive in tropical climates such as Uganda, where it is grown in the shadows of the Rwenzori Mountains of the Moon in Western Uganda and Mount Elgon in Eastern Uganda.r.
A good Plantation to visit is the Ndali Estates, where you can see how vanilla is processed, and at the same time, you can Purchase Some.
A Taste of Uganda
African Travelers will find that Uganda is a Foodie Adventure from its Tropical Fruits to Rolex or Nsenene, Ankole Beef, and more.
Uganda is the Tropical Fruit Basket of Africa – is the place for tropical fruit. Besides tropical fruit that is grown here.
Apples are now also being produced here in south-western Uganda producing two crops per year in the Kabale area, even a strain of tropical apples has been imported and is being grown in the Wakiso District near Kampala.
Valencia Oranges are now being produced in the Northern area of Uganda and even grapes in the Mbarara area of Uganda and Bushenyi and Nebbi areas of the Pearl of Africa.
Uganda, The Pearl of Africa, is one of the largest exporters of Exotic Fruit to European Countries, the Mideast, and a trickle to North America. Once you taste our fruit, you will know why people from around the world call it the Tropical Fruit Basket of Africa.
Uganda-The Tropical Fruit Basket of Africa – enjoy some of our Tropical Fruits in the Pearl of Africa while visiting here on a Safari.
