In Greater Miami & Miami Beach, you can bite into a delicious piece of tropical fruit with a color, texture, taste or smell you’ve never experienced before.

Say the names aloud as you browse them in a supermarket, farmers market or specialty shop. They're often fun words that originate from Brazil, the Yucatan or the Caribbean.

Tasting them is just as fun. Imagine a fruit that looks like a green tomato but is black inside (and tastes like chocolate pudding) or mini purple bananas that are sweeter than your average grocery store variety. In Miami, tropical fruits grow aplenty in varieties you've likely never seen or heard of before. Take your time to get to know them while you’re here.

Ask questions about fruit you see on trees around town. There are fruit trees tucked into front and back yards of homes, in public parks and lining the streets of Miami’s lush neighborhoods.

Indulge in Miami’s tropical bounty and experience these healthy and sometimes strange fruits.

Tropical Fruit Climate

Miami is classified as having a “tropical monsoon climate.” As a result, you’ll find fruits growing here that originated far away – such as in India, the origin of our beloved mango.

Homestead and The Redland

South Dade's Homestead and Redland area is considered Miami’s agricultural heartland. Home to acres of farms producing tropical fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices, it’s a cornucopia of riches for farmers, chefs and foodies alike. While you’re probably familiar with oranges, tomatoes and avocados, all of which grow in abundance in the area and supply restaurants – local and beyond – you’ll also discover rare and exotic tropical fruits here.

Fruit and Spice jackfruit tree — Explore the tropical fruit at Fruit & Spice Park

Where to Find Tropical Fruit Near Miami

You’ll find a selection of tropical fruit in most local grocery stores, but if you're ready to dive in and explore the incredible diversity of fruit options available here, you're in luck. There are plenty of places to sample these local specialties. Here are just a few.

Fruit & Spice Park

For a deep exploration, the Fruit & Spice Park in South Dade is a can’t-miss, 37-acre tropical fruit botanical garden growing more than 500 varieties of fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs. It has 180 varieties of mangos, 40 varieties of bananas and 15 varieties of jackfruit trees, just to name a few. The garden, part of the Miami-Dade County park system, has been around since 1944 and hosts annual events including the Tropical Harvest Heritage Fest and the Summer Fruit Festival.

Hop aboard one of the park’s guided tram tours – you’re welcome to pick up fallen fruit to taste along the way.

Robert Is Here

Robert Is Here Fruit Stand and Farm has been a Homestead staple since 1959. Here, you’ll find rare and exotic fruits and vegetables as well as local honey, preserves, hot sauces, breads and homemade guacamole. There’s also a petting zoo, play area and picnic tables with occasional live music. It’s one of the best spots in town to try tropical fruit milkshakes and smoothies.

Schnebly Redland’s Winery & Brewery

One of the area’s most popular attractions, Schnebly Redland’s Winery & Brewery pioneered a novel approach to winemaking and brewing. While operating a produce-packaging business in the Redland area near Homestead, Peter Schnebly decided to experiment with making wine by fermenting tropical fruits. The result is an entire winery devoted to lychee, avocado, passion fruit, mango and starfruit wines – from dry to sweet and with all the other characteristics of fine wines. With the success of his winery, he decided to try his hand at brewing. Now you can also enjoy craft beers like Big Rod Coconut Ale and Shark Bait – made with citrus – all produced on the Redland’s property by Miami Brewing Co.

Visit the onsite restaurant, The Redlander, Friday through Sunday for brunch, lunch or dinner and try dishes that incorporate the area’s locally grown fruit, such as guava-glazed chicken wings, avocado bites with a cilantro dipping sauce, Key lime pie and other delicacies – all paired with tropical fruit wines for the maximum experience.

Experience the Mango Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

The tropical fruit collection at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables has more mango species than anywhere else in the world. A visit to Fairchild is a wonderful way to see the diverse plant life in the region and get to know more about tropical fruits. Beyond the annual Mango Festival – an event loved by fruit lovers and growers where you can taste, learn and even purchase rare species of mango trees – there are year-round tropical fruit-focused exhibits on display at the Whitman Tropical Fruit Pavilion.

Ask the garden’s experts questions about avocados, cacao, canistel, chocolate, persimmon, jackfruit, mamey, sapote and others. Visit this expansive botanical garden to see tropical fruit trees living among a wide variety of plants and trees in a stunningly beautiful setting.

Knaus Berry Farm

Established in the 1950s, Knaus Berry Farm (open from November through Mid-April) is a seasonal South Dade fruit stand and farm specializing in strawberries. It has also earned a cult following for its pilgrimage-worthy homemade cinnamon rolls and sticky buns – get there early in the morning and be prepared to wait in line.

Miami Fruit

Dedicated to providing the highest-quality tropical fruit, the Miami Fruit company harvests the bounty of local farms (including its own) each week to sell at local markets and fulfill orders to ship to customers throughout the country. You can find out what’s available now on its popular Instagram feed.

Tropical Fruit at Robert is Here — Enjoy the variety of tropical fruits in Miami, *Photo taken at Robert Is Here, Inc.*

A Tropical Fruit Primer

Need help navigating the world of tropical fruit? Here is a short primer to get you started.

Mango

The sweet, juicy mango is a fruit you’re probably familiar with – typically orange on the inside with a tough skin that can range from green to red and beautiful sunset shades in between. The smooth, buttery flesh is both sweet and tart with flavor profiles ranging from pineapple and coconut to lemon and peach.

Mango season runs from late April through September, when hundreds of varieties grow abundantly in Homestead and the Redland. If you’ve never tried a mango before it's ripe, give that a taste too. It's a tart, almost sour, flavor that is often spiced up with lime, salt or hot sauce to create a refreshing beach snack.

Avocado

You’re probably familiar with avocados from the ubiquitous avocado toast and much-loved guacamole, but did you know both are typically made from Hass avocados? Here in Miami, we grow a different variety. The generally much larger Florida avocado has skin in a lighter green color and flesh with lower fat content. Because of this, it holds its shape better in a salad than the Hass variety and yields a lighter guacamole. Try one for yourself and see which you prefer.

Sapodilla, Canistel, Mamey

Sapodilla, canistel and mamey are all in the sapote fruit family, distinct for their soft fruit, hard shells and oversized egg shapes. They’re most often enjoyed as the star ingredient in a milkshake, smoothie or ice cream sundae, like those you’ll find at Azucar Ice Cream Company in Little Havana.

Sapodillas have a rich brown-sugar flavor and a gritty pear texture. Canistels are often called eggfruit for their shape and firm golden pulp that some say is quite like pumpkin in consistency. Mameys have russet-colored skin that looks like a fuzzy potato and a pulp that is creamy, sweet and orange-colored or dark red.

Jackfruit

Part of the mulberry family and often growing larger than a watermelon (it can weigh up to 80 pounds, so you won't be able to throw one of these into your carry-on for an airplane snack), the jackfruit is found inside a prickly green shell with tough flesh that can be eaten raw when it’s ripe and offers flavors similar to pineapple or banana.

More often, it’s boiled when immature and consumed as a vegetable or a meat substitute for vegan dishes, such as green jackfruit curry. Look for jackfruit on vegan menus used as taco fillings or mixed with BBQ sauce.

Cacao

While more commonly grown in Central and South America, you’ll also find cacao in South Dade. These pods are filled with juicy flesh surrounding the cacao beans that produce chocolate. Look for cacao at local farmers markets, including the Southwest Community Farmers Market at Tropical Park near Westchester.

Lychee, Longan, Mamones

With an incredibly short May-June season, the lychee is a delicacy with origins in China. The golf ball-sized fruit has rough-textured brown skin with a slippery, clear flesh beloved for its floral flavor. When lychee season ends, its cousin the longan appears in South Dade. Similar in look and size, they’re milder in flavor than the lychee but no less delicious. While they’re wonderful to eat on their own, you’ll often see lychees and longans as cocktail garnishes or as ingredients in sorbet.

Another cousin to the lychee is the mamon, also known as mamoncillo, Spanish lime or guinep (also spelled genip). Eat these by peeling off the green shell (it’s okay to use your teeth as a tool) and then popping them in your mouth to suck the bit of flesh surrounding the large seed. Or you can peel them, pour hot water over a pile of them and then pull the flesh off to make a tasty juice.

Dragon Fruit, Passion Fruit, Papaya

Dragon fruit, passion fruit and papaya all have a similar look, edible seeds and flesh that ranges from deep red to orange to white.

Dragon fruit grows on a vining cactus and has a sweet, mild flesh that’s either magenta or white and flecked with seeds that look like sesame seeds. Papaya is technically an herb and has juicy orange flesh with a mild and sweet aroma and flavor. Passion fruit comes in a variety of colors, ranging from yellow and red to purple, and has a sweet-tart flavor profile.

Keep an eye out for these as beautiful toppings on acai and fruit bowls in health food restaurants and juice bars around Miami.

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