Today in this blog we will be continuing with our series of alphabet-based lists of fruits. In this article, we will be looking at fruits that start with the letter W. Even if you have an impressive knowledge of all things fruit, it can be quite hard to think of many fruits that start with W.
Whilst there may not be as many that come to mind when you think about the letter W, you may be pleasantly surprised by just how many fruits there actually are. In this list, we will go through as many as we can, hopefully improving your knowledge as we go.
There is a wide range of interesting, unique, and most importantly delicious fruits that start with the letter W that you need to try, so let’s not waste any more time, let’s dive straight into the list.
1. Watermelon
We kick our list off with the most recognizable fruit that starts with the letter W. The watermelon has been a popular snack since it was grown by ancient Egyptians.
Native to Africa this more or less spherical fruit has a tough green rind and a sweet, juicy red flesh with brown or black pips.
As well as keeping you healthy and hydrated, the sweet taste of the fruit tastes great in a salad or smoothie bowl.
2. Water Apple
Water apples are the first weirdly wonderful fruit on our list. Despite being called water apples, they bear no resemblance to your typical apple. In fact, they are small, bell-shaped berries that have a crisp texture.
Thriving in tropical climates, when ripe, the water apple has a beautifully sweet taste. However, when unripe it has an astringent flavor that makes it perfect for preparing pickles and curries.
3. White Sapote
This fruit is also known as Casimiroa or Mexican Apple. Native to Mexico and Central America the white sapote may look pretty unappealing with its white pulp, but it does have a lovely taste.
The range of flavor of this fruit can be compared to that of vanilla, banana, peach, and caramel. The oval-shaped fruit is commonly eaten raw straight out of the rind or in smoothies and desserts.
4. Wax Gourd
Most people mistake wax gourd as a vegetable, but it is very much a fruit. Mature wax gourd fruits are usually green in color with a long waxy covering similar to that of zucchini. Inside the wax gourd are 1cm long white flat seeds. In terms of taste, the wax gourd is very subtle.
Though its flesh has the same texture as watermelon it isn’t sweet at all. Instead, it has a more neutral earthy flavor, again similar to the zucchini. You can use the wax gourd fruit to make some great healthy curries, soups, and stir-fries. Wax gourd is also nice when fried with bacon.
5. Wineberry Fruit
Native to Eastern Asia the wineberry fruit is also commonly known by the name dewberry. It is a dark red or orange berry that doesn’t look too unfamiliar to a blackberry.
The edible fruit can be eaten raw or made into a tasty pie. Like most berries, they tend to have a tangy, tarty taste that also goes great in jams and jellies. Some even choose to make fruit wine with these berries, hence the name wineberry fruit.
6. White Aspen Fruit
This white-colored fruit is an edible bushfood with a strong and distinctive citrus flavor with notes of sweet honey.
Also referred to as Yellow Wood you can find the aspen fruits in Australia. They are white in color, have a crisp texture, and grow up to 1cm in diameter.
You can enjoy this fruit on its own, in salads, or when cooked with a seafood or poultry dish. If you’re feeling extra adventurous why not make a cocktail with the white aspen fruit.
7. West Indian Cherries
Despite its name, the West Indian cherry actually comes from South and Central America. Packed with vitamin C and other nutrients, the small red cherries are a great healthy snack. They help to boost immunity and even help protect the body from cancers.
With a sweet fragrant taste, West Indian cherries can easily be eaten on their own or cooked into a variety of dishes. These dishes could include a stew.
8. White Currant
If there was ever a species of fruit that looked like an alien life form it would probably be the white currant fruit.
Coming from the blackcurrant family the white currant grows in delicate strands of small translucent white round currants. Although they have a very unique and quite frankly odd appearance, white currants have a super soft pulpy flesh full of tart juicy flavor.
We highly recommend you try these currants on their own, in some jam, or even in a white currant cake.
9. Wild Custard Apple
Wild custard apple is a green cone-shaped fruit with a hard, leathery exterior, and sweet creamy flesh.
This fruit is a traditional African food as it has been shown to have a variety of health benefits that boost immunity, prevent high blood pressure, and improve your eye health.
The custard apple fruit tastes wonderful when mixed with oatmeal, yogurt, or when blended in a smoothie.
10. Wood Apple Fruit
The tenth fruit on our list that starts with W is the wood apple. The wood apple’s scientific name is Limonia acidissima and it is also known as the elephant apple.
Popular in Sri Lankan and Indian cuisine, the wood apple fruit has a rough round exterior and a sticky pale brown pulp inside. This fruit has a funky, sour taste to it which tastes great when a touch of sugar is added to a dessert.
Wood apple fruit juice is a big hit in Sri Lanka when it is mixed with sugar and coconut milk.
11. Wildbacher Grape
The wildbacher grape is used to make wine that has earthy, herbal flavors. It is a dark-skinned grape variety from Austria.
The tangy fruity flavor of the wildbacher grape and its sweet aroma are not only perfect for creating high-quality wine. This fruit can also be eaten on its own if you want a snack packed with flavor.
12. Wolfberry
You may not have heard of wolfberries before because they are usually called goji berries.
The wolfberry is a vibrant red-orange berry that grows on a shrub native to China. It has a unique jelly bean-like appearance. Often branded as a superfood, they are eaten raw, dried, or cooked.
With their distinct cranberry-like taste the berries go well in both sweet and savory recipes. Typically they are used in juices, wines, herbal teas, and medicines.
13. Wax Jambu Fruit
Wax jambu fruit or Java apple has the scientific name Syzygium samarangense and is native to the Nicobar Islands and Andaman.
This extremely expensive fruit is pear-shaped with a puckered base, a waxy skin, and puffy inner mesh that cushions the seeds. The darker and deeper the color of the fruit, the sweeter the taste.
The deep sweet taste of the wax jambu fruit makes a delicious fruit or salad. Coming with health benefits that support the immune system and reduce the risk of stroke, the jambu fruit is well worth trying.
14. Wild Lime
Though the wild lime may share its name and also have the yellowy-green appearance of a traditional lime, it is actually used very differently. Those who use the wild lime take more advantage of the leaves and bark instead which have a more citrusy odor.
They are usually ground up and turned into a spice that has a sharp taste. Some tribes people even use the wild lime to make bows and arrows.
Although it is less common, you can still eat the wild lime fruit. You can eat it the way you would a normal lime.
15. White Mulberry
If you’re looking for berries that will grow quickly, white mulberry could be your best option. Known for how fast they grow white mulberry is purple in color in the wild. When cultivated it is white and pink in color.
Unlike the strong flavors of the red and black mulberry, the small white mulberry fruit has a sweet but bland flavor. Typically used to help treat diabetes they are an excellent raw snack. White mulberries also add a divine sweet taste to ice cream, jams, pies, and other baked foods.
16. Wild Orange
The final fruit on our list is the wild orange. Growing naturally across Australia, wild oranges are a beloved bush food that provides a citrusy, tangy taste you would expect from any citrus fruit.
Like traditional oranges, the wild orange has a soft, yet rough orange rind and an even softer orange segmented flesh on the inside. Eaten on their own as a healthy snack, wild oranges are also commonly used in a variety of desserts, whether it be in a fruit salad, ice cream, or cake.
Final Thoughts
As you can see from our list there are plenty of interesting varieties of fruits that start with W. The letter W may be quite a niche in the world of fruit but there are still plenty of options to choose from no matter what you’re looking for.
Whether it be an exotic sweet-tasting snack you’re after or an oddly unique one that boosts your immunity, there is something on this list for you to try.
There are probably more fruits out there that start with W but we have covered the main ones. Now you have read our list we hope we have broadened your knowledge and perhaps given you some inspiration for new fruits you want to try.
Feel free to take a look at the other lists in our fruit alphabet series if you want to learn more. If not, why not take yourself down to your local store and see if you can source any of these incredible fruits, so you can start trying something new.
We hope you learned something from this article, here are other articles that you can learn from:
14 Fruits With Seeds (Including Pictures)
Pumpkins: Growth Time and Stages of Development From Seeds To Fruits
