Can you buy any "fruits" of this kind?
By Oldsix691418
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
China
November 24, 2012 9:08pm CST
All the people who live in the tropical or subtropical zone can eat many kinds of fruits,and they know fuits always bear on trees.Here I introduce something that can be grown in my area (belongs to the subtropical zone)or somewhere of other areas that you may know.
They look a little like small Chinese dark-red enameled potteries,and on the top there are some dull tips.They taste rather sweet and they can be used to make into something like noodles because they contain much sugar and starch.In about 1 month they can be sold here in the market.You can eat them after washing them clean and peeling like eating an apple.But they never bear on the trees!
What are they?Do you have them in your country? Or can you list something similar growing in your area? 
4 people like this
16 responses
@Mavic123456 (21893)
• Thailand
25 Nov 12
I can't imagine what you are describing sorry. but if you ask me if buy any kind of fruits (considering that is in the market) yes, I like fruits and it is the safest food to eat. but what you are talking about does it included in the berry family? I just wonder. good morning
@Mavic123456 (21893)
• Thailand
25 Nov 12
No it did not show in my computer I will take a look again. thanks
1 person likes this
@Mavic123456 (21893)
• Thailand
25 Nov 12
I still have no idea. never seen in the market here
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
25 Nov 12
Good guess, bjc66bjc! They are actually called water chestnuts in English, though they aren't a nut at all but a corm which grows on the roots of the plant. You can find them canned in many stores (especially where there is a Chinese community) and they are usually peeled and sliced into disks.
If you know what 'jicama' is (a bulbous root sometimes called 'Mexican yam'), the texture of that is very similar to water chestnut.
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
26 Nov 12
Hi,Owlwings!I'm sure you are the best at tastting because you know so much about the things around us that can be eaten!Oh,we grow jicamas,too and I like them,they are crunchy,tender and sweet.
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
25 Nov 12
Oh,you know it and you called its another name.In other words,it can grow somewhere in your country?
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
25 Nov 12
They are called Water Chestnut in English. They are the corm of a sedge which grows in or near water and they are peeled and eaten raw or cooked. They have a crunchy texture, even when cooked, and a delicate, slightly nutty flavour. Here in the UK we associate them with Chinese food.
1 person likes this
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
26 Nov 12
Hi,yoyo1198!Waterchestnuts are very good at elders' health.In winter after we buy waternuts,we always put them aside on a dry place to dry them a bit to let out too much water inside so that they taste more delicious!
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
25 Nov 12
Wow,your response is the best among all!And you know waternuts so well.Because they are corms,so they are only "fruits".In fact here I can learn so much about it from what you said!And if I have to introduce waternuts,I'll just copy what you described here.Thank you and have nice day!
@youless (112481)
• Guangzhou, China
25 Nov 12
I looked up the dictionary and it is called water chestnuts because they are growing in the pool. Actually we don't think it is a fruit because we seldom will eat it raw. We like to cook it and then eat it because it will be cleaner. As it grows in the water. It is more like a vegetable for us. It is common here. We like to use it to cook or make a kind of water with radish and cane. It is healthy and delicious.
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
29 Nov 12
Hey!Did you grow up in Guangzhou and have you never been to the countryside?Here the villagers plant water chests in the paddy fields at the end of August after the first rice havesting and they DIG them out from the dry fields with hoes around the Spring Festival and sell them in the market.
Oh,you cantonese can do good soup of many kinds!But really don't know you will cook water with waternuts,turnips and radish!We usually eat waternuts raw just as we eat the other fruits here in Liuzhou as well as Guilin,that way they taste much delicious.
@changjiangzhibin89 (16758)
• China
26 Nov 12
Here, we call it "biqi".Its English name is water chestnut ,growing in large ponds or planted in paddy fields.We usually use it for stir-frying sliced meat.According to Traditional Chinese Medicine,it is cool in nature and has a diuretic effect.
@changjiangzhibin89 (16758)
• China
6 Dec 12
Water chestnut abounds in our countryside.It is suitable for both being eaten raw and being boiled to eat.I like it very much.
@deazil (4730)
• United States
25 Nov 12
I was going to say they look like chestnuts except for the stem. I see someone has beat me to it. But owlwings has said they are water chestnuts. I eat water chestnuts all the time. But I get them in a can, not fresh like in the picture. They are mild flavored and crunchy. I make stir-fry quite often and use them in that. I also put them in salads or mix them with other vegetables and rice. I keep at least 2 cans on hand because I use them so often. I never knew what they looked like before they were peeled. I don't care for American chestnuts. Their taste is quite different. This is an interesting topic.
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
25 Nov 12
Well,Guilin waternuts are well-known around the world,but if you can come here to my town,our water chestnuts are sweet and crunchy enough,too.And I can treat you a famous dish named chicken with waternuts!
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
25 Nov 12
I hope you are much richer and younger than me and can travel around the world,but if you can come to China,just visit not only Guilin but also my home!
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
26 Nov 12
I have no idea what you are talking about. How large is the fruit? Does it grow on a bush or a vine? I've never seen such a fruit on the US market. I'm fairly sure that it does not grow here, although we do have some subtropical areas, such as southern California, the Rio Grande region in Texas, and the southern part of Florida. I mustn't forget Hawaii, which is a state but not part of the continental US.
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
30 Nov 12
It is as big as a tabletennis,and it is always brown.It never grows on the trees or vines,it's the corm that grows under around the bottom.We call it Biqi in Chinese and its English name is "waternut".
Well,if it never grows in any of your states,then I don't think you can buy waternuts in the market unless someone takes some by air.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
27 Nov 12
Those are a very interesting looking fruit and I have to admit that I've never seen anything like it in my life. That is definitely not a fruit that is found in the United States.
The closest thing that I've ever seen to the fruit that you've showed on here is crab apples, they don't look very much like the fruit that you've shown and the flavor is definitely not the same as what you've shared.
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
30 Nov 12
Hehe,they are waternuts.I know many American friends travel to China every year,and most of them come to Guilin in Guangxi,so they must see and eat some if they arrive in late autumn or winter.
Well,it seems that I've eaten crab apples you mentioned here,they are good-looking and rather delicious indeed,and they are sweet and a bit sour,right?
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
24 Jan 13
Hiya six,
At first glance they look like Chestnuts which is from a tree but seeing as I know they are not I cannot give them another name either.
Can you also peel them like apples too do they have a bitter taste.
Very puzzling that at least to me.xxx
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
26 Jan 13
Of course you can peel them just like peeling other fruits,it tastes sweet and crisp.
@asliah (11137)
• Philippines
20 Jan 13
hi,
i don't know exactly the fruit you are talking about and aside from that i am not familiar in fruits,sometimes its a fruit but its not really a fruit,sometimes i though we can be eat that but it can not be,and aside from that why you didn't upload any pic of that fruits.
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
26 Jan 13
It never belongs to fruits,but we always have it as fruits and eat or cook it.Here we can buy it in the market now in winter.It grows in the paddy fields,so I think it can grow in your country.
@jeztrose (1405)
• Philippines
26 Nov 12
i never seen that kind of fruit that you have described here in our country. There are really many other fruits there that we are not so familiar with. and every country has some fruits that cannot be found in others.Really interesting to have learned something new like that one.
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
29 Nov 12
I agree.Here at mylot we can do communicating by submiting discussions and comments,and that helps us with learning a lot about what we are not familiar with,at the same time we can get some coins,too.
@rubrub (166)
• Philippines
26 Nov 12
ahh.. So it's a rootcrop? based on your explanations, it is grown under the soil right? I never heard of that kind of fruit here in the philippines although we got a lot of fruits grown under the soil. I'm curious, hopefully i'll be able to try one.
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
30 Nov 12
They are the corm of a sedge which grow in paddy fields,so they are "fruits".Do you really have many fruits that grow under the soil?Why not list some for us?
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
29 Nov 12
Hi,Sindelle!They are called "waternut",but their shells are never hard.On the contrary,they are easily pressed and get bad,so it's very hard to store and export them.Therefore if they don't grow in the US,it is difficult for you to buy at the grocery store.Good luck!
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
26 Jan 13
Hehe,you can know it by reading carefully my discussion and what the other have responded to it.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Nov 12
hi oldsix havent seen you around for aw2ile. We do not grow those here in t he US not even in my state California. we g row ordinary fruits but those are subtropical that much I can see. I imagine in the P Philippines you can find fruit like this but not in the US. I have no idea what these a re called. clue us in,.
fruit like this but not in the US. I have no idea what these a re called. clue us in,.@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
25 Nov 12
Hehe,I miss you so much,too.Yes,I was so lazy in the past half a year because I had to take after my orange grove.But as I can harvest,the price of honey oranges becomes as cheap as hell!
One friend from the UK knows that they are water chestnuts,I guess they can grow in her country.But the US has the similar climate,do you grow neither waternuts nor arrowheads?
@Oldsix691418 (3872)
• China
28 Nov 12
Hi,Anil02!Waternuts are not easy to be stored and carried because their skins are thin and they are so easy to be pushed that they'll go bad,so I don't know if you can buy them in your country.But I hope you can manage to get some.Have a nice day!