Trying new fruit - My First Time Trying Rambutan & Apricots

 Date: Sunday, July 6, 2025 

Locations: Publix(Gainesville, FL) & Traders Joe's(Gainesville, FL)

On Sunday, July 6th, I decided to explore some fruits I had never tasted before: rambutan and apricots. I picked up a container of rambutan from Publix and grabbed a small pack of fresh apricots from Trader Joe’s. I wasn’t sure what to expect from either of them; one looked like a spiky sea creature, and the other resembled a soft, orange plum. I brought them home, snapped some pictures, and gave each fruit a taste test to document my honest first impressions.

🍥 Rambutan – Spiky on the Outside, Sweet on the Inside

I found Rambutan at Publix, and I honestly had no idea what to expect. It looked like a small red sea creature,  round with long, thin “arms” coming off of it. To open it, I carefully sliced around the middle with a knife, and the thick skin peeled off in two clean halves, almost like cracking open a hard-boiled egg.

Inside was this glossy, translucent fruit that looked like jelly. The texture surprised me: it was firm but slippery, kind of like biting into a peeled grape, but denser. It came off in sections, which I didn’t expect at all. The flavor? Amazing. Super sweet, really juicy, and refreshing. I ended up eating the entire container by the end of the day. Definitely something I’d buy again!

🍑 Apricot – Pretty but Definitely Not My Favorite

Apricots are adorable. They’re small, fuzzy, and have the most beautiful blend of soft orange shades; seriously, I wanted to take aesthetic photos before even tasting one. I washed one with warm water and bit right in, expecting a juicy, tangy experience. Unfortunately, the texture and flavor were a total letdown.

The inside was mushy, kind of like applesauce, and not in a good way. The taste was bitter and tart, like sour applesauce that had been sitting too long. I thought maybe I just got a weird one, so I gave another apricot from the pack a shot, same exact disappointment. I didn’t even want to finish it.

Funny enough, my mom is from Switzerland, and she said apricots there are absolutely stunning, super flavorful, and sweet. But when she moved to the U.S., she was so let down by how different they tasted that she stopped buying them altogether. That’s probably why I never had one before this assignment. Now I understand why.