Okinawan sweet potatoes are the holy grail of sweet potatoes on my almost impossible list of favorite but hard to find items. When baked, the rough and dirty white exterior of a good one can hide deeper purple flesh with a sweet, floral fragrance, elegant beyond any mere flower. For a while, it was almost impossible for me to find them.
While I’m happy to have broccoli, cauliflower, and old potatoes on regular rotation in my diet, along with common varieties of apples and navel oranges, there is something exciting about trying a new or rare fruit or vegetable. And more consumers are starting to agree.
“American consumers, especially younger ones, are increasingly interested in exotic fruits, that is, less familiar,” says Melanie Bartelme, associate director of the research firm Mintel that covers food. About 57 percent of people who eat fruit say they are interested in this type of fruit, which includes jackfruit, dragon fruit and durian, says Bartelme.
.