Beyond the Pineapple: A Field Guide to Hawaiʻi's Tropical Fruit

Hawaiʻi's warm, wet climate is a paradise for fruit far beyond the famous pineapple. From roadside stands and farmers markets come mangoes that drip down your wrist, tart-sweet lilikoʻi passion fruit, spiky rambutan and creamy soursop — a whole world of flavor that many visitors never think to try.

Fruit Worth Seeking

Summer brings a mango obsession, with backyard trees heavy with fruit and locals guarding their favorite varieties. Look also for apple bananas, smaller and tangier than the supermarket kind, and lilikoʻi, whose intense perfume flavors everything from malasadas to cocktails at stands like the fictional Hāna Roadside Fruit.

How to Enjoy It

The best approach is simple: buy a small mix at a market or fruit stand and taste your way through. Ask vendors how to tell ripeness and how to eat the unfamiliar ones, eat over a sink or the sand, and don't leave without trying at least one fruit you can't name.

Skip the pineapple for a day and Hawaiʻi opens up an entire alphabet of fruit you've never tasted.

Good to Know

• Summer is peak mango season
• Try apple bananas — smaller and tangier
• Lilikoʻi (passion fruit) flavors desserts and drinks
• Ask vendors how to pick and eat unfamiliar fruit

Order a second helping. On these islands, a good plate is meant to be shared.