This fruit has a name as unusual as its appearance.
Exotic fruits always attract the curiosity of many internet users in Vietnam. Recently, a TikTok clip surfaced showing someone breaking open a fruit with a distinctive red and orange color. The poster of the video also challenged netizens to guess what fruit it was.
A fruit with a distinctive red and orange color, looking very unusual.
In the comments, many TikTok users shared that they had lived for decades but had never seen this fruit before. Others quickly recognized it as velvet peach – a specialty that grows abundantly in the Mekong Delta region.
This is the velvet peach.
The velvet peach is a species belonging to the family of persimmons, and in many places, it is also known as velvet fruit, fuzzy persimmon, or soft persimmon. It is called so because its shape resembles that of a peach, and its skin is covered with a fine fuzz similar to velvet.
Ripe velvet peach has a deep red color.
The velvet peach tree typically bears fruit around the lunar months of October to November, with each branch producing 3 to 4 fruits. When ripe, the velvet peach has a deep red color, and it must be scrubbed clean of its fuzz before peeling to eat.
The taste of this fruit is described as mildly sweet. The flesh is white and soft, with seeds that are black, resembling those of a sapodilla. Many who have tried it say it has a sweet yet slightly astringent flavor similar to that of the crispy persimmon from Da Lat. Therefore, people in the Mekong Delta often wait until it is fully ripe to enjoy.
The flavor of this fruit is very delicious, and its flesh resembles that of a sapodilla.
In the Mekong Delta, this fruit is commonly found in Soc Trang province, especially within the grounds of many temples, as shown in the TikTok video. The tree is primarily planted for shade. It is only in recent years that this fruit has been sought after due to claims of its health benefits.
