Are you looking for more ideas on fruits that start with I? We got the list for you!
Discover 13 fruits that start with the letter I and find out their location, taste, health benefits, and ways of preparation.
Are you ready to find out the answers?
Then, let’s get to it!
What Are Fruits Starting With I?
1. Ice Cream Bean Fruit – tastes like vanilla ice cream!
Number one on our list of fruits that start with I is the ice cream bean fruit from the legume family called Fabaceae.
Native to South America, particularly in the Amazonian area, ice cream beans are also called guama, joaquiniquil, cuaniquil, or guaba.
The scientific name of the ice cream bean fruit is Inga edulis. (*)
Taste
Like how they are named, ice cream bean fruits have sweet, succulent, and smooth-textured pulps that will remind you of vanilla ice cream.
Benefits
The ice cream bean fruit is not only low in fat, but it is also rich in vitamins A, B, and C, antioxidants, fiber, and protein.
How To Eat?
The aril, the white pulp of the ice cream bean fruit, can be consumed raw as a sweet snack. It is also used to produce cachiri – an alcoholic beverage.
On the other hand, the seeds are cooked and consumed as vegetables.
2. Indian Fig Fruit
Number two on our list of fruits that start with I is the Indian fig fruit from Mexico.
Other names for Indian fig fruit are barbary fig, Indian fig opuntia, cactus pear, Christian fig, or prickly pear.
The scientific name of the Indian fig is Opuntia ficus indica. (*)
The fruit of the Indian fig has bright red/purple or white/yellowish flesh, and it contains numerous tiny seeds that can be safely swallowed.
However, we still advise that you should be careful when eating the fruit with its seeds as they can be challenging for your tummy to digest.
Taste
The Indian fig has a taste akin to juicy watermelon but is extra sweet.
Benefits
The Indian fig fruit contains vitamins B1, B2, B3, C, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and iron.
How To Eat?
Use a glove to handle this spiky fruit, then place it in a basin of cold water. Cut the top and the bottom ends of the pear to peel off the skin.
Indian figs are usually eaten raw and served as table fruit.
3. Indian Sherbet Berry
The Indian sherbet berry from India is the third of our fruits, starting with the letter I.
The Indian sherbet berry or falsa/phalsa is a fruit-bearing flowering fruit that belongs to the Malvaceae family. These plants are fast-growing and drought-tolerant as well.
The scientific name of the Indian sherbet berry is Grewia asiatica. (*)
It has an edible fruit that turns purple to black when ripe.
Taste
The flavor of the Indian sherbet berry is sherbet-sweet, sour, and acidic.
Benefits
You can get vitamin A, C, calcium, potassium, iron, niacin, and phosphorus from Indian sherbet berry.
How To Eat?
The fruit pulp is usually made into a nice refreshing drink in India during the hot summer season.
4. Indian Almond Fruit
Another fruit that starts with I is the Indian almond fruit.
It is also often called country almond, Malabar almond, sea almond, Indian almond, tropical almond, beach almond, or false Kamani.
The scientific name of the Indian almond is Terminalia catappa. (*)
You can find them growing in tropical regions as ornamental plants.
Taste
The Indian almond fruit is known to have a slightly acidic almond or hazelnut taste.
Benefits
Indian almonds are excellent protein sources, good fats, vitamin E, and magnesium.
How To Eat?
You can eat the ripe husk raw or extract the oil for cooking purposes.
5. Indian Jujube Fruit
The Indian jujube, also called Indian plum, Chinese apple, Chinese date, or dunk, is a tropical plant under the Rhamnaceae family.
The scientific name of the Indian jujube fruit is Ziziphus mauritiana. (*)
This fruit is now widely distributed from Southern Africa, the Middle East, India, China, and the Pacific Islands.
The flesh of the Indian jujube is white and crisp. And it has smooth, glossy, thin but tight skin.
Taste
It is said that when the Indian jujube is still slightly underripe, it will taste a bit juicy with a pleasing aroma.
Benefits
The Indian jujube contains healthful properties beneficial to weight loss, mental health, blood pressure, and inflammation.
How To Eat?
Indian jujubes are usually eaten as a snack. They can be made into candies, vinegar, puree, or soup.
6. Illawarra Plum Fruit
Also known as daalgal, plum pine, or goongu, Illawara plum is cultivated on the east coast of Australia.
Its scientific name is Podocarpus elatus.
Taste
The pulp of the Illawarra fruit is mild, juicy, and sweet.
Benefits
Illawarra plums can give you fiber and vitamin A.
How To Eat?
The Illawara plum fruit is usually eaten raw or made into jams or jellies.
7. Ilama Fruit
Native to Central America, the Ilama fruit is a cone-shaped green and pink fruit that almost resembles the cherimoya.
Its scientific name is Annona diversifolia.
Taste
The flesh of the ilama fruit is sort of fibrous, and it has a smooth and custardy texture near its rind. The taste of the fruit may vary, being dry to decently juicy.
Benefits
The ilama can provide fiber, calcium, phosphorus, and iron.
How To Eat?
Slice the ilama fruit in half and scoop out the flesh out of the rind. We suggest chilling the fruit before serving. You’ll indeed find it more enjoyable.
On the other hand, to intensify the flavor of the ilama fruit, we recommend serving it with cream and sugar.
If you want to highlight the tartness of the fruit, just add some drops of lime or lemon juice.
8. Indian Hog Plum
The Indian hog plum is native to the tropical regions of the Americas. Now, you can find them growing in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and India.
The scientific name of the Indian hog plum is Spondias mombin.
Guess what? Once the fruit of the Indian hog plum matures, its skin gets leathery over the thin layer of its pulp.
Taste
The Indian plum is known for its sharp and somewhat acidic taste.
Benefits
The Indian hog plum is found to have been used as a diuretic and febrifuge.
How To Eat?
The fruit pulp is usually eaten fresh. And you can actually make juice, concentrate, sherbets, and jellies out of it.
9. Indian Mango
Indian mango is a mango cultivar from India that is alternatively known as Alphonso mango. (*)
These days, Indian mangos are being exported to different countries such as Japan, Korea, and European countries.
Taste
It is described that Indian mangos have a pleasant taste combination of melon, apricot, nectarine, and peach, with notes of citrus and honey.
Benefits
Indian mangos contain vitamins A, C, K, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and flavonoids.
How To Eat?
Indian mangos are usually eaten fresh. However, they are also cultivated for producing commercialized products such as sorbet, ice cream, lassi, soufflé, and mousse.
10. Indian Gooseberry
Indian gooseberries from India are also known as emblic, emblic myrobalan, amla, or myrobalan.
Its scientific name is Phyllanthus Emblica.
The fruit of the Indian gooseberry tree has a spherical-looking shape with a light greenish-yellow, smooth and rigid exterior.
Taste
Sour, bitter, and astringent. That’s the taste of Indian gooseberries.
Benefits
Indian gooseberries are great sources of vitamin C for boosting immunity and fighting coughs and colds.
How To Eat?
The fruit is usually eaten raw or cooked in dal and amle ka murabba dishes.
11. Ice Apple
Ice apple is not your typical apple. They come from palm trees!
In fact, ice apples are also called tala or tal palm, doub palm, palmyra palm, toddy palm, or wine palm that grow in India and some parts of China and Southeast Asia.
Its scientific name is Borassus flabellifer.
The fruit of the ice apple has a black husk, and they are borne in clusters.
Taste
Ice apple shares a similar texture to litchis. It has a sweet, tender coconut taste, and its juice is cool and refreshing.
Benefits
Ice apples are refreshing low-calorie fruits that contain healthful properties that help boost the immune system, cure digestive problems, and support weight loss.
How To Eat?
You can enjoy them fresh or blend them to make a refreshing fruit shake.
12. Imbe Fruit
The imbe is a traditional evergreen fruit tree cultivated in Africa. They’re also known as African mangosteen.
The scientific name of imbe is Garcinia livingstonei.
The imbe plant is primarily grown as an ornamental fruit. And, the fruits are edible as well.
Taste
The taste of the imbe fruit has a rich sweetness with hints of orange and citrus flavors.
Benefits
Imbe fruit contains fiber, folate, niacin, pyridoxine, thiamin, vitamin A, vitamin C, and riboflavin.
How To Eat?
Imbe fruits are typically eaten fresh. You can also make some drinks out if you want to.
13. Indian Prune
The Indian plum is cultivated in Southeast Asia, India, and Polynesia.
Other names of the Indian plum are rukam, governor’s plum, and Indian plum.
The scientific name of Indian Plum is Flacourtia rukam.
The fruit of the Indian prune is round, small (about 2 centimeters long), and comes in green, red, or purple.
Taste
The Indian prune has a sweet and sour taste, with a texture that’s akin to plums.
Benefits
It is found that Indian prunes have the potential to cure arthritis and treat conditions such as anemia, colds, and diarrhea.
How To Eat?
Indian prunes are often eaten raw or cooked. In fact, you can make jams, jellies, or wine out of it.
Final Thoughts
As you can obviously see, most of the fruits that start with I start with the word Indian.
As a quick tip, just remember that word to help you recall the fruits that begin with the letter I.
Do you know other kinds of fruits that start with the letter I?
Care to share it with us!
After checking a list of fruits with names starting with the letter I, you might also want to check another fruits name list:
A,B, C,D, E, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, Q, S, T, U, V, W, X,Y, Z.
