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10 Scary-Looking Fruits and Vegetables You Should Cook With

Not all fruits and vegetables are as beautiful as strawberries or as elegant as asparagus but these nutritious plants deserve a chance at your table.

By Meaghan Cameron
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Celeriac
Also known as celery root, celeriac is a knobby, frightening looking vegetable that is sometimes used by the low-carb dieter to replace mashed potatoes. But there are other wonderful uses to celery root such as in these recipes:
Celeriac Salad With Parma Ham recipe
Celeriac and Pear Soup With Sausage Bites

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Ugli fruit
Ugli fruit is a cross between an orange, a grapefruit and a tangerine. It is bumpy and a tad misshapen but is just as healthy as other citrus fruits that provide 70% of the daily need for vitamin C in just half a fruit. Eat this fruit as you would other citrus fruits. You can also try these recipes:
Saffron and Vanilla Grilled Fruit recipe
Ugli Duckling recipe.

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Tomatillos
These little papery-skin covered relatives of the tomato and the gooseberry are more tart than typical tomatoes. Try them in this Avocado and Tomatillo Dip recipe for a refreshing alternative to guacamole.

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Parsnips
Parsnips resemble white carrots but are sweeter and slightly nutty. Since they are a root vegetable, they need to be well softened by roasting or boiling. Try them in this Carrot and Parsnip Puree recipe, a low-carb alternative to mashed potatoes.

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Kale
Like many people you may see this nutritional powerhouse of vitamins and minerals as a overly crinkled green and violet garnish. Once you roast this nutritional powerhouse in the oven tossed with some oil and salt, you'll wonder why you ever pushed it to the side. Try this Kale Chips recipe and be a convert.

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Papaya
Though its neon colored flesh and jet black seeds can be off-putting, the papaya is a very healthy fruit which also aids in digestion. Check out this description on preparing papaya, including how to use the edible black seeds. Also, try this Papaya and Avocado Salad for a great dose of vitamins and healthy monounsaturated fat.

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Endive
Many people shy away from this bitter, missile-shaped vegetable. However, its bitterness and crunch can add a counterpoint to many salads that include fruit. Plus, one head of endive has a staggering level of vitamins and minerals. Try it in this Endive, Apple and Watercress Salad With Almonds

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Plantains
This cousin to the banana is very starchy and never eaten raw as bananas are. They are often baked or fried in Caribbean cuisine. Try this Twice Fried Green Plantains With Garlic Dipping Sauce

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Beets
You may shy away from these gnarled little vegetables, but you are making a mistake. Skip the can on this one. Fresh beets are slightly sweet and have a more satisfying bite. Try steamed beets in Balsamic Beets With Toasted Pecans recipe.

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Horseradish
Another gnarly looking root, horseradish has a pungent hot flavor that when mixed with sour cream is a mouth-tingling accompaniment to many dishes. Try it in Rib Eye Tacos With Onion Jam and Horseradish Crème Fraiche. You can use the sauce with any kind of steak or even on a burger for a delicious alternative to mustard. Horseradish is a relative of the condiment.

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Your Comments

  • Bamalong

    These belong to the banana group as someone from the Caribbean, I know these are NOT plantains.

    • Kitty

      Isn’t a plantain a banana relative?

    • Kitty

      Isn’t a plantain a banana relative?

  • Derri

    Very informative colorful inviting – well done

  • Mgover

    Let’s spell beets correctly, even when they’re steamed!

  • Snirma

    boil beetroot, potato, carrot and egg together. When done, fine slice them and put them in a salad bowl, add some lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and enjoy either as a side dish or with bread. Bon appetit

  • Chef Ed

    May be scary looking but essential as well as delicious cut up in vegetable soup.

    • Eva Elliott

      Having never bought celery root before, do you end up losing half when you clean it?

      • basyfeltn

        I’m thinking it would be like ginger root, you loose some, but not to bad. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/jLoveLacz05081987 NunnallyKallen MarieVi Lacre-H

    wow…very weird appearance with good benefits… ^_^

  • Delinik2sk

    I’m so wonder why you called these as ‘scary foods’. Because many of them are included in our (Sri Lankans) daily meals.

    • basyfeltn

      They’re unfamiliar to a lot of the western world, but we’re learning

  • cha

    this fruit is known in philippines.. peoplehere love to eat this fruit taste like orange but this fruits is more sour than orange fruit

  • Srichardson

    Wrong. I eat it raw all the time and it’s awesome!

  • Guest

    I would have liked to see the other scary fruits and veggies but don’t have the time to keep clicking to a new page.  So, as usual, I’ll just log out.

  • Theresaaiza

    They only call it scary or weird because some of them probably are not common or native in the area where the author lives. I was glad to see the papaya and plantain because they are quite popular here in the Philippines. In fact some of us just pluck them off from the backyard.

  • Theresaaiza

    They only call it scary or weird because some of them probably are not common or native in the area where the author lives. I was glad to see the papaya and plantain because they are quite popular here in the Philippines. In fact some of us just pluck them off from the backyard.

  • Nethmuena

    thank u for the group…good luck  and more power…love neth

  • Aileena

    it looks very dirty, and i dare to say my appetite will wear out.