Fruit and vegetables come in an astounding range of colours and the more colours we eat, the healthier we will be. We are used to vivid red tomatoes and beautiful blueberries but there is a rainbow of surprising colour variations on well-known favourites.

Fabulous Fruits

  • Red: there are many fruits we expect to be red, but what about kiwis and bananas? Kiwis with red flesh exist and bananas can have red peel.
  • Orange: this colour is named after the fruit in English, with the colour name appearing a couple of centuries after the fruit. We would normally expect cherries to be red but the Rainier Cherry ranges from golden to bright orange.
  • Yellow: watermelons are another fruit we expect to be red, but some varieties are yellow!
  • Green: when oranges grow in hot or tropical conditions, the peel can turn green.
  • Blue: although they are often considered vegetables, pumpkins are both fruits and have multiple varieties in blue.
  • Purple: another two savoury fruits, namely tomatoes and peppers have purple varieties.
  • Pink: we expect apple skins to be pink, but what about the flesh? Pink Pearl Apples are golden on the outside, pink on the inside.
  • Black: ever seen a black apple? Probably not, because Hua Niu apples are rare and mainly found in Tibet and Nepal.

Rainbow Roots – Unusually Coloured

Vivid Vegetables

  • Red: the watermelon radish, as the name suggests has green skin and red flesh, but you’ll never mistake the taste!
  • Orange: cauliflowers are usually the blandest looking vegetable on the plate, but it can look vibrant with an orange variety.
  • Yellow: vivid colour isn’t an issue for beetroot, but the Golden Beet adds a bit more colour to the palate.
  • Green: vegetables are often referred to as greens. One you would not think of as green is the aubergine, but this colour variation has the benefit of being less likely to be bitter.
  • Blue: although usually yellow, corn can have several colour variations, but one of the most striking is blue corn, which can be such a deep blue, they almost appear black.
  • Purple: a real novelty is the purple potato. It keeps its colour inside and out, so you can enjoy purple mash without any additives!
  • Pink: the Tongue of Fire Shelling Bean has a striking pink and white mottled appearance.
  • Black: the black radish has a fantastically gothic look, with a black skin and white flesh.