Fruits that start with C

Sometimes called rock melon, cantaloupe fruit is one of the most popular fruits that start with “c.” With its rough and veiny exterior, some may find it surprising when they see its tender and soft flesh.

Cantaloupes have a beautifully bright orange interior that is slightly sweet and refreshing.

Cantaloupes are generally harvested during the summer months making them a great snack for those hot summer days. They likely originated in Egypt, but now grow all over the world. It pairs really well with Parma ham!

This is likely everyone's favorite fruit that starts with c. Cacao fruit is the awesome fruit that gives us cacao seeds! These awesome seeds are dried, ground, and made into a paste that eventually becomes chocolate.

Cacao grows in warm countries that are near the equator, which is why most chocolate comes from warm-weathered nations.

Fresh cacao is so bitter that it's not really an edible fruit, but once it's processed, it makes for a wonderful treat!

Another one of the most popular fruits that start with “c” - cherries! The small, dark red cherry fruit is a lovely summer snack that many people enjoy.

There are numerous cherry fruit varieties in the world, but they all have some similar characteristics. Cherries are usually sweet and tart, juicy, grow in the summer, and have a big seed in the middle. 

Most cherries originated from Asia Minor and spread around the world over time. Enjoying a cherry fruit is easy. A cherry fruit can be eaten fresh, or in a scrumptious pie.

Cherries have a pretty small harvesting season, so grab them when you can.

They are so versatile! Cherries can be used in the following dishes: chutney, black forest gateau, steeped in amaretto, brownies, cake, pie and muffins.

Also known as Beach cherries, the Cedar Bay cherry fruit is a cherry that grows mostly in Australia. In appearance, cedar bay cherries look more like a cranberry fruit!

Their skin is bright red and has orange flesh. The juicy cherry is sweet and tastes kind of like a grape or berry. They're harvested during the summer months in Australia, but aren't easily available outside of Australia.

This cherry variety is known for its dark purple skin that is almost black in color. Capulin cherries have a light green pulp that are sour in flavor. Mostly grown in Guatemala, capulin cherries have not become very popular outside of Central and South America.

Though it is an edible fruit, capulin cherry fruit is often used to make jams. It grows mostly in the summer, so its acidity can feel refreshing to some during the hot months.

The canary melon is one of the smaller melon varieties, but it doesn't skip out on flavor. With its bright yellow skin, the canary melon is one of the most colorful fruits that start with c.

Inside the smooth melon, you’ll see a pale flesh that resembles honeydew. Many feel that canary melon is a bit bitter, but still enjoyable.

Canary melons grow until the fall months which has given it the nickname of “winter melon.” The melon grows in numerous countries, but it is most popular in Asian countries as a sweet snack or dessert.

Despite the name, a crab apple looks nothing like a crab. They look more like very small apples and usually grow in bunches.

Crab apples' fun size and crunchy texture may have some thinking that they are great one bite apples, but it’s best not to eat them raw. 

A crab apple is much more sour than the typical apple, and aren’t very palatable to most people. They work best in cooked dishes like jams, crab apple jelly, or chutneys. Mostly grown in North America and Asia, crab apples mostly grow in the fall season.

This is likely the most shocking fruit that starts with c. Cashews are actually the seeds of the cashew apple fruit. When a cashew apple grows, cashews form in a shell outside of the apple.

Depending on where the cashews are being harvested, the harvesting season can differ which is why cashews are able to be sold year-round. It has a creamy taste and crunchy texture that is almost addictive.

They taste great salted, roasted, or when turned into cashew butter. Like the common apple berry fruit, the cashew apple is an edible fruit. But they go bad very quickly, so it's not eaten often.

Also known as choko, chayote is one of the more interesting looking fruits that start with c. Chayote fruit has a bumpy green exterior, a light green interior, and a big seed in the middle. It's mostly grown in Mexico and Central America during the spring months.

Chayote is more often used in cooking than eaten fresh. This is because it has an incredibly mild flavor that is similar to a cucumber fruit or jicama.

If you’ve ever had a banana, you have probably eaten a Cavendish banana. The cavendish banana is one of the world’s most popular banana varieties thanks to its mildly sweet flavor, soft texture, and bright yellow skin.

It’s a versatile yellow fruit that can be eaten raw, in smoothies, or baked into delicious pastries. Though the Cavendish banana is popular, it is in danger.

Currently, there is a terrible disease called the Panama disease that is affecting many Cavendish bananas.

Similar to cashews, chestnuts are also an edible fruit! The round brown nut grows from the chestnut tree in many parts of Eastern USA and parts of Europe and Asia.

The chestnut has a hard outer shell and a hard beige interior. When raw, chestnuts are so hard and bitter that they are inedible. 

Once chestnuts are roasted or cooked, they do a complete 180. The hard shell cracks and you’re left with a soft and sweet interior.

Chestnuts grow mostly in the fall, so it’s a lovely nutty snack for the cooler months.

You can pop these beauties in numerous dishes such as game stew, venison casserole, soup, pesto, sausage rolls or beef stew. Or, you can enjoy them simply roasted with butter!

Cranberries are a small red berry that is well loved during the holiday season. When raw, cranberries have a hard texture and are sour berries. Once they’re dried or cooked, they take on a bit of sweetness that makes them more palatable. 

These edible berries are often cooked into pies, sauces, and juices. Though they taste good with sweet fruits, cranberries are also fantastic with savory dishes. Their acidic taste help cut the greasiness of many rich holiday dishes.

Don't forget you can use dried cranberries in flapjacks, in a sauce with meatballs and sausage rolls. Cranberry juice can be used in a gin cocktail and Long Beach Iced Tea.

Many confuse mandarins and clementines, but they are different citrus fruits. A clementine is a hybrid fruit of an orange and a mandarin orange so they have a sweeter taste than mandarins.

The small citrus fruits have a similar texture to oranges, but tend to be juicier. Clementines taste best fresh and are well loved as a snack. Their skin is easy to peel, it is small in size, and they’re a super sweet orange.

Most clementines are grown in China and Algeria, but they are also grown year-round in parts of Florida. The citrus fruit tastes best in the summer months when they’re at their peak.

Cherimoya fruit, also known as custard apple, is a fruit that grows in Central and South America. It has a bumpy green skin, and a pale white flesh. It is filled with big black seeds that are surrounded in a soft flesh.

The texture of cherimoya is creamy like pudding. It has mild sweet flavors that are likened to a banana or pineapple. They are often eaten fresh, but can also be blended into fresh juices thanks to its juicy flesh.

Cucumbers are one of the fruits that start with c that many think is a vegetable. Cucumber fruit looks similar to courgettes, but it is a lot more watery in both texture and taste. It’s best to eat cucumbers as is, because they don’t taste very good when cooked. 

Cucumbers are mostly grown in the southern states of the US during the summer months, which is the perfect time for a refreshing fruit!

This fruit is widely used in salad, Turkish dip, raita, Chinese cuisine and it can be combined with a plethora other vegetables to make a crunchy combo. It's super refreshing pickled and can even be used in curries!

Grown predominantly in the Philippines, calamansi fruit is a lovely lime-like fruit that is often used in traditional Filipino cooking.

It looks like a round lime on the outside, but on the inside, calamansi has a bright orange juicy flesh. 

The taste of calamansi tastes a lot like limes, but with a stronger and brighter flavor. Just like limes and lemons, calamansi adds a nice sourness to sauces and drinks. You may find calamansi juice added to curries and stir fried dishes.

Coconuts grow mostly in tropical areas in Asia, South America, and some other regions. They have a hard outer shell and a crunchy white flesh.

Coconut shell is inedible, but the flesh can be eaten raw or made into coconut milk. Even the water inside can be used in cooking, or as a refreshing beverage. 

In many tropical areas, every part of the coconut is used. If the flesh isn’t eaten, it’s turned into milk or oil that can be added to many dishes. Fresh coconut features heavily in Indian cuisine, check out Beetroot Poriyal and Cabbage Poriyal.

Add coconut milk to a lovely curry to make it creamy and add a bit of sweetness. The sky's the limit: paneer korma, vegetable korma, lamb pasanda and Thai Red Beef Curry. It's lovely in soup and you can cook rice in it.

In its dried form it can be used as part of a peshwari naan filling and Louise cake.

When you first see a carob fruit, you may be taken aback. A carob looks like dark brown pea pods, or green bean pods that have been dried out in the sun. But, this Mediterranean fruit is not a pea pod. 

Inside the hard skin, there are tiny brown pea-like seeds that are usually dried and ground. When carob fruit is made into a powder, they give recipes a nice chocolate-y and nutty flavor. Some like to use carob powder over cocoa powder in baked goods.

Conference pears have a long shape which has given them the nickname of banana pears. They’re in peak season during October making them a popular autumn fruit. They might not be available all year, but give them a try if you find them. 

These pears have a mild sweet taste and have a soft texture when ripe. Conference pears work well in any recipe that requires pears, or can be enjoyed as is.

This variety of pears grow mostly in Europe, so give them a taste on your next trip to Europe!

Part of the gooseberry family, ceylon gooseberries are a sour purple berry that grow mostly in Hawaii and Florida. Ceylon gooseberries have a smooth outer skin and a jelly-like interior.

Though their deep color is alluring, it’s best not to eat this fresh and raw. Unless you want to be hit with an overwhelming sour flavor! 

The best way to consume ceylon gooseberries is by cooking them down or pairing them with sweeter fruits. Once they are covered and cooked in sugar, ceylon gooseberry jam is a delicious topping for yogurt or granola.

Hailing from New York, Cortland apples are a delicious red apple that are perfect for any fall dessert. They have a sweet flavor and a crunchy texture that is similar to McIntosh apples. The apples are bright red with streaks of green, and pair well with almost anything.

Cortland apples are mostly sold in the United States, and are in peak season during the month of September.

Eat them fresh, bake them into a yummy pie, or turn them into cider! There are so many ways to use Cortland apples.