FruitTok Turns To The World's Cultures For A Tasty Trend
There are around 2,000 types of fruit in the world, and a growing TikTok movement tempts us to sample as many as we can. FruitTok is a corner of the social media app that lends itself to experimentation by encouraging buying local — or foreign — fruits in the name of love for nature's candy. TikTokers travel the world and the shelves of their local grocery stores to showcase fruits their followers may have never heard of, recording their thoughts and advice. Fruit by fruit, the trend draws from cultures around the world for wisdom on the most delicious fruits. This one should go on the list of TikTok trends you should be trying — after all, getting involved is as simple as being more adventurous with your fruit.
There's a buffet of fruit-forward creators on the platform, each with a slightly different angle on incorporating fruit into their content and their day-to-day lives. One TikToker, @fruitbabybri, records their grocery store fruit hauls, showcasing everything from staples like strawberries to more exotic players, like tamarind, breadfruit, pink raspberries, lemon drop melons, and banana blossoms.
Other accounts really highlight specific fruits that many viewers have likely never tried, let alone heard of. One prominent FruitTok creator, @sooziethefoodie, posted a viral video of themself trying the potentially dangerous Monstera deliciosa, which can burn your throat if eaten before it's ripe. They compared its flavor to "mango with pineapple and raspberry."
Tasting the rainbow, one fruit at a time
Many of the exotic fruits on FruitTok have nicknames that make their sometimes intimidating textures sound more appealing. Rollinia, a fruit in the custard apple family with a mushy interior, is nicknamed the "lemon meringue pie fruit," for example. @fruitsncahoots entices viewers by comparing Cecropia to a gummy worm and calls the mangosteen, which was long banned in the U.S., "the Queen of Fruits." Instructional content on these unfamiliar fruits — like how to know when they are ripe, how to open and eat them, and how to use the fruit in juices or other recipes — is another important feature of many of these videos.
However, FruitTok isn't just about the appeal of fruit itself but developing a greater connection with the communities, cultures, and environments these fruits come from and remain connected to. In one video, creator @munchwithdes buys mango from a local street vendor and dishes on their favorite way to eat the fruit, prompting commenters to sound off on their own favorite seasonings for mango. In another "fruit of the day" video, they feature guinep (also known as quenepas, among other names), which prompted commenters from different countries to share their own names for the fruit.
The friendly debate around each fruit, the encouragement to learn about the wide range of fruits that are out there, and the gentle push to try new things all cut straight to the pit of this colorful, flavorful TikTok trend.