18 Unique U-Starting Fruits and Vegetables

Playing a guessing game, it is your turn to tell the name of fruits and vegetables that start with u. And besides a Japanese dish named “Udon”, you can not think of any other name that starts with u?

Below I will list 18 names that may surprise you with the variety of veggies around you. Keep scrolling down; you will probably see some of them are actually quite familiar.

18 Fruits And Vegetables That Start With U To Add To Your Dictionary

Fruits or vegetables that start with u can be challenging to be thought of. This article will help you extend your knowledge of many kinds of vegetables and fruits that might be strange and familiar.

Vegetables

1. Ube
2. Udupi Mattu Gulla Eggplant
3. Ulluco
4. Ulster Emblem Potato
5. Umatilla Russet Potato
6. Umbrella Squash
7. Umibudo
8. Upland Cress
9. Urad Beans
10. Ukrainian Heart Tomato

Fruits

11. Ugli Fruit
12. Ugni Berry
13. Umbu Fruit
14. Umbra Fruit
15. Urava Fruit
16. Usuma Fruit
17. Uvilla
18. Ume / Umeboshi Fruit

Now let’s move to the main part and learn more about those incredible vegetables and fruits.

Vegetables That Start With Letter U For Your Consideration

It is pretty challenging to determine which vegetables start with the letter u, but the below vegetables may surprise you with their familiarity.

1. Ube

What do you call ube? People might call it “purple yam” or “purple sweet potato” because of its striking deep purple color. Although this food beginning with “U” is famous for the color purple, you can sometimes find the white ube.

Ube is maybe new to Americans, but it has been very familiar in Asian countries. They are used mostly in sweet desserts such as ube ice cream – a famous Filipino dessert, sweet soup, etc. They can also be used in some savory dishes like vegetable stewed soup or curry.

Purple sweet potatoes contain resistant starch that helps support the proliferation of beneficial bacteria in the intestines and helps you deal with constipation.

2. Udupi Mattu Gulla Eggplant

Udupi Mattu Gulla Eggplant is a unique green eggplant variety that originated in Mattu village, India, and has been widely used in many dishes thanks to its distinctive taste.

One of the famous Indian dishes with Udupi Mattu Gulla eggplant as the main ingredient is Gulla Bolu Huli. If you are craving a new menu for your dinner, Gulla Bolu Huli curry is very recommended.

3. Ulluco

This type of vegetable’s appearance resembles a small potato, but they are more colorful, more round, and elongated. Their colors range from yellow, orange, purple, and reddish.

Not only are they similar in appearance, but ulluco also tastes and has the same textures as a small potato. Therefore, they are also used in the same way as potatoes in many dishes.

The difference is that both their stems and leaves are edible, like spinach. Meanwhile, the leaves of the potato have the same toxicity as the potato sprouts, so it is not edible.

4. Ulster Emblem Potato

It’s another kind of potato on this list. This potato breed originated from Ireland in the 60s.

Compared to regular potatoes, their shape is more oval, the texture is waxy, and the flavor is not too strong, suitable for many dishes. Maybe because of that waxy creamer texture, this potato is also called Creamer potato or Fingerling potato.

This genus of potato has a high yield and can be preserved for a long time because it has been bred to resist mildew on tubers.

5. Umatilla Russet Potato

Umatilla Russet potato was bred especially for French fries, a classic French side dish everyone knows about, because the color after deep frying will be very appealing.

The skin of the tuber will be brown like beef. The shape of the tuber is relatively long and tapered, and the flesh tastes slightly creamy. This variety is especially delicious if you know the proper time to bake potatoes at 400 degrees F. 

It is difficult to rot when stored for a long time, but it is easy to appear black spots or bruises on the skin tubers.

6. Umbrella Squash

Umbrella squash or pattypan squash is a summer vegetable. It is famous for its strange shape that looks like a flying saucer or a flying umbrella.

This type of squash has 3 primary colors: yellow, green, white, and is relatively small, only about 8 cm in diameter.

There are many ways to cook umbrella squash; they can even be eaten raw or pickled in sweet vinegar.

7. Umibudo (Grape Seaweed)

There are many ways to eat grape seaweed, but people prefer to eat it raw. Cooking can reduce its flavor and crispiness.

The most delicious way to eat grape seaweed is to soak it in water to desalinate. Then, you can eat it with salads and sesame sauce. Only dipping your umibudo into soy sauce can also make it tastier.

8. Upland Cress

The next type of vegetable in the list of fruits and vegetables that start with u is upland cress. Upland cress might be more familiar to Americans with the following names such as garden cress, winter cress, or dryland cress.

Upland cress is often grown like weeds and very easy to plant. This vegetable has a slightly strong peppery flavor, so it is usually eaten raw like kale, used in fresh salads, or mixed with herbs.

9. Urad Beans

Despite the appearance similar toblack beans, urad beans are actually from a different genus and used popularly in Indian cuisine since ancient times. You may have heard of it with other names like mungo bean or black gram.

In South Asian countries like Nepal, urad beans are used as a side dish with curries. Urad is also a common ingredient for desserts in Indian cuisine. It is also powdered, mixed with other flours, and then fried to become a popular breakfast meal in South Africa.

10. Ukrainian Heart Tomato

Ukrainian heart tomato is the last vegetable in the list of vegetables starting with u. With its bright, attractive color and shape, this Ukrainian-bred buffalo tomato is very popular.

Even their taste is delicious with firm flesh, perfectly balanced sweet and sour taste. It’s a genuinely great ingredient for fresh Mediterranean soups.

Top 8 Fruits Beginning With U That Blow Your Mind

Besides vegetables, fruits that start with the letter u are also very interesting. There will be names you’ve never heard in your life. Let’s find out together!

11. Ugli Fruit

With a funny name starting with u, Ugli fruit is a natural hybrid of grapefruit and tangerine in the rich nature of Jamaica. So they have a grapefruit-like appearance with rough skin and juicy flesh like some oranges.

This fruit has sweet and succulent flesh like tangerine and no bitter taste like grapefruit, so it is very popular.

Although the skin is rough and quite thick, it can still be peeled by bare hands like oranges. It also has a light aroma, which is very suitable for extracting as an essential oil to bring a fresh feeling to your house.

Ugli fruit belongs to the citrus family. When you look at pictures and names of different citrus fruits, you might notice that ugli fruit is probably not the prettiest in the family. However, its juicy flesh and flavorful taste will be the embodiment of “don’t judge a book by its cover”.

Wondering what ugli fruit tastes like? Let’s enjoy ugli fruit together!

12. Ugni Berry

Ugni berries are often known as Chilean guava, which has beautiful red skin and mini size. Because this unique Chilean fruit is about the same size as cranberries, you can eat the whole thing at once to enjoy its flavor.

The taste of ugni berry is almost strawberry-like and has a chewy gum-like texture. Thanks to its high sugar content and distinctive flavor, it can be used as a jam or eaten fresh topping on morning pancakes for natural sweetness.

13. Umbu Fruit

Umbu is the next “nominator” for the list of fruits and vegetables that start with U. Also called Imbu fruit, this can also belong in the list of fruits beginning with I. This tropical fruit is popular in Brazil, and you might say it looks like a gooseberry with less transparent green or yellow skin.

You can eat umbu fruit in many ways, like some berries, by eating it raw or making umbu jams.

A delicious and easy tip for eating umbu fruit is peeling and keeping only the flesh and putting it into a glass or a bowl. After that, you add the shaved ice and some sugar, then mash and mix them. That’s how to make a fantastic summer snack.

14. Umbra Fruit

Umbra fruit or Ambarella is a popular fruit in tropical regions, especially Asia and Africa. Inside this hard-skin green fruit, it has many vitamins that are beneficial to health.

The characteristics of this fruit are sour taste and crunchy texture. Therefore, umbra fruit in Asian countries is often eaten raw by salting with spices or making juice.

15. Urava Fruit

Having a scientific name Sonneratia alba, Urava is a genus of mangrove tree that has edible fruit. People who live near the seashores or tidal creeks usually use their Urava wood to fix their boats or houses.

Urava fruit can be eaten raw, but it is mainly used as a sour spice to add more flavor to some fish dishes. Or after removing the seeds, you can also make Sonneratia Lempok, a kind of native sweet and sour candies.

16. Usuma Fruit

Another fruit on the list that has an interesting name, which is Usuma! This tropical fruit is also called peanut butter fruit and originated from South America, but you can also find it in Hawaii today.

Visually, this fruit has a cluster structure similar to a bunch of grapes, but the shape is more pointed, and the skin is not as transparent.

Usuma fruit is usually eaten raw without peeling, but the hard seeds will be removed. This fruit usually has one to two seeds.

When ripe with bright red skin, their taste is quite fruity and berry-like, with a bit of sourness. When unripe, the taste is bland and has yellow or orange skin.

Let’s see if peanut butter fruit tastes like real peanut butter! Watch this video:

17. Uvilla Fruit

Uvilla fruit has many other names, and when on the American markets, it is commonly known as goldenberry.

This type of fruit can be the ingredient for jams, fruit-based sauces, ice cream, or be eaten fresh in fruit salads. In its “hometown,” Uvilla can even become summer smoothies or a delicious topping for some kinds of dessert.

18. Ume / Umeboshi Fruit

Japanese are famous for their bento boxes (lunch boxes), and pickled umeboshi fruit always appears as an essential side dish for Japanese meals. The balance between sweet and salty is probably the highlight of pickled umeboshi.

Umeboshi can also be used to produce vinegar, a must-have ingredient in Japanese cooking. Highly versatile, umeboshi vinegar makes an excellent replacement for soy sauce aside from its usual applications such as marinades, pickles, dressings for salad, etc.

When the ume fruit is still fresh, it has a taste similar to peaches and apricots. The thing you need to remember is the fruit’s pips are poisonous and not to eat that.

18 New Names Of Fruits And Vegetables Starting With Letter U Are Now In Your Vocabulary!

These 18 kinds of fruits or vegetables that start with u are familiar and strange to you, right? Don’t be afraid and try them out once if you have a chance. Cooking a new recipe with new ingredients may impress your family or help you to release stress.

Are there any other names of U-something fruits or vegetables? Feel free to leave a comment and share your knowledge with me. You and I always learn to be better every day!