Fruits that start with Z have surprised me with their uniqueness and rarity. There were more options than I expected (after finding only four veggies).

The letter Z will provide you with some interesting fruit names that will impress all your friends.

Stay with me and let’s take a look at these exciting Z fruits.

Fruits That Start With Z featured image | Girl Meets Food

Most popular fruits that start with Z

What fruit starts with Z?

This list includes different types of fruit but they have one thing in common. They’re all edible fruits and ingredients used in some culinary preparations.

Zabergau Reinette apple

The Zabergau Reinette apple is a German apple. It has a unique taste and look.

This fruit starting with Z has a rough texture and yellow-green skin with red-orange flushes. The Zabergau Reinette’s crisp, juicy flesh has a strong fragrant scent.

This apple type is famous for winter preservation due to its exceptional storage properties. Its deep sweet-tart flavor provides depth to pies, tarts, and other pastries, and its hard texture holds up nicely while cooking.

The Zabergau Reinette apple tree is disease-resistant and sturdy. Late fall is when it ripens.

The scientific name of the species is Malus domestica.

Zâlzâlak

Red fruit of crataegus on the tree | Girl Meets Food

Zalzalak is the Iranian name for Crataegus fruits, especially Crataegus azarolus var. aronia. These Z fruits are eaten fresh or made into zalzalak jam.

Crataegus, or hawthorns, are Rosaceae flowering plants. These plants produce tiny, spherical, red or orange fruits.

Iranian cuisine loves zalzalak, Crataegus jam. To make a thick, flavorful jam, zalzalak fruit is boiled down with sugar or other sweeteners. This jam can be eaten alone, on toast, or in desserts.

Zante currants

Zante currants are dried grapes. They’re made from Black Corinth raisins (Vitis vinifera) which are seedless and tiny.

Zante currants offer sweetness to baking and cooking. They’re used in currant buns, scones, cakes, puddings, pilafs, and tagines.

The Greek island of Zakynthos (Zante) was a major producer and exporter of dried grapes, thus the name “Zante currants.” Zante currants are still grown elsewhere, but the term has become synonymous with this variety of raisin.

Zestar apple

Zestar apples are crisp, juicy, and well-balanced. The University of Minnesota’s apple breeding program created it in the early 2000s.

Zestar apples are medium to big with brilliant red blushes over yellow backgrounds. They have conspicuous white lenticels (spots).

Zestar apples mature early. They are one of the earliest apple kinds picked in late summer or early fall.

Zestar apples are crisp and flavorful, making them a popular snack. Cooked apples keep their form and texture, making them perfect for baking and cooking.

Apples, in general, are a great way to add some dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals to your diet. They’re low-calorie and fat-free, a healthy snack for weight management.

Zhe

Chinese mulberries on white surface | Girl Meets Food

Zhe, commonly known as Chinese mulberry, mandarin melon berry, silkworm thorn, or che fruit, is a deciduous Moraceae tree. It’s native to East Asia.

The zhe fruit tree has unusual, big, green, wrinkled leaves with three prominent lobes earned it the specific name “tricuspidata” (Maclura tricuspidata).

In ideal conditions, Zhe may grow to 15 meters (49 feet). In April, it produces little green blossoms that turn into several small fruit clusters.

This Z fruit resembles mulberries, starting as green and becoming yellow when mature.

Zig-zag vine fruit

The unique fruit of the zig-zag vine (Uvaria leichhardtii) is tiny and spherical, measuring 1 to 2 cm.

Zig-zag fruit is green while young and yellowish when old. It has thin, silky skin and luscious flesh with a sweet taste and subtle acidity.

Commercial cultivation of Uvaria leichhardtii’s edible fruit is rare but it can be found inside its native range.

Zill mango

The Zill family, famous mango breeders in South Florida, created and introduced the Zill mango.

Zill mangoes are huge and brightly colored. Their skin is yellow to orange with variable degrees of crimson flush or speckles.

The Zill family has created various mango varieties, each with its unique flavor and features. Edward, Carrie, Julie, and Valencia Pride mangoes (which you can find in my list of fruits starting with V) are popular Zill types.

I love mangoes for their rich flavor and nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, and carotenoids. They’re also low in calories and fatty acids.

The scientific name of the species is Laurence H. Zill.

Zinfandel grape

Zinfandel is a red wine grape. It is a classic California grape variety, but it originated in Croatia as “Crljenak Kaštelanski”. Zinfandel grapes can make everything from delicate, fruity wines to rich, full-bodied ones.

Zinfandel grapes have thin skins and mature unevenly, resulting in a mix of ripe and raisined grapes at harvest. This particular trait produces wines with varied sweetness and taste intensity.

This variety of grapes is used to make powerful red wines, such as dry red Zinfandel wine, with rich fruit notes, high alcohol, and balanced acidity. Zinfandel can also be used to make off-dry or sweet wines like White Zinfandel, a popular rosé wine.

Ziziphus jujuba

Ziziphus jujuba, known as jujube, red date, or Chinese date, is a fruit-bearing Rhamnaceae tree. It has been cultivated for millennia throughout Asia, notably in China.

Ziziphus fruit is tiny to medium in size and spherical like dates. Depending on the cultivar, it turns yellowish-green or reddish-brown when mature.

Jujubes are dried in many Asian cuisines, becoming wrinkled and sweeter. Dried jujubes are used in herbal drinks, snacks, and sweet and savory meals.

Traditional medicine uses Ziziphus jujube fruit and seeds for their health benefits. They may improve digestion, relaxation, and well-being.

Ziziphus mauritiana

Rhamnaceae tree Ziziphus mauritiana is known as Indian jujube, Indian plum, or ber. It’s native to South Asia and grown worldwide in tropical and subtropical climates.

Ziziphus mauritiana fruit is oval or circular and ranges in color from yellowish-green to reddish-brown. The fruit’s skin is thin and somewhat wrinkled.

Berries are eaten fresh, dried, or cooked. They provide a sweet-tart to honey-like flavor.

Traditional medicine uses Ziziphus mauritiana to cure digestive difficulties, strengthen the immune system, and heal numerous diseases.

Zweigelt grape

Zweigelt is an Austrian red grape. In 1922, Dr. Fritz Zweigelt crossed Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent to create this variety.

Zweigelt grapes have excellent acidity, mild tannins, and rich red color. The medium-bodied wines include dark cherry, blackberry, and spice characteristics.

Austria’s cold temperature and different soils make the grape one of the most extensively cultivated red grapes in the country. Germany, Hungary, and the Czech Republic also grow it.

Zwetschge

In German-speaking countries, zwetschge refers to Prunus domestica subsp. domestic (prune plums). This type of plum is popular in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Zwetschge fruit is popular for eating fresh, baking, or making jams, preserves, compotes, and fruit brandies.

These plums are used in classic German plum recipes like Zwetschgenkuchen (plum cake), Zwetschgendatschi (plum tart), and Zwetschgenknödel (plum dumplings). They’re also dried to form Zwetschgendörr.