Red Fruits

Have you ever noticed how there seem to be so many red fruits around? It seems to be the go-to color for fruits, with varieties of apples, cherries, berries, and even citrus fruits showing off bright shades of red. It’s not just to make them look tasty (though they do!). That bright red color plays an important part in how nature works.

Red fruits get their color from natural pigments. Lycopene gives fruits like watermelon their bright red color, while anthocyanins create the deep red and purplish shades found in cherries and berries. These bold colors catch the eye of birds and animals, who eat the fruit and help spread the seeds, so new plants can grow more delicious red fruits!

That’s why tropical fruits like lychee and rambutan do not need more than their bright red skin to get the job done, while the inside stays plain white.

List of Red Fruits

Here is a list of fruits that ripen to a beautiful red color, and are eaten while they are still red.

All Red

1. Pomegranate
2. Strawberry
3. Cherry
4. Raspberry
5. Cranberry
6. Goji Berry
7. Red Currant
8. Surinam Cherry
9. Yumberry/Chinese Bayberry
10. Red Huckleberry
11. Lingonberry
12. Cornelian Cherry
13. Prickly Pear
14. Mandarin Melon Berry

Red on the Inside

1. Watermelon
2. Blood Orange

Red on the Outside

1. Apple
2. Lychee
3. Rambutan
4. Acerola/Barbados Cherry
5. Wax Apple/Java Apple
6. Tamarillo
7. Strawberry Guava/Cattley Guava
8. Chilean Guava
9. Red Mombin
10. Kundong
11. Velvet Apple

This list excludes fruits that are commonly identified and used as vegetables, such as tomato and chili pepper.