From odd shapes and strange textures to bright colours and unexpected flavours, fruit and veg comes in myriad forms. Here are just a few of our unusual yet delicious favourites: some you may have already cooked with, others you may have never seen before.

Also known as a 'lemon with fingers' or the 'fingered citron', Buddha’s hand is a strange-looking citrus fruit that contains no flesh or juice, just a mild-tasting pith. The rind has a sweet taste: slice it to infuse spirits or vinaigrettes or chop it for marmalades and jams.

These quirky looking fern tips are named for their resemblance to the decorative ends of fiddles and other string instruments. Packed with antioxidants, their taste has been likened to spinach, broccoli and asparagus. They grow in the wetlands of North America and are harvested before they get too long and straighten out.

The aptly-named lion’s mane mushroom, also known as the bearded tooth mushroom, is covered in white fronds that can grow up to two inches long. Popular in Chinese cooking, they can be used as an alternative to seafood, pork or lamb because of their fleshy texture.

Samphire can be found growing in mudflats and coastal areas around the world. This salty vegetable – once referred to as a poor man’s asparagus – has started to appear on numerous restaurant menus in recent years. It's delicious with fish (try this salmon recipe), and is sometimes known as pickleweed, glasswort or sampkin.

Lopsided in shape, covered in lime green spikes and packed with bright-yellow bulbs, jackfruits are funny looking things – but they’re also incredibly versatile and the biggest fruit to grow on trees. Thanks to their fleshy texture, they’ve experienced a surge in popularity of late, used as an alternative to meat in vegetarian pulled 'pork' dishes.

Purple sweet potatoes were developed on the Japanese island of Okinawa, where legend claims they helped locals to live to more than 100-years-old. Now you'll find them widely sold elsewhere. Cook them for slightly longer than you would a normal sweet potato. Their flavour is richer and the texture slightly drier.

The noni fruit produces such a pungent smell when ripening, it’s sometimes referred to as the cheese fruit. With its waxy greenish skin and yellow knobbles, it’s also been likened to a caterpillar. Despite these unappealing characteristics and an unusual, bitter taste, the fruit's popularity is on the rise. It’s prized for its antioxidant properties and used in juices and supplements.

 An heirloom variety of daikon, sometimes known as Chinese radish, watermelon radishes can be hard to come by – but their glorious colour makes them worth seeking out. Slice them to top a Vietnamese bánh mì sandwich or pickle them for the perfect accompaniment to Korean fried chicken.

Thanks to its squidgy centre and spiky skin, the kiwano has several delightful nicknames including the horned melon, jelly melon, African horned cucumber and spiked pear. Officially a member of the cucumber and melon family, it tastes similar to a mix of lime, banana and passionfruit. Although native to Africa, kiwanos are now grown in the US, Australia, Chile and some parts of Europe.

A staple of Mexican cooking, tomatillos look like small green tomatoes but they’re also related to the gooseberry family. With a tart, fruity flavour, they’re great in salsas and sauces.

Covered in brownish knobbles, edible roots and warty lumps, the bulbous celeriac (the root of the celery plant) isn’t the most attractive of vegetables. But it has a delicious celery-like nutty flavour and is incredibly versatile, perfect for boiling, mashing and roasting. Try it in this celeriac, sprout and bacon soup. 

Purple cauliflowers have been around for a while, but thanks to Instagram are becoming increasingly popular. They taste the same as the white variety, with their colour developed from the natural antioxidant, anthocyanin. Roasting and steaming are good ways to retain their vivid hue.

The wonky star fruit is full of inner beauty – cut in a cross-section to reveal beautiful star-shaped slices. Also known as carambola, these tropical treats can be sliced raw to decorate desserts, baked into cakes or simmered in compotes.

These knobbly root vegetables are sometimes dubbed 'oyster plants' as, bizarrely, they taste a little like the bivalve. You can peel, boil and mash them, sauté them in a butter or roast them as you would parsnips. For something more adventurous, try this recipe for raw scallops with salsify and a mustard sauce. 

The Jerusalem artichoke, or sunchoke, surprisingly has no relation to the globe artichokes most of us are familiar with. These tubers are part of the sunflower family, with an earthy yet sweet flavour. They're delicious simply pan-fried or you could try roasting them with mushrooms and goat's cheese. 

Dragon fruit, also known as the pitaya or strawberry pear, has bright pink skin and green spikes, thought to look like a dragon's scales. Native to Mexico and Central America, its taste is often described as a combination of a pear and kiwi. The edible flesh and seeds can be used in numerous desserts, from sorbets and cheesecakes to pancakes and pavlovas.

Despite the name, striking lime-green romanesco broccoli tastes a lot more like cauliflower (another member of the brassica oleracea family) but with a hint of nuttiness. It’s thought to have been bred by Italian farmers in the 16th century. Try roasting it and adding to salads such as this tabbouleh with almonds and pistachios. 

This brassica might not win prizes for its looks, but with a flavour between turnip and broccoli, it's a useful vegetable to have in the kitchen. Try it in a slaw with fennel and greek yoghurt.

Native to New Zealand, oca is increasingly being grown elsewhere. This tuber has a taste somewhere between a potato and a Jerusalem artichoke. Try it mashed, roasted or sautéed in butter.

You’re probably more used to seeing turmeric in its bright-yellow powered form. Turmeric roots (or rhizomes) are brown stems covered in lumps – a lot like ginger. They're also one of the top foods to try cooking with in 2018: blend small pieces into smoothies or grate into stews and curries.

Fuzzy okra pods are used widely in Caribbean and Indian cuisine. Sometimes known as ladies' fingers, their firm texture and makes them perfect for stews and curries, with their juice helping to thicken the sauce. Try them in this vegetarian Moroccan tagine.