Fruit comparisons

70 comparisons

Mandarin or clementine? Peach or nectarine? Side-by-side guides to the fruits people most often mix up — with a quick answer, a spec table built from each fruit's real data, and the details that actually matter.

Apple vs Pear: What's the Difference?

Apples and pears are the two great pome fruits - close cousins with different textures, ripening habits, and flavours. Here's how they compare and how to buy each at its best.

Apricot vs Peach: What's the Difference?

Two Prunus stone fruits with velvety skin and a central pit, but a big difference in size, juiciness, and flavour. Here's how apricot and peach compare and when to reach for each.

Blackberry vs Raspberry: What's the Difference?

Blackberries and raspberries are both Rubus brambles built from tiny drupelets, but one keeps its core when picked and the other pulls away hollow. Here's how they differ in structure, taste, and use.

Blueberry vs Blackberry: What's the Difference?

One is a true berry, the other a cluster of tiny drupelets - and they come from entirely different plant families. Here's how blueberry and blackberry differ in structure, taste, and growing habit.

Dragon Fruit vs Kiwi: What's the Difference?

Both hide speckled, black-seeded flesh under an unusual skin, but dragon fruit and kiwi come from a cactus and a vine respectively and taste worlds apart. Here's how they compare.

Fig vs Date: What's the Difference?

Both are ancient, intensely sweet fruits often sold dried - but a fig and a date come from completely different plants and eat quite differently. Here's how they compare.

Grapefruit vs Orange: What's the Difference?

Grapefruit and orange share ancestry but not flavour - one is big and bittersweet, the other smaller and sweet. Here's how they compare and why grapefruit can clash with medication.

Guava vs Feijoa: What's the Difference?

Feijoa is often called 'pineapple guava,' but it isn't a true guava. Here's how the two Myrtle-family fruits compare in look, aroma, texture, and how you eat them.

Jackfruit vs Breadfruit: What's the Difference?

Two heavyweight Artocarpus cousins that share a family but not a use: one ripens sweet and fruity, the other is cooked like a starchy vegetable. Here's how jackfruit and breadfruit compare.

Jackfruit vs Durian: What's the Difference?

Two giant spiky tropical fruits that look alike from a distance but taste worlds apart. Here's how jackfruit and durian differ in smell, flavour, texture, and how you eat each.

Kumquat vs Loquat: What's the Difference?

Their names rhyme, but the kumquat and the loquat are unrelated fruits from different families. One is a tiny eat-whole citrus, the other a small orange stone-ish fruit. Here's the difference.

Lime vs Lemon: What's the Difference?

Lemons and limes are different citrus fruits, not ripe/unripe versions of each other. How they differ in colour, sourness, aroma, and when to use which.

Loquat vs Apricot: What's the Difference?

Small, orange, and spring-ripening, the loquat is often mistaken for an apricot - but they come from different genera and eat quite differently. Here's how to tell them apart.

Mandarin vs Orange: What's the Difference?

The mandarin is one of the parents of the sweet orange, which explains why they're so close - and why they still differ in size, peel, and flavour. Here's how mandarin and orange compare.

Mango vs Papaya: What's the Difference?

Two tropical breakfast favourites from different plant families. Here's how mango and papaya differ in flavour, texture, seeds, and how you prepare each.

Medlar vs Loquat: What's the Difference?

The loquat is nicknamed the Japanese medlar, but a true medlar is a different fruit that you eat almost rotten. Here's how medlar and loquat really differ in season, texture, and how you eat them.

Pawpaw vs Papaya: What's the Difference?

The names get mixed up constantly, but the pawpaw of North America and the tropical papaya are unrelated fruits from different continents and families. Here's how to keep them straight.

Persimmon vs Tomato: What's the Difference?

A ripe persimmon can look uncannily like a tomato, but one is a sweet fruit and the other a savoury one from a nightshade vine. Here's how to tell persimmon and tomato apart.

Pineapple vs Mango: What's the Difference?

Two icons of the tropical fruit bowl, but pineapple and mango come from different families and eat completely differently. Here's how they compare in structure, taste, and prep.

Plantain vs Banana: What's the Difference?

Plantains and bananas are close cousins in the same genus, but one is a starchy vegetable you cook and the other a sweet fruit you eat raw. Here's how to tell them apart and use each.

Plum vs Apricot: What's the Difference?

Both are Prunus stone fruits, and they even hybridise into pluots and apriums - but plum and apricot differ in skin, colour, and flavour. Here's how to tell them apart.

Quince vs Pear: What's the Difference?

A quince looks like a lumpy golden pear, but you can't bite into one raw. Here's how quince and pear differ in texture, flavour, and why one needs cooking and the other doesn't.

Soursop vs Cherimoya: What's the Difference?

Both are custard-apples with creamy white flesh, but soursop is bigger, tarter, and spiny while cherimoya is sweeter and smoother. Here's how to choose between these Annona cousins.

Types of Berries: A Guide to the Main Kinds

Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and more - most 'berries' aren't botanical berries at all. Here's a guide to the main types and how they're built and taste.

Types of Citrus: A Guide to the Main Fruits

Oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, mandarins, and pomelos all descend from just a few wild ancestors. Here's a guide to the main types of citrus and how they differ in taste and use.

Watermelon vs Cantaloupe: What's the Difference?

Both are summer melons sold by the slice, but watermelon and cantaloupe come from different genera and behave nothing alike in the kitchen. Here's how they differ in flesh, rind, seeds, and taste.