Thailand's Fruit Calendar: What Is in Season and When

Thailand is one of the great fruit countries of the world. Markets are heaped with fruit all year, much of it grown within a few hours of where it is sold, and a meal at home very often ends with a plate of something freshly cut rather than a dessert. For a visitor, timing a trip around the fruit is one of the easiest pleasures the country offers.

The calendar below is a guide, not a rulebook. Seasons shift from year to year with the weather, they differ between regions, and growers increasingly produce some fruit out of season. Treat the months as approximate.

How the seasons work

Thailand has three broad seasons. The cool season runs from roughly November to February, the hot season from about March to May, and the rainy season from around May or June to October. The south, with its long coasts and its own monsoon pattern, follows a somewhat different rhythm from the centre and north, which is why the same fruit can ripen weeks or even months apart in different parts of the country.

The richest time for fruit is generally the end of the hot season and the start of the rains, from about April to July. That is when mangoes, durian, mangosteen, rambutan and lychee overlap, and fruit stalls are at their most crowded.

The hot season: mangoes and lychee

Mango, mamuang, peaks from around March to May. The best-known eating variety is nam dok mai, long and golden, with smooth, fragrant flesh. Many other varieties are grown, and green mangoes, eaten crisp and sour before they ripen, are sold for much of the year. Ripe mango in season is the reason khao niao mamuang, mango sticky rice, tastes so good in April.

Lychee, linchi, has a short season, usually around April and May, and is grown mainly in the cooler north, in provinces such as Chiang Rai and Phayao. Pineapple, sapparot, is available all year, with heavier harvests at certain times. Prachuap Khiri Khan is one of the main growing areas, and the small, sweet Phulae pineapple is a speciality of Chiang Rai.

The early rains: durian, mangosteen and rambutan

Durian, thurian, is the fruit Thais talk about most. The eastern provinces of Chanthaburi, Rayong and Trat usually harvest first, from about April to June, and the south follows later, often from around June into August or September. Monthong is the most widely sold variety, large with thick, creamy, mild flesh. Chanee and kan yao are other well-known names. Durian is sold whole or as opened pods packed in trays, and it is also eaten with sticky rice and coconut milk. Its smell is strong enough that many hotels and public transport services ban it.

Mangosteen, mangkhut, often called the queen of fruits, arrives at much the same time: from around May to July in the east, later in the south. Press the thick purple shell gently between the palms to crack it, and lift out the white segments, which are sweet and slightly tart. The juice from the shell stains clothes, so open them with care.

Rambutan, ngo, the red fruit covered in soft hairs, is plentiful from about May to August. The flesh is translucent and juicy, a little like lychee. Surat Thani province is known for a rambutan variety called rong rian and holds a rambutan fair, usually in August.

The late rains: longan, longkong and pomelo

Longan, lamyai, is a northern fruit, grown widely around Chiang Mai and Lamphun. Its main season falls around July and August, and Lamphun holds a longan festival at about that time. Longan is also dried, when it turns dark and chewy, and made into a sweet drink. Some is now produced off season, so fresh longan can appear at other times too.

Longkong, a small, pale fruit sold in bunches, is closely related to langsat. It is grown in the south and also in Uttaradit, and its season usually runs from around August to October. The thin skin peels away to reveal sweet, slightly sour segments.

Pomelo, som o, a very large citrus with thick skin and firm, juicy segments, is available for much of the year, with a main season in the second half. It is popular around the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival and is used in a well-known salad, yam som o. Nakhon Pathom province has a long reputation for pomelo.

The cool season and the year-round fruit

The cool months bring tangerines and, in the northern highlands, strawberries. Sweet tamarind, makham wan, is a speciality of Phetchabun and is usually harvested around the turn of the year. Many fruits barely notice the seasons at all:

• Banana, kluay: many varieties, including the small, sweet kluay khai and the everyday kluay nam wa, which is also grilled and used in sweets.
• Papaya, malako: eaten ripe as fruit and green in som tam.
• Coconut, maprao: young coconuts for drinking all year, including the fragrant nam hom variety grown around Ratchaburi and Samut Sakhon.
• Jackfruit, khanun: available much of the year, sold as bright yellow pods in trays.
• Guava, farang, watermelon, taeng mo, and pineapple: the backbone of every fruit cart.
• Dragon fruit, rose apple (chomphu) and sapodilla (lamut), seen in most markets for long stretches of the year.

How fruit is sold

The fruit cart is one of the most familiar sights in Thailand: a glass case on wheels, packed with ice, holding pineapple, watermelon, papaya, guava, green mango and cantaloupe. Choose a piece, and the seller cuts it into a small plastic bag with a wooden skewer. Alongside comes a small packet of prik gluea, a dip of salt, sugar and dried chilli, which brings out the sweetness of the fruit and takes the edge off sour green mango and guava. Green mango is also eaten with nam pla wan, a thick, sweet dip of fish sauce, palm sugar, shallots and dried shrimp.

In markets, fruit is sold by the kilo or in bundles, and good sellers will often pick out a ripe one or let you taste. Durian sellers in particular are used to choosing for customers, tapping and smelling the fruit to judge it.

Fruit festivals

Many fruit-growing provinces hold an annual fair when their best-known crop comes in, with stalls, contests for the finest fruit and sometimes parades of floats decorated with produce. Chanthaburi is well known for its fruit fair in the durian and mangosteen season, and the longan and rambutan festivals in Lamphun and Surat Thani are long established. Dates move with the harvest, so check local listings before planning around one.

Wherever you are, the simplest approach is to look at what is piled highest in the market. That is usually what is in season, at its best and at its cheapest.