Can Noni Fruit Be Eaten Raw? [How To Prepare IT]

I learned about noni fruit whilst on my travels but didn’t and became as curious as to how you eat this strange-looking fruit, and whether it can be eaten raw.

I did some research and here’s what I found.

To get to the bottom of eating noni and drinking noni juice I looked into it further to answer questions such as whether noni is poisonous, is the juice safe to drink, whether the juice should be refrigerated, and if there are any side effects caused by drinking noni juice.

Is Noni Fruit Poisonous?

Certain vegetables and fruit can be poisonous.

And ripe noni is known to make your mouth numb so I was curious whether it’s poisonous.

I looked into the advice of medical professionals and here’s what I found.

Vegetables like zucchini or radish can be sliced thinly and used in a salad.

The same is also true of unripe noni fruit.

It is hard and green, and you can slice it very thinly or shred it using a grater.

It provides an interesting and unique taste to a salad.

It can also be used in a stir fry or be added to a quiche.

Noni juice is regularly sold as a health food in grocery stores and health food stores.

However, is it safe to drink and how much of it should you drink?

Therefore, in my opinion, you should aim to drink around 1/2 a cup to 1 cup of noni juice a day.

That way you can balance it out with other fruits.

And gives you the flexibility to eat a wide range of fruits in a day if your diet is somewhat limited.

For example, some people go on a strict diet such as a keto diet.

On the keto diet, you generally need to limit your carb intake.

Interestingly, noni has roughly 7g of carbs per cup of noni juice.

Which is a very low amount of carbs.

I recently wrote an article about whether fruit can kick you out of ketosis.

In it, I discuss high and low-carb fruits and vegetables.

Read it- can fruit kick you out of ketosis

Sodas and store-bought juice can be left in the pantry unopened for quite a while.

But, does the same apply to noni juice or should I keep it in the fridge?

Keeping it in a cool dark place such as in a basement can also work well if you’re limited on fridge space or are buying it in bulk.

Heat and warm temperatures will accelerate the chemical processes that make juice go bad.

And create a more favorable environment for bacteria.

Over time fruit juice like noni juice can begin to ferment if yeast is present in the air.

The yeast will react with the sugars in the noni juice and produce alcohol as a by-product.

Typically alcoholic beverages like ciders and beers have yeast added to them to speed up the process.

Noni juice has been reported to be good for your health, but, are there any side effects to drinking noni juice?

Some people don’t mind the smell and taste of noni juice.

However, there are a wide array of other fruit juices out there.

And if you don’t particularly like the smell or taste, then you don’t lose anything by not drinking or eating it.

Some sources suggest that noni was eaten as a last resort if other staple fruit crops like bananas and coconuts were unavailable because they had been damaged by a cyclone or fire.

Noni juice is said to be good for your health like other fruit and vegetable juices but can you drink it everyday?

Noni juice can taste particularly bad so you may choose to take it as a shot 2 to 3 times a day.

Or, you can blend it with other ingredients that have a very strong taste like ginger, and honey.

Because of its taste you may decide not to consume noni or noni juice at all.

You may also decide to use it like a vegetable instead.

The noni fruit turns soft and translucent as it ripens, but while it’s unripe it will be hard and green.

It can be picked at this stage before it’s ripe.

Similar to how they eat papaya salad in Thailand.

Which is made from green papaya that isn’t sweet at all.

Typically papaya salad is made with a lot of spices and chilli but feel free to use your creativity as unripe noni is very versatile.

If you’ve never tried noni before, you’re likely curious how it tastes.

The taste of noni is very similar to the way it smells… bad! Unlike other fruits such as durian that have a really bad smell but actually taste very sweet.

The fruit itself also looks quite unappealing.

I also heard that the leaves of the noni tree can be eaten. Is that so and do you cook them?

Therefore, a noni fruit tree can be grown just for the leaves, however, because the fruit smells very bad you might want to choose to keep it at a distant part of the property or buy the dried leaves separately.

It has been shown though that dried fruits and vegetables don’t have as many nutrients as fresh fruit and vegetables so when possible it’s best to have your own noni tree.

Noni is regarded as being quite sensitive to drops in temperature and grows where the temperature remains above around 40°F (4°C).

But, it grows best in tropical to subtropical climates like those found in Hawaii, California, and Florida.

To make noni tea you can simply take some noni leaves, wash them, and add two to three to cups of boiling water.

Noni tea made from the leaves of the noni plant is also sold in some grocery stores.

And is widely available online.

If you love a good herbal tea, then it’s definitely one to try.

If you do grow your own noni plant what can you expect from it over the medium to long term.

Does it take forever to fruit like some varieties or does it begin to fruit very soon?

Here’s what I found..

Each noni plant should be given about 10 to 15 feet of space all the way around (3 to 5 meters).

Interestingly, noni tends to do really well in a wide range of soil types.

Well, there you have it, everything you needed to know about eating noni fruit.