Not unknown, but three vegetables I like that seem to be not as widespread outside Germany (though at least in the USA, all seem to be available):
Kohlrabi (seems to have no English name), texture like a very solid apple, but tastes more cabbage-y (German Kohl means cabbage). Great raw and cooked.
Pointy cabbage. Like normal cabbage, but more delicate, including in taste. Requires far less cooking (steaming is best).
Savoy cabbage: looser than normal, and very crinkly leaves. Works better than other cabbages in creamy sauce.
So, uh, I like cabbages and we have a lot of them here ;)
I went to school in Hawai’i and discovered strawberry guava - the plant is an invasive species that chokes the life out of everything it can, but it bears the most delicious fruit.
Check out Taro and Cassava. Taro is a root vegetable similar to arrowroot and has now replaced potatoes for me (except for mash), and I don’t even know how to explain cassava, but both are absolutely delicious when boiled with coconut milk/cream.
Macadamia nuts. Not the roasted ones, not the shelled dry ones you can buy in the store. They are garbage compared to the unshelled ones, even if you do need a special device to open them and they can be very frustrating to eat fresh.
When they're freshly opened, they're opaque brighter white, sweet and even a little juicy. It's a completely different experience from the ones you can buy off the shelf. It's honestly a shame Australia doesn't have a bigger market for the fresh ones.
Technically not my area, but mangosteen. Mostly grown in South-East Asia, it's a sour sweet fruit with the texture and structure like a soft orange, and one big seed per segment. It is seriously delicious.
I hear you. The rare occasion I'm in Singapore I will buy a whole bag and devour them all over a few days.
And when I see them where I am (also often golf ball sized), I message all my SEA friends with the location and price so they can descend like a flock of seagulls.
I fucking hate the seeds though. It's like, you're getting to this sweet and juicy part of the segment's flesh, and then the seed just stops you cold from enjoying the fruit.
Huckleberries. They’re the summer ground cover in Colorado subalpine forests. Like a mix between a raspberry and a blueberry. So good when you’re just laying in a hammock by a lake smoking doobers and eating berries off the ground.
Do thimbleberries count? Not sure how local they are to me, but they’re so tasty. Think a sweeter, more fragile raspberry. They make an excellent jam! my only complaint I have is how fragile they are, they only last a day or two in the fridge
Since huckleberries were already mentioned, I’ll go for salal berries. Taste like flowery blueberries and make an amazing sauce, especially if you mix them with huckleberries.
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