It’s the ugli fruit that confuses most people. Why on earth would anyone want to eat a fruit that is so blatantly self-hating? Or so unappealingly lumpy and misshapen?

Turns out, the ugli fruit is just uglily named. In fact, it is a citrus fruit that combines the flavors of a tangerine, grapefruit and Seville orange.

But how would you know that when you are strolling through your local market? For that matter, what would make you want to buy a Cara Cara navel, an Ambrosia apple, a kumquat, a pluot or one of those big honkin’ pummelos?

Here in Maine, we like our blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and apples. And we should, because they are some of the best in the country. Plus, they are local.

Round about this time of year, however, most of us are pulling berries out of the deep freeze and longing for something sweetened by the sun. Otherwise, we stick to the more conventional fruit: bananas, apples, oranges, maybe a Bartlett pear occasionally.

“Like everyone else, I ate mostly common fruit, like oranges and bananas,” said Willie LeHay. “Most people have no idea about the rest of the fruit in the store.”

LeHay has ideas about fruit. For the last eight years, he has worked in the produce department at Shaw’s Supermarket in Ellsworth. Most of those years, he has also been the department manager. He says things like, “Goodness, I love fresh pineapple!” and “I daresay, that’s the best orange I ever had!”

LeHay, who has a moonfaced friendliness, grew up on a poultry farm in Albion. So it’s safe to assume he didn’t develop a palate for papayas and kiwis early in life.

“It was meat and potatoes, apples and oranges,” he recalled.

These days, however, LeHay can tell you the difference between a Clementine and a Moro orange, a Minneola and a Royal mandarin, a Pink Lady and a Gala apple, a white peach and a yellow one. And he is happy to share his knowledge, guidance and suggestions.

“I wish more people would ask,” said LeHay, on a recent tour through his produce offerings. He stopped first at the bananas, not the big ones you’re used to but little baby ones that looked like clusters of yellow sausages. They come to Maine from Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Belize, and have a fruitier flavor than the more typical version. He offered a taste, which he would do for any customer who was curious.

“The weakest part of the banana is its underside,” LeHay explained. “It’s better to store them on their belly or hang them on a tree. That’s why bananas aren’t piled two layers high.”

He learned that protective practice, he said, from watching Shaw’s Network, an in-store closed circuit program that gives advice to shoppers. LeHay often tunes into the programming while he’s stocking fruit and vegetables. But that’s not the only way he learns about fruit. He has been to Pluot University, an hour-long training seminar for employees. He nearly swooned when he reached the pluot and plumcot section. (The fruits are a mix of apricot and plum.) He picked up a Dapple Dandy pluot, which is 75 percent plum and 25 percent apricot. “We have close to 50 varieties shipped to the store,” said the P.U. grad. “I recommend it over all other fruit.”

But he also recommended a new variety of apple called Ambrosia (“honey-sweet and crisp”), the Comice pear (“by far the best; do not refrigerate or you will destroy the flavor”), the Cara Cara orange (“I don’t think I’ll ever eat another type”), plantains (“at five for $2, they are very affordable”) and papaya (“they’re great in salads; so are mangos”).

LeHay remembers not so long ago when the produce sections of Maine markets did not carry exotic fruit that people didn’t know how to pronounce, let alone know what the taste might be. In addition to increased varieties, most of the larger stores now also carry organic fruits and vegetables. Advances in refrigerated shipping and a more global marketplace account for the change in recent years, said LeHay.

Although the store in Ellsworth isn’t considered an “ethnic” market by company standards, it does, as do many of the super stores in the area, carry a wide range of fruits – and that includes tomatoes and avocados.

Perhaps even more than the rest of us, LeHay has noticed increased curiosity and home-cooking usage of fruit that was only available years ago if you went south or to Canada.

“You know where the real increase came?” asked LeHay. “With recipes, cooking shows and food networks. I have so many customers who show up with cookbooks asking for ingredients. When mangos are featured on the Food Network, we order more.”

LeHay loves every minute of it. More fruits only mean better eating habits, a practice he likes to stress in Shaw’s Healthy Eaters field trips, when school children in sixth grade and younger visit the store to learn about nutrition and informed shopping.

“You want bright, thick-skinned fruits,” LeHay instructed. “Stay away from anything dull or shriveling near the stem. And if you want to enhance the flavor, do not put the fruit in the refrigerator. That retards ripening.”

Then there is the ugli fruit. The Shaw’s variety is, smartly, called Uniq fruit.

“A lot of people are afraid of the Uniq fruit,” said LeHay, holding the pocked green fruit in his hand. “Appearance and scarring have nothing to do with the taste of the fruit.”

Ugli is as ugli tastes. Which, by the way, is sweet and tangy and very refreshing.

Citrus Compote

Serves 6

This recipe is my favorite winter dessert because it’s a colorful burst of flavor associated with warmer climates. You can use any combination of tropical fruit, but be sure to include the citrus. I have added mangos, apricots, plums and raspberries. The original recipe called for sweet wine, such as Gewurztraminer or Riesling. But I use any white wine I happen to have on hand.

2 cups white wine

1 cup fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons honey

5 oranges (Navel, Mineola, Moro or Cara Cara are excellent varieties)

2 grapefruits, ugli fruits or pummelos

3 kiwis

Combine wine, orange juice and honey in saucepan. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer, uncovered, until about 1 cup remains. (About 15 minutes.) Transfer to bowl and set aside to cool.

Using a sharp knife cut a thick slice off the top and bottom of each orange to reveal the flesh. Then, standing each orange upright on a cutting surface, cut off the peel and white membrane in thick, wide strips. Working with one orange at a time, hold the orange over a bowl and cut along either side of each segment to free it from the membrane, letting the segments drop into the bowl. Repeat the same technique with the grapefruit, using the tip of a knife to remove any seeds.

Peel kiwis. Cut each into eight wedges and add to citrus fruit. Add to cooled liquid and stir. Serve chilled or warmed as a topping for vanilla ice cream.

Butter Rum Plantains

Serves 6-8

I first tasted plantains in Africa, where they were deep-fried and delicious. At home, I make the following recipe as an after-dinner treat. Plantains can be bitter, but the butter and rum combination brings out their sweetness. Real butter is key. Try serving them piping hot with vanilla ice cream.

2 plantains, sliced into medallions

2 tablespoons real butter

1-2 tablespoons dark rum

Melt the butter in a skillet. Before it burns brown, lay the plantain medallions in the butter and saute on one side until lightly brown. Turn individually. Add rum and cook until rum burns off. Serve hot.

Peppery Greens with Fruit

Serves 6

Spicy greens, such as arugula or radicchio, call out for an extra punch of sweetness. Adding fruit to an otherwise unadorned plate of greens can make salads exotic and refreshing. Roasted nuts add an additional meatiness. With a crisp Cabernet Sauvignon, the first course will enchant dinner guests. But don’t wait for a dinner party to try this combo. It’s easy enough to be a regular at your family or solo dinner table.

4 cups spicy greens such as arugula, frisee or radicchio

1 ripe comice pear, sliced thinly

1 navel or moro (blood) orange, peeled and sectioned

2 clementines or mandarin oranges, peeled and sectioned

4 kumquats, sliced crosswise into paper thin slices

1/4 cup pecans, chopped and roasted

Sherry vinaigrette:

1 teaspoon sherry vinegar

1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

pinch of sea salt

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons juice from citrus fruit

1 clove garlic, minced

Place the greens in a large bowl. Combine vinaigrette ingredients in jar with lid. Shake vigorously. Drizzle over dressing. Add fruit and toss. Distribute on six salad plates and sprinkle each serving with nuts. Serve cold. – adapted from “A New Way to Cook,” Sally Schneider

Tropical Fruit Salsa

When a colleague of my mother’s gave her this recipe, it was called “Dead Neck Dip” because of its fiery flavor. Mom toned it down a little, dropped the avocado and served it with chips and it soon became a family favorite. I serve it as an accompaniment to grilled or broiled salmon steaks. Either way, it’ll spice up your life. – contributed by Bangor Daily News writer Kristen Andresen

1/2 cup each of 3/8-inch diced:

Honeydew

Cantaloupe

Papaya

Mango

Pineapple

Avocado

Watermelon

1 small, minced, seeded jalapeno

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 teaspoon chopped mint

1 teaspoon lime zest

1/2 small chopped red onion

Tabasco, to taste

Combine ingredients in a medium, nonreactive bowl. Season with Tabasco to taste. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Stir and season again, to taste, with salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce.