I often to think of the food we get from all over the world and realize that even just 100-200 years ago food would likely go bad before it could be shipped far from where it was grown. As someone living in Nyc in the 19th century would I even know of the tropical fruit I'm missing?
Know about, yes. Maybe you might have tried a few. The pineapple was a symbol of hospitality and visible display of wealth since the 1600s. Classy people had one at their parties. If you lived in the late 19th century you might have been able to get your hands on a Florida pineapple.
In 1866, Carl B. Frank started importing bananas to NYC. If you had traveled to the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of American Independence in 1876, you could have bought one wrapped in tinfoil for 10 cents - probably about 3-5 dollars in USD today.
Sweet citrus cultivars of all sorts had been growing in the American south for 100-200 years already.
Pawpaw, a relative of cherimoya and soursop, grows native across the US south. It doesn't keep well, but it grows close to home. Thomas Jefferson liked them apparently.
Furthermore, monographs and journals about traveling the world were fairly popular at the time. You might have picked up a pop culture traveling account from India, China, or the Philippines where the cuisine would be mentioned.