Posts
What looks like an oversized green javelin, hangs from a tree, is filled with stringy pouches of flesh that envelop large seeds, and is the largest fruit in the world? If you said, "What the heck?!" Then you and I have a lot in common. This colossal piece of produce is call the jackfruit.
Jackfruit is actually a very popular fruit in this part of the world, growing not only in Malaysia, but a also in Thailand, Cambodia, China, and India. In fact It's so popular in Indian that there's about as much jackfruit as there are mangos or bananas. It's said that nobody really knows where exactly this fruit oirgionates from, but today it can be found even in the Caribbean and parts of Florida. Availible in two types, sweet and soft, or crisp and less sweet, it is a delicious treat found in nearly every market. Today's variety was crisp and refreshing, I actually liked this kind better than the sweet variety I had tried in the markets before. I think that's because the sweet kind is a little reminiscent of durian in that it has a hint of onion in the mainly banana taste. This kind is much lighter in flavor and has a hint of pear to it.
Today our class visited a fruit farm that included, a pit stop of mowing down a whole Jackfruit. YUM!
Below are photos of the lovely fruits we found as we toured the farm.
Above: Jackfruit
Above L-R: Jackfruit, pinang, starfruit
Above: Dragon fruit
Above L-R: Mangosteen, Cacao pods, Ylang Ylang flowers
Above L-R: Jackfruit in leaf basket to keep bugs away, Red Rambutan, stinky bean, bilimbi aka sour cucumber
Above L-R: Pinapple, Pineapple, Mango, Cacao tree
Above L-R: Green (different variety from red) Rambutan, Durian, Rambutan cut open
RUBBER TREES
After touring and tasting we made a b-line for the rubber trees. Now, I don't know about you, but when I hear the words "rubber tree" I get this image of some cartoon using this spring-like tree to catapult himself somewhere. In reality, these trees are not like rubber. They don't bend, boing, or bounce, and they can't catapult anyone to a far away location simply by running into them at full speed. Instead they are a lot like maple trees.
Rubber trees are tapped for their white rubbery sap. Over a very regimented schedule, and extremely skilled man takes what looks a little like the child of a crowbar and a machete and makes a curved incision into the bark. Within seconds the white liquid flows from the cut and into a cup.
Now this stuff just needs a little kneading to make it feel stretchy and rubbery. For large sheets of rubber, doing it all by hand is nearly impossible. Click this link, Traditional Rubber Making, to visit my Youtube channel and watch as our guide shows us how to make rubber the traditional way!
Today was amazing. I can't believe I'm going to have to give up all these delicious foods and go back to the states. Ignorance really is bliss sometimes. Better to not know what you're missing that to have known it and be kept from it. . . Maybe I'll have to make a road trip to Florida just for another blissful bite.
0 comments:
Post a Comment