Friday, August 28, 2009

Santol (Sandoricum koetjape)

Santol season is definitely here. Well, in the Philippines at least.


We were fortunate enough that during our recent holiday to the country we were able to get our fill of this “unique” tropical fruit. It’s “unique” in the sense that I’ve never seen them sold anywhere in Australia.



Friends have told me they are sometimes available in an Asian market west of Brisbane but I think they were all just lying.


I find it a little bit difficult to describe this fruit as I don’t think it is similar to anything. The closest, I suppose, is mangosteen. Naturally, other cultures call santol “wild mangosteen”.

The ripe fruit is pleasantly tart but some varieties are too sour to be eaten raw. They can be used as a souring agent or made into preserves. One unique Laguna dish is called “sinantolan”. The rind is turned into pulp and mixed with coconut cream and spices. What you then get is a creamy soury dish eaten on its own or as a side to fish and grilled meats.

One morning during that holiday I chanced upon a couple of the neighborhood boys who were picking these fruits from a tree outside the house. What follows are just a series of photographs of that morning’s affair.






9 comments:

Dom's said...

bro, ganda ng unang photo, nakakapangasim! :D

The Beancounter said...

funny huh? how our memory causes our taste buds to react... manggang hilaw, kamias, etc... same reaction

What's Cookin Chicago said...

How I miss santol and all those great native fruits!

The Nomadic Pinoy said...

You just brought me down memory lane - I used to eat these a lot as a kid.

The Beancounter said...

I do miss it now Joelen...over a month na since i had one...

The Beancounter said...

Hello there NP...glad to take you there!

Julie Ann Events said...

Love your blog. I just found it. I grew up in the Philippines and my mom used to make jam out of santols. It was really good. My mom will make jam out of anything though!!!!

The Beancounter said...

Thank you very much Julie! Thank you for dropping by!

Anonymous said...

Nice post! Thanks for sharing.. Brian Scott