Lanzones (Lansium domesticum)

I was pleasantly surprised at the abundance of lanzones in the markets during our trip to the Philippines in July. In Laguna, where I grew up, we normally do not see this exotic roundish fruit till much later in the year, mainly the beginning of October. But we are genuinely grateful that they were there. Like the santol in the previous post it is not available in Australia. The last time I had them was probably over a decade ago. The timing of our previous trips were always not in the lanzones season.




Again, like the santol, I struggle a little bit to describe lanzones to the uninitiated. It’s got creamy latte coloured leathery skin. Inside you’ll find translucent segments that can be intolerably sour to very sweet depending on the ripeness of the fruit. Be warned though, if a segment has noticeably large seed make sure you do not bite it. It is extremely unpleasant and might put you off this tropical fruit for long time.





It doesn’t have a very long shelf life. The skin turns brown a few days after picking or when bruised. Everyone in my household seem to be aware of this fact as kilos of lanzones quickly disappear soon after they’re laid on the table.