Syzygium samarangense
Encyclopedia
Syzygium samarangense (syn. Eugenia javanica) is a plant species in the Myrtaceae
, native to India
, Indonesia
, Malaysia, Philippines
, Samoa
, Sri Lanka
and Thailand
, and widely cultivated in the tropics. English common names include wax apple, love apple, java apple, Royal Apple, bellfruit, Jamaican Apple, water apple, mountain apple, cloud apple, wax jambu, rose apple, and bell fruit.
Two of the most highly prized and sought after wax apples in Taiwan are "black pearls," which are purplish-red, and the very rare green pearls, (only found in Xinshi District, Tainan) which are small and green . When it is ripe, the fruit will puff outwards, with a slight concavity in the middle of the underside of the "bell". Healthy wax apples have a light sheen to them. Despite its name, a ripe wax apple only resembles an apple on the outside in color. It doesn't taste like an apple, and it has neither the fragrance nor the density of an apple. Its flavor is similar to a snow pear, and the liquid to flesh ratio of the wax apple is comparable to a watermelon. Unlike either apple or watermelon, the wax apple's flesh has a very loose weave. The very middle holds a seed that's situated in a sort of cotton-candy-like mesh. This mesh is edible but flavorless. The color of its juice depends on the cultivar of the fruit; it may be purple to entirely colorless.
A number of cultivar
s with larger fruit have been selected. In general, the paler or darker the color is, the sweeter it is. In South East Asia, the black ones are nicknamed "Black Pearl" or "Black Diamond," while the very pale greenish white ones are called "Pearl." They are among the highest priced ones in fruit markets.
The fruit is often served uncut but with the core removed, in order to preserve the unique bell shape presentation.
In Indian ocean island cuisine, the fruit is frequently used in salads, as well in with light sauteed
dishes.
Myrtaceae
The Myrtaceae or Myrtle family are a family of dicotyledon plants, placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, clove, guava, feijoa, allspice, and eucalyptus belong here. All species are woody, with essential oils, and flower parts in multiples of four or five...
, native to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Malaysia, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and widely cultivated in the tropics. English common names include wax apple, love apple, java apple, Royal Apple, bellfruit, Jamaican Apple, water apple, mountain apple, cloud apple, wax jambu, rose apple, and bell fruit.
Cultivation and uses
Syzygium samarangense is a tropical tree growing to 12 m tall, with evergreen leaves 10–25 cm long and 5–10 cm broad. The flowers are white, 2.5 cm diameter, with four petals and numerous stamens. The fruit is a bell-shaped edible berry, with colors ranging from white, pale green, green, red, purple, crimson, to deep purple or even black, 4–6 cm long in wild plants. The flowers and resulting fruit are not limited to the axils of the leaves and can appear on nearly any point on the surface of the trunk and branches. When mature, the tree is considered a heavy bearer and can yield a crop of up to 700 fruits.Two of the most highly prized and sought after wax apples in Taiwan are "black pearls," which are purplish-red, and the very rare green pearls, (only found in Xinshi District, Tainan) which are small and green . When it is ripe, the fruit will puff outwards, with a slight concavity in the middle of the underside of the "bell". Healthy wax apples have a light sheen to them. Despite its name, a ripe wax apple only resembles an apple on the outside in color. It doesn't taste like an apple, and it has neither the fragrance nor the density of an apple. Its flavor is similar to a snow pear, and the liquid to flesh ratio of the wax apple is comparable to a watermelon. Unlike either apple or watermelon, the wax apple's flesh has a very loose weave. The very middle holds a seed that's situated in a sort of cotton-candy-like mesh. This mesh is edible but flavorless. The color of its juice depends on the cultivar of the fruit; it may be purple to entirely colorless.
A number of cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s with larger fruit have been selected. In general, the paler or darker the color is, the sweeter it is. In South East Asia, the black ones are nicknamed "Black Pearl" or "Black Diamond," while the very pale greenish white ones are called "Pearl." They are among the highest priced ones in fruit markets.
The fruit is often served uncut but with the core removed, in order to preserve the unique bell shape presentation.
In Indian ocean island cuisine, the fruit is frequently used in salads, as well in with light sauteed
Sautéing
Sautéing is a method of cooking food, that uses a small amount of fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Ingredients are usually cut into pieces or thinly sliced to facilitate fast cooking. The primary mode of heat transfer during sautéing is conduction between the pan and the food being...
dishes.