The Malay Apple, as its name suggests, originates in the Indo-Malayan region and grows wild all over the islands.
The fruit of the Malay apple is pear-shaped and is generally characterized by a deep red, waxy skin and a white flesh although some varieties have white or pink skins. The flesh is white and surrounds a large seed. Generally, ripe fruits possess a lovely rose scent. Their taste is crisp, watery, earthy, and slightly sweet. The texture of a ripe fruit is crisp and not overly juicy. Some fruits are spongier than others.
Malay apples do not ripen uniformly on the tree: A single branch houses both white, unripe fruits and luscious, ripe red fruits. They can be eaten with skin, and as-is.They have a very short shelf life, as the fruits deteriorate rapidly after ripening. They do not store well in the refrigerator, as they’re susceptible to cold and have delicate skin. Keep the fruits on the counter, where they’ll keep for three to four days. They are sometimes made into sauce or jam , prepared by stewing the flesh with brown sugar, vanilla and ginger.
The abundant flowers, which are mildly fragrant, and borne on the upper trunk and along leafless portions of mature branches in short-stalked clusters of 2 to 8, make a nice colourful carpet under the tree. We used to collect the flowers to cook in sugar and prepare a jelly. We would place white bed sheets under the tree overnight and then collect the flowers in the morning, wash them thoroughly and cook them in sugar flavoured with nutmegs and vanilla. The jelly , which has a sour sweet taste, was served with gros biskwi a thick dry round biscuit, popular on the islands.
The Malay apple is also known as a Malay rose apple, mountain apple or rose apple.
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