Buah Lakum-Sarawak wild edible berry

A close up of the Lakum black berry

I asked a fruit seller what is this fruit which looks like green and black grapes.  He laughed and said this is the Unggu Sarawak or Sarawak grapes.  He grew this fruit himself in his garden.  "Unggu ini masam.  Kalau kamu makan buah ini, badan kamu akan gatal", he said, meaning "This fruit is sour.  If you eat it, your body will be itchy".
The fruit seller noticed I bought tuna fish.  He suggested I buy this Lakum fruit to cook asam fish.  In the past, he said the Lakum fruit was used to cook fish before asam paya was discovered.
This fruit is a cluster like a bunch of grapes.  The fruit is smaller than grapes.  It looks like cherry but the size of the fruit is the size of a berry.  I touched the ripe fruit which is the darker black colour and it was soft, tender and delicate.  It feels juicy.The lakum fruit is used as a bait to catch the baung fish.  It grows on a creeping vine.  In fact, this fruit is called cissus repens Lam, a wild edible berry of Borneo.  It is also known as the vitis diffusa Miq.
A unripe fruit is light green in colour.The berry is spherical concave in shape with length of 10-12 mm (which is shorter) and width of 13-17 mm.  There is a seed sometimes two seeds in a berry.  Lukam is from the genus vitis, meaning it came from the same category as the grapes except that its family is vitaceae.  In the jungle, it is found near streams.  It is described as a specie of tropical rainforest vine in the grape family. It was known as vitis triloba Roth, an outdated name, in the past.  Lakum or Lakom is an iban name for this fruit.  This fruit contains sucrose, glucose, fructose.  It has very low sugar content. It is one of a list of vitis grapes recommended for wine making.

Buah Lakum

Growing Mamey Sapote in Sarawak, Borneo

Morgan scratching the skin of Sarawak grown mamey sapote fruit to check whether it is ready to eat.  A ripe fruit will show a papaya orange red flesh.

Three weeks ago, I saw an unusual fruit at the Kubah Ria jungle produce market.  I get to know the name of the fruit from farmer, Morgan Chua.  The name is mamey sapote.  This fruit, a native fruit of Cuba, attracted a lot of attention from tourists and the locals.  They will snap pictures, buy it to taste this foreign fruit, perhaps, grow it in their gardens.
Most are snapped up.  I was lucky this time to capture the image of this fruit in video before they are gone.

 According to Morgan, he planted this fruit tree in his parents' land in the outskirts of Kuching city after a friend gave him a plant he brought back from Cuba.  It was washed clean of soil and wrapped with a piece of wet tissue and an aluminium foil.

This plant grew into a tree six years later and had been producing fruits for the fifth consecutive year.  A tree will yield more than a hundred fruits with a fruit weighing an average of 1.5 kilo to a maximum weight of 2.5 kilo a fruit.  It will take the fruit 4-5 months to mature after flowering.
A ripe fruit is detected by scratching the skin.  The flesh will show a papaya orange red colour when the fruit is ripe.  The texture of this fruit is smooth. The fruit is ready for eating after 3 days of harvesting it. It is cut in half, the seed removed and the flesh scooped out with a spoon.

Morgan told me his foreign customers had seen a similar fruit in Hawaii but it was very much smaller.  The Cuban specie is large.  Morgan attributed the quality of the fruit to Cuba's advanced organic farming technology.

Many attempts had been made to plant this fruit tree by seed propagation by other interested fruit growers but with no positive results.

This fruit is not seasonal.  It bears fruit the whole year through. This fruit is rich in potassium, carbohydrates, fiber, sugar, protein, vit A, vit C, calcium, iron, Vit B6, magnesium, manganese, riboflavin, niacin and vit E.

Morgan shows off  the last remaining mamey sapote with his customer who bought it.

Borneo fruit-The terap fruit of Asajaya(Artocarpus Adoratissimus)

This is the terap fruit native only to the island of Borneo.  In Sabah, it is known as the marang fruit.  There are other names.  Green pedalai, madang, tarap, timadang.  The botanical name for this fruit is artocarpus odoratissimus.  It is related to the cempedak and breadfruit families.  This fruit emit a strong sweet scent coming from the rind, a signal telling us the fruit is ripe for eating.  The rind has soft spines.  The fruit is prised open to reveal small white arils which tastes like custard apple.  A ripe fruit will fall to the ground and split open.  The seed is like the cempedak seed except that it is white. Like the cempedak seed, the seed of the terap fruit is edible by boiling.

Some say this fruit tastes like the cempedak fruit-very sweet and tasty. In Borneo, it is found in the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak. These fruits are cultivated in Sadong village in Asajaya. In times of abundance, the fruit are sold quickly with values rated according to their sizes.  The small fruit will be sold for RM5, a medium size RM7 and a large one for RM10.

Sarawak Wild Durian-Durian Nissa (Durio Oxleyanus Griff)

The locals in Sarawak call this durian 'nissa'.  In other parts of Malaysia, it is called 'durian isu' or 'durian sukang' in Sabah. This is a wild jungle durian.  It is probably the best of all jungle durians. This wild durian is smaller than other species of durians.  It is round and is the size of a sepak takraw ball.

 It has very long sharp thorns. Unlike commercial durians which have five compartments, this one has four.  The fruit is very sweet and aromatic.  Some say it tastes like vanilla.  Some say it tastes like almonds. This one is found growing wild in the jungle of Serian district. This durian is found throughout the island of Borneo and in Peninsula Malaysia.

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We have a bumper harvest of durians towards the end of 2013.  The durian season was at its peak in November. The wild durians are more expensive than the commercial ones.  It is sold for RM20 for 5 small ones or the same price for 4 .  

Is there any takers? You will probably eat four pieces in a fruit.

Borneo fruits-Sarawak crystal longan

This is the crystal fruit of Kuching city.  It is not a new fruit.  It is an old native fruit of Malaysia known as 'kasai' or 'matoa'.  This fruit is also known as the crystal longan or the crystal lychee.  Some local people call it 'dragon's eyes'.  Some say it tastes like longan.  Some say it tastes like rambutan.  The fruit looks like the colour of mangosteen with its dark red purplish colour.  To eat it, fruit sellers will teach us to crush two fruit in the palm of our hand.  Some would break its shell with a mortar or hammer.  The name 'crystal' stuck with us as the flesh is yellowish translucent, like a citrine crystal.  The fruit has moderate sweetness.  That is why it is popular with people who have diabetes.  This fruit has high economic potential with a kilo fetching a price of RM15.00 a kilo. The seed is like a longan-hard and enamel like.

Because of its catchy name, a young sapling will fetch a price of RM25.00.  People are keen to try out new fruit trees. Unknown to them, the kasai fruit tree can grow to great heights with its fruits perched very high on top of the trees. This fruit is widely cultivated in Lundu, a coastal village at the southern tip of Sarawak, probably because a timberman was so taken in by the fruit in Papua New Guinea that he came back and grew it.  This fruit is known as the Fijian longan in this neighbouring country.  The scientific name for this fruit is pometia pinnata from the sapindaceae family.

Some smashed it on the table.  Some stepped on it.  I used a karate chop to smash it open.

Borneo palm fruits-Sarawak's trusum fruit (Salacca Wallichiana C. Martius)

The Bidayuh of Sarawak, a state in Malaysia, in Borneo island, call this fruit 'trusum'.  In West Malaysia where this fruit is also found growing wild in the forest, it is called 'rekam'.  The botanical name for this fruit is Salacca Wallichiana C. Martius.  The synonym for this fruit is  zalacca rumphii.  This fruit is better known in Thailand as luk rakam. In Sarawak, this iguanura (palmae) chaiana is a new species. To many people in Sarawak, this fruit is unknown.  The salak fruit is more well known.

Unlike the salak fruit which is yellowish brown, the trusum fruit is dark ruby red.  It has the same snake skin.  This fruit is sweet and sour.  It is eaten raw.  The creamy white pulp is smooth and  juicy. There are two to three seeds in a fruit.  It is also made into a sambal with the fruit slices mixed with belacan (shrimp paste), pounded dried anchovies and small chili.

This fruit has a short pointed tip like the salak fruit. This is a palm fruit from the palmae family.  According to jungle produce market stallholder, John ak Jul, this fruit are harvested from the jungle at kampung Sungei Pinang in Bau district.  In other places in Malaysia, it is found growing wild in its natural habitat-the swamplands.  These fruits are found at mid-trunk.  A ripe fruit will turn maroon red. This fruit is not seasonal.  It can be harvested every month. 

Borneo fruits-The Sarawak Longan

The Sarawak Longan-This warty yellow longan is a subspecies of the dimocarpus longan and malesianus variant. Yellow longan are called 'kakus' whereas a green longan is called 'isau'.  Another species is oblong in shape.  It is green skinned and is called 'sau'.  

This fruit is more familiarly known as 'mata kuching' in Malay. In translation, it means cat's eye.  The Chinese community call this fruit 'long yan' meaning dragon's eye. It is also known as 'guring' or marbles.  This fruit is cultivated on the central region of Sarawak in Sibu division, Kanowit, Song, Kapit and Belaga districts.  It is a native fruit of Sarawak and is found along the river banks of Rejang river. This fruit is found also in China.

Unlike the Thai longan which is smooth skinned, the Sarawak Longan is warty.  The skin is thick and the flesh is thick, transclucent, very sweet and fragrant.  The seed is hard and enamel like.

The Sarawak Longan is rich in calcium and vitamin c.  It has very high economic potential with a kilo selling for RM8.00, a price higher than imported fruits.

This favorite fruit is available in January each year till early February in time for the Chinese New Year celebration.  This fruit is traditionally used to cast into the river by the romantic young and not so young alike during Chap Goh Meh, the fifteen night of Chinese New Year.  It is the Chinese valentine's day and hopeless romantics cast these longans to make a wish for a beautiful bride with big eyes.  Women, on the other hand, cast mandarin oranges wishing for a husband.

This fruit is eaten by first washing it with water and biting it to break the skin.  The flesh is very juicy.  This fruit is a member of the sapindaceae family of which the rambutan and pulasan are related.

Borneo fruit-Asam Kumbang (Mangifera quadrifida Jack)

Malaysia has more than 25 species of wild mangoes.  This fruit is called asam kumbang.  Kumbang in the Malay language means beetle.  Many local people call certain wild mangoes 'asam'.  The word 'asam' means tamarind.  'Masam' means sour in the Malay language.  This fruit is sweet and sour.

  A ripe fruit is dark green grape purple colour.  Peeling off the skin with a knife will reveal a juicy bright yellow mango fruit.  The fruit is a bit fibrous.  It is consumed raw or made into a sambal, with fruit slices mixed with pounded chili, garlic, dried salted anchovies, salt, sugar and belacan ( shrimp paste cake).  

A unripe fruit is dark green in colour.  Unripe asam kumbang are cooked with fish as a dish.  The scientific name for this fruit is 'Mangifera Quadrifida Jack.  This fruit is a member of the anacardiaceae family. 

 The fruiting season of asam kumbang is during the months of May to June, and November to December every year.

Borneo fruits-The Engkala Fruit of Sarawak.

This is the thumbnail image of my engkala fruit upload in YouTube taken in August 2013. Engkala is a unique indigenous fruit. The fruit is consumed by first removing the cap or cupule and soaking it in warm water.  The flesh is white greenish.  The taste is exquisite. Delicious.  A unripe fruit is green in colour.  It will ripen by turning pinkish over the next two days.  Green engkala are hit with spoons to cause it to ripen.  Unripe engakala tastes like an unripe ciku fruit, causing an irritation to the throat. It is eaten with a pinch of salt.

The scientific name for this fruit is Litsea Garciae.  In the local dialects, we call it engkalak, engkala, pong lobon, kangkala, medang, pengalaban, ta'ang fruit. The engakala fruit is found in great abundance in Nov 2013.  The fruit is bigger in size and has a attractive bright pink appeal.  Farmers have cultivated this fruit for the local market instead of collecting it from the jungle.  Fertilisers are used, attributing to its bigger size and abundant yield.  It was indeed a satisfying year 2013, eating a continuous supply of engkala. This fruit has high economic potential.

Borneo Wild Jungle Mango-Mangifera Pajang Kostermans

Wild jungle mango-mangifera pajang kostermans- a new hybrid clone with the tree from the Borneo forest produces a fruit the size of a canon ball. This one weighs more than 900 g.

The old fruit from the jungle cultivated by villagers in Asajaya.  These fruits are cultivated by seed.

This one weighs more than 300 g.

Cutting the fruit vertically.

Peeling off the thick skin to reveal the bright yellow fibrous sweet sour mango

To the Malays of Sarawak (a state of Malaysia in the island of Borneo), this brown wild fruit the size of a canon ball, is called 'asam embang'.The Ibans of Sarawak call it 'buah mawang'. In Sabah, it is known as 'bambangan'. This fruit is botanically known as mangifera pajang.  It is a wild fruit from the jungle and its availability today is due to their cultivation by the people  in Asajaya.

This fruit smells like the kuini (Mangifera adorato Griff), a popular Malaysian garden fruit.  The difference is the skin is brown and thick.  The fruit has to be cut on top across and vertically before it is peeled off.  The flesh is yellow and tasted sweet if the fruits falls to the ground but taste sour when it has a bit of green hue meaning it is not ripe yet.

Buah Mawang is eaten raw as a salad or eaten as an ulam (eating raw with sambal belacan or shrimp paste sauce). It is also cooked with fish. The flesh is fibrous and is cooked with chillies to give it the pineapple taste. As much as this fruit is the size of a canon ball, there are other varieties the size of a tomato.

Buah Mawang can be kept for a week because of its thick skin. It can be preserved in a jar. Even the leaves of this fruit can be eaten as an 'ulam'. A member of the anacardiaceae family, this seasonal fruit starts fruiting twice a year during the months of Jan-Feb and July to August.