- Avocado
- Banana
- Breadfruit
- Coconut
- Coffee
- Custardapple
- Dragonfruit
- Durian
- Guava
- Jackfruit
- Jujube
- Langsat
- Longan
- Longkong
- Lychee
- Mafai
- Mango
- Mangosteen
- Maprang
- Papaya
- Passionfruit
- Pineapple
- Pomegranate
- Pomelo
- Pumpkin
- Rambutan
- Roseapple
- Sapodilla
- Santol
- Soursop
- Starapple
- Starfruit
- Sugarapple
- Tamarind
- Tangerine
- Watermelon
Rose apples got their name because these crispy fruits smell and taste like rose water. Here is some basic information on rose apple with some photos and recipes.
| Scientific name: | Syzygium jambos Alston |
| Synonyms: | Eugenia jambos L. , Jambosa jambos |
| Family: | Myrtaceae (myrtle family) |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Common names: | Rose apple, Malabar plum, Plum rose, Malay apple, Wax apple |
| Origin: | South east Asia |
| Evergreen or deciduous: | Evergreen |
| Flowers: | A showy terminal inflorescence, usually with four whitish-green flowers on the outside of the crown |
| Leaves: | Leaves are long and glossy. |
| Fruits: | Fruits are about 5 cm long with a whitish-green color, but color variations exist including red skinned fruits. The skin is thin and waxy. |
| Climate and weather: | Requires a tropical or near tropical climate. Growth at altitudes up to 900 meter. |
| Height: | Growth as a shrub or as a medium sized tree. 7 to 12 meter |
| Type of soil: | Prefers deep loamy soil. But can tolerate sand or limestone with very little organic matter. |
| Spacing (close range) | 8 meter |
| Spacing (wide range) | 12 meter |
| Propagation: | Usually grown from seed. |
| Insect pests: | Few insect problems. Aphids. |
| Diseases: | Sometimes a sooty mold growing on honeydew excreted by aphids. Leaf spot. Anthracnose. Fusarium root rot. |
| Harvesting: | Pick by hand from the tree. Fruits should be used soon after picking because they spoil soon. Fruits ripen over an extended period of time. |
| Uses: | Eat the fruits fresh (the skin can be eaten too). Fruits are crisp with the taste (and smell) of rose water. Fruits are hollow, the core contains a small amount of inedible fluff. |
Recipes
Wax apple salsa
4 wax apples chopped
1/4 cup spring onions, chopped
2 tbsp fresh mint chopped
2 chillies chopped (add more or less depending on how hot you want it)
Juice of one lemon
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
salt and papper to taste
1/2 tsp fresh pepper seeds (if available)
pinch of ground fennel
Mix all the ingredients together and leave for a couple of hours before serving.
Poached wax apples in honey and orange blossom water
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp orange juice
1/2 tsp orange rind
A strip of orange zest
1 cup boiling water
1tbsp light honey
2 firm wax apples
few drops of orange blossom water.
Dissolve the sugar and honey in the water.
Add the zest and bring to a boil before reducing to simmer to form a syrup thick
enough to coat the back of the spoon.
Add the orange juice and orange blossom water to the syrup and then poach the
wax apples gently in the syrup until tender.
Remove from heat and chill before serving
Garnish with lemon rind and almond.
Please note that all the measurements are approximations, you can add or delete as you wish it does not matter
- These two recipes were contributed by Mohana Gill (mohanagill@gmail.com), author of the book Fruitastic.
- Please send me a message if you have more recipes with rose apple fruits.
