White and sweet Terap fruit

I don't have to climb this Terap tree ( Artocarpus odoratissimus Blanco) this morning to harvest its ripe fruits. This tree is still small and planted just about three years ago. With the aid of a bamboo pole I managed to harvest two ripe fruits. Sometimes the Terap fruit (Malay) is also called 'Ong Lumok' among the Melanaus here. The fruits are very sweet tasting. Often times the seeds that are enclosed by the white pulp or flesh are dried and then fried as afternoon snacks. However I just love to eat them fresh and ripe from the tree. After each season I would normally germinate the seeds for propagation purpose and now there are at least 50 Terap trees that I planted in the farm the last few years. This tree is the first batch of newly planted Terap trees at the farm besides the ones that were here long before I came on the scene , some towering as high as 30 meters above my head.

Remove the skin carefully and you'll find the fleshy pulp soft to touch and would easily separate from the seed by applying a little pressure with the tongue. Eat the flesh but not the seed.

Seasonal Fruits at the farm

After spending the month of May in Kuching, I'm back in Bintulu for the month of June. Unfortunately or fortunately I felt ill for about a week now. But today I'm feeling better. The stress of working on the assignments, reading and preparation for exam must have taken a toll on me. Well June is semester break and I'm thinking of making full use of it from now onwards.

Thus I decided to walk around the farm this morning to make up for all the good things nature provides here. It looks like the seasonal fruits are coming into fashion. Here's a peek at a few that are showing at the farm today.

The 'Cempedak' or Artocarpus integer. Unripe ones like these can be served as vegetables.

'Ong Lumok' is what the Melanaus in Bintulu refer to this fruit which can also be prepared as vegetables when young.

I sliced into half this very young 'Ong Balem' fruit ( Mangifera pajang). Take it raw as salad with shrimp paste ( Belacan).

The Malay Apple Tree

This is the Malay Apple tree ( Syzgium malaccense) in full bloom that I saw planted next to a Malay village house at Kampung Buntal, some 30 minutes drive from Kuching city. I have not seen one flowering for quite sometime now due to the fact that many of these trees have been cut down to make way for the construction of more houses in the villages. Thus the sight of this tree was a fast rewind to my childhood days when I used to hunt for birds frequenting them.
Malays like to plant them for their sweet edible fruits the size of apples. It would normally take about three months after flowering before the tree can bear fruits. They are medium sized trees ( 12-15 m) high and loves the full sun. The leaves are dark green and relatively broad. In many instances I prefer to eat the fruits semi-ripe as salad and can be dipped in soybean sauce ( ketchup) or shrimp paste (' belacan') for that extra 'umpphh'.
I always like to advocate that these trees be re-introduced into urban planting e.g. roadsides, parks and open spaces, school compounds etc because they are very attractive to birds and wildlife and have an attractive compact form. Propagation is easily done through seeds. The local name for the tree is 'Jambu Bol'.
The flowers are pink to light red and are attractive to wildlife especially starlings and wild doves.

Day Trip to Miri

We went to Miri this morning and returned late at night around 10.30 pm for a day trip. The picture above shows a section of the jungle produce market at Batu Niah, a half- way stopover. Seasonal fruits are plenty today ranging from durians, rambutans and dabai among the top players. Here the traders are mainly the womenfolk from various ethnic origins like the Ibans, Kedayans,Chinese, Malays ( mainly localised Indonesians) and Melanaus.