lipote

Philippine Food Illustrated

lipote – /li-pó-te/ Bicolano, Quezonian [Quezon province], and southern Luzon [including Tagalog] fruit [n.] lipote tree and its fruit (sc.name: Sysygium polycephaloides or Syzygium curranii).

Other local common names:

a.k.a. igot or bahag in Tagalog and Bicolano

baligang in Bicolano [Albayano]

malig-ang in Bicolano [Camarines Norte]

amhi in Bicolano [Camarines sur]

igot in Waray [Samareño]

 

 

A species of Java plum. Lipote is a fruit tree that is indigenous to the Philippines and can be found growing in the Bicol region and in some places in the southern part of Luzon that includes Metro Manila, Batangas, Laguna, Marinduque, and Eastern Visayas that includes Samar.

The tree grows up to 9 meters or more and bears round, dark red to black fruits that look like that of duhat, but is rounder and has no seeds. Hence, it is often called a seedless duhat by those who do not know its local name.

The fruits are borne in compact clusters, each fruit is about 20mm in diameter and would become darker as it ripens. The ripest is black or very dark in color and has a rather dry but pleasant acid flavor. It is eaten ripe and raw.

When grown outside the Bicolandia, the fruits have the tendency to be more acidic or a bit sour in taste. 

Locals would collect the ripe fruits, mash and put them in a sealed container with some salt and sugar added inside. The container is juggled hard enough to squeeze the juice from the fruits. The extracted blood-red juice is collected and taken as a refreshing juice drink. The pure extract can be stored in a jar and will keep for weeks. It can be served cold by adding lots of ice. Some say that it tastes the hint of duhat but more like that of a mangosteen, with a peculiar tart-sweet and tannin taste.

The pure juice extract can be fermented to make wine, or mixed as a flavoring with lambanog (coconut arrack) and other beverages.

Be careful not to stain the dress or cloth with the dark red juice as it is very tough to remove. It could even stain the fingers and tongue. 

 

The fruits can also be preserved in the form of candies, compote, jelly, or jam.

It can also be used in making pickles and fruit pies.

The fruit is believed to have a high antioxidant content and is also good for treating hypertension, diabetes, or high sugar level in the blood.

Related posts:

Alugbati sauce

Dugyan (Philippine red durian)

Sawa

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Edgie Polistico  

 

For more about Filipino food, see  this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

dugyan

Dugyan (photo credit to The Philippine Star)

dugyan - /dug-yan/ (Palaweño fruit) [n.] red durian (sc.name: Durio graveolens)

Unlike the usually cultivated durians of Mindanao, the fruit of dugyan is smaller in size, weighing less than a kilogram with sharper and longer spikes on its thick coat. It is yellow-green when unripe and turns bright yellow to yellow-orange when ripe. 

The Durio graveolens of Palawan (photo credit to Lindsay Gasik's blog, Year of the Durian)

When fully ripe, it opens while on the tree, showing its distinct bright red lipstick flesh that would eventually fall to the ground. 

With its distinct lipstick-red flesh, the dugyan, an endemic fruit in Palawan, is said to be an entirely different species from the typically-cultivated durian that we see in the market. The smell and taste are not repulsive and nauseating. It is almost creamy, but not so sweet. 

In the Philippines, this rare variety of durian is found only in Palawan though similar other red durian varieties can also be found in Borneo, Malaysia, and Thailand 

Dr. Virgilio Loquias, the durian expert of the Philippine's Bureau of Plant Industries, holding a red durian of Palawan grown in BPI-Davao. Photo taken during Lindsay Gasik's search for durians in the country. (photo credit to Lindsay Gasik's blog, Year of the Durian)

Related readings:

• Philippines Durio Graveolens
  Philippines Durio graveolens - Lindsay Gasik's blog (The Year of the Durian) about the red durian in Palawan with Dr. Virgilio Loquias of the Philippine Bureau of Plant Industries.
• Preserving indigenous fruits - an article from The Philippine Star business section that features dugyan.

See Index of Entries here.

For more about Filipino food, see  this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

tindok

tindok - /tin-dok/ (Cebuano fruit) [n.] a giant plantain (sc.name: Musa paradisiaca var. magna).

Other common names 

a.k.a. tandok in Cebuano
tenduk or tunduk  in Teduray, Lambangian, Dulangan, and Manobo

giant plantain - English

pisang tanduk - Malay (Malaysia)

 

We found these few pieces of tindok banana in the grocery section of SM Makati in Ayala Center of Makati City way back in 2009.

A very long and large variety of cooking banana fruit.

Its digit is about a foot long or more or about the size of a man's arm. Elongated and commonly a bit curved in form with a thick green banana peel.

The length and size of this banana are even more than that of Margette's arm.

Yes, the one she is holding weighs more than a kilo, and it is priced quite expensive in 2009. The sticker says it is from Dole, a clue that most likely this came from Mindanao.

The tindok plant bears a bunch of fruit that only has around three clusters (piling, sipi, or hand of bananas) in a bunch (buwig) with very few to less than a dozen of digits (daliri or piraso) in each cluster. The bunch would start to sprout at the tip of the banana stem as one big inflorescence (puso ng saging) and would open to bloom only once to produce a few to several digits. Afterward, there will be no more inflorescence (puso) hanging at the end of the bunch. Thus, it also called as "saging na walang puso" (banana with no hanging flower).              

Tindok fruit is rich in potassium and starch and is only good when cooked. Green tindok (unripe) is commonly steamed or boiled with its peel intact. When cooked, it is peeled and eaten as a substitute for rice as the main source of carbs or starch. 

The pulp of unripe tindok can also be sliced thinly and deep-fried into chips. 

Chunks of rare ripe or ripe tindok can also be added as vegetables in boiled bulalo or nilaga similar to saba banana. 

Others would have the tindok fruit grilled or broiled, usually sliced lengthwise and served with a spread of peanut butter, fruit jams, or margarine sprinkled with sugar (or press on a bed of sugar).  

Below are photos of tindok posted by my friends on Facebook and they are worth sharing here:

A trunk of tindok with a bunch of giant fruits - photo credit to Aveen Acuna-Gulo's FB account

This one is captioned with "Per Datu Leticio Datuwata, some fruits grow to be 4 inches  in diameter - photo credit to Aveen Acuna-Gulo's FB account

A pile of tindok at the Bagsakan, Valencia Public Market, Valencia City, Bukidnon - photo credit to Aveen Acuna-Gulo's FB account

A bunch of tindok by Child Andrade Peteros of Hindang, Leyte - photo credit to Child Andrade Peteros' FB account

This giant plantain is commonly grown in Southeast Asian countries, and can also be seen now, though rarely, in Africa, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Personal notes:

Tindok is not a giant lakatan.  Jiggy Manicad of Unang Balita (GMA News Online) mistook tindok as giant lakatan in his June 5, 2015 news report "Puno ng saging sa Bulacan, nagbunga ng 'giant lakatan' 

Related post:

Freaky bananas that baffled local news media and agriculturists

Pakbol

All photos by Edgie Polistico in this blog are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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For more about Filipino food, see  this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

 

sawa

A harvest of not-so-matured sawa pods being sold in the public market of Super in Cotabato City during one of my brief stay in the city in November 2010.

 

sawa – /sá-wà/ Maguindanaon edible water plant/fruit) 1. [n.] sacred lotus (sc.name: Nelumbo nucifera, Gaertn.) \oriental lotus 2. [n.] lotus pod and its seeds \lotus seed.

Other local common names:

• beno or baino in Tagalog-Lagueño [Laguna Lake].
• pagusi in Surigaonon  [Mainit Lake] of Surigao del Norte and in Cebuano-Agusanon (Agusan del Norte).
• sukaw in Ilocano [Paoay Lake].
• kulatot in Pangasinense.
• lingaling in Ibanag (Cagayan Province).

 

A fruit of indigenous sacred lotus that grows in the ponds, marshes, swamps, and lakes of Maguindanao and adjacent towns and provinces. The fruit has seeds with nutty kernels that are eaten raw as a snack. Lotus plants are very much abundant in the Tamontaka river, Rio Grande Mindanao river, Matampay river, and the vast swampy areas of Liguasan marsh and Libungan marsh of Maguindanao and Cotabato regions in the southwestern part of mainland Mindanao. 

This lotus plant is native of Asia, particularly of Indochina (Mainland Southeast Asia) and adjacent other countries of South East Asia. Probably of  prehistoric introduction to the Philippines.

The young pod of the fruit has a thick casing resembling that of a halved cacao fruit or a cornucopia of protruding yellow-green seeds. Simply, figure it out as a showerhead.

Two elderly Maguindanaon women in Cotabato City picking bunch of not-so-matured sawa pods for their grandkids.

The ovaloid young lotus seeds need to be pulled out, its shell cracked open like a peanut and its nutty, tender white kernel is taken out and eaten raw. It tastes like that of a boiled young peanuts.

The Maguindanaons would often give this to their kids and toddlers as nourishment

Are lotus and water lily the same?

 

Let it be known, and to set it clear, that lotus and water lily are two different kinds of aquatic plants. Yes, they are not the same. The  Maguindanaon sawa is a kind of lutos and not a water lily. 

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I will search for more and continue to share my findings. It is my pleasure to rediscover the known and least known things or the unheard ones and put them here for everyone to find, learn, and treasure. 

Thank you for the encouragement and enthusiasm. I also need moral support, prayers, and anything else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. Keep them coming. All I know is that I am happy with what I am sharing with and giving away. If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and please share the happiness. Keep sharing and include to share the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized when my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling. 

Edgie Polistico

evergreen mango

My wife savoring a very luscious evergreen mango from Tangub City, Misamis Occidental

evergreen mango - /e-ber-gren mang-go/ (Misamisnon [Tangub City, Misamis occidental] fruit) [n.] a variety of mango fruit that still has shades of green when ripe.

Other local name: 

• a.k.a. mangga Tangub in Cebuano and other vernaculars of Mindanao

The fruit is forever green even when ripe, though shades and spots of yellow would appear when the fruit is very ripe or overripe. 

A slice of lusciously sweet mangga Tangub. When yellow patches appear big allover the skin would mean that the mango fruit is already overripe.

The trees of the evergreen mango variety can be found growing well and bear lusciously sweet fruits in the farmlands of Tangub City, Misamis Occidental (a province of the northwestern side of mainland Mindanao). There were attempts to grow this mango in other provinces of Mindanao but the trees were not producing such very sweet and luscious fruits of Tangub City.

A basket of very ripe evergreen mango in the public market of Tangub City. Those that are already yellow allover are actually overripe.

Evergreen mango on our hanging fruit tray.

Related posts: 

Mango chocolate (choco mangga)

Miracle fruit

Sawa

All photos by Edgie Polistico are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

See Index of Entries here

If you liked this post or the blog site, share it.

Let us know your opinion on the subject. Feel free to comment in the comment section, below. It is important for us to know what you think.

Tell us what other topics you would like us to write, share, and discuss about.

For more about Filipino food, see  this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

Continue to follow my blogs. You can also follow and learn more by joining us in our Facebook group. Have more bits and pieces about our kind of food, ingredients, and ways of cooking, dining, and knowing food culture across the 7,641 islands of the Philippines. 

Encouragement and enthusiasm are not enough. I also need moral support, prayers, and anything else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. Keep them coming. All I know is that I am happy with what I am sharing and giving away. If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and please share the happiness. Keep sharing and include to share the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized when my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling. 

Edgie Polistico