miracle fruit

A miracle fruit tree on the roadside of Brgy. Mambago, Sta. Rosa, Babak, Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) in Samal island, Davao del sur.

miracle fruit - (Mindanao fruit) [n.] calabash (sc.name: Crescentia cujete).

Miracle  fruit (Calabash) is used to be known only in Mindanao. It was seen growing anywhere there (in red). Latest distribution inventory shows miracle fruit is now all over the Philippines. I marked the provinces and islands in orange labels where miracle fruit is now grown and distributed by locals.

Miracle fruit (internationally known as the calabash) is a tree that bears huge fruits that looks like a buko (young coconut). It grows abundantly everywhere in Mindanao, some parts of the Bicol region, and in the Visayas. Few are also growing in Luzon up to the northern part of Ilocos and Cagayan region (see the food map, above, for the latest inventory). 

At first glance, you could have mistaken this as a young coconut fruit growing on a small tree.

Sadly, most of the fallen fruits were left to rot on the ground. Most local folks do not know what to do to make good use of this wonderful fruit. They dreaded the black color of its flesh and the gummy smell. What they do not realize is that black juice is sweet and has healing wonders, the reason why old folks called it the "miracle fruit."

I tried one. And yes, it was wonderful.

The  outer shell is very hard that you have to cut it with a saw to split open into halves You cannot just cut the calabash fruit with a knife, unless you use a big bolo or machete.   

Many who tried this drink claimed they experienced rejuvenating vigor and mental alertness. It is good when you are going to study, review, or take an exam.  

Local women who have tried the freshly extracted black juice claimed it helped ease their menstrual pain. 

Drinking miracle fruit juice is relaxing and helps you go to sleep, relieve stress, and feel well-rested as you wake up. It makes the skin glow healthy, and feel younger again.

Good for those who are recuperating from sickness and a treat after a weary activity. 

The flesh is white, moist, and soft.

 

I experimented with the first calabash fruit I got from Mindanao. I extracted the juice and processed my first miracle fruit wine at home. I hand-carried one fresh green fruit of calabash on my flight from Misamis Oriental to Metro Manila. I cut open and processed the fruit juice into miracle fruit wine using the needed ingredients that were found in the groceries. After three months of fermentation, I had the wine and enjoyed it.

I wonder if this fruit once grew in the fountain of youth. The vigor made me feel younger. Next time, I will no longer bring a calabash fruit. I will bring the tree.

When boiled, the flesh of calabash turns black.

Here's a calabash fruit I found in Cagayan de oro City, Misamis Oriental in Mindanao. I brought it home in Metro Manila. Cooked it into tea and later processed into wine.

How to know if the miracle fruit is already ripe to harvest:

• The color of the fruit is dark green and has slight shades and spots of brown.
• The surface or outer skin is no longer shiny.
• It is heavier and sounds dull when you knock it with your fingers.         

Personal Notes

Miracle fruit (Calabash) is used to be known only in Mindanao. It was seen growing anywhere there (shaded red in the food map, above). The latest distribution inventory shows miracle fruit is now all over the Philippines. I marked the provinces and islands in orange labels where miracle fruit is now grown and distributed by locals.

I first saw this fruit and the tree on the campus of Notre Dame University, Cotabato City on November 10, 2010. Since then, I took notes on where else I found miracle fruit in Mindanao.

In 2017, I picked a fruit from a tree in Cagayan de Oro and hand-carried it on my flight back to Manila where I tried to process it into wine. The wine turned out good - it tastes jammy and fruity. I kept a bottle of it until now for aging.

Related readings:

• Calabash the miracle fruit, Henrylito D. Tacio, Business Mirror,  Oct. 15, 2015, https://businessmirror.com.ph/2015/10/15/calabash-the-miracle-fruit/
• Calabash Tree (Crescentia cujete Linn.), Dr. Godofredo Stuart, Stuart Xchange, http://www.stuartxchange.org/Cujete

Know more about calabash here 

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How to make miracle fruit juice
or miracle fruit tea.

How to make miracle fruit wine

Lipote

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snake wine

A snake wine with the Philippine king cobra in a bottle. The snake is called banakon in Cebuano or ulupong in Tagalog. The slender snake is called iliw in Cebuano. Both snakes are known to be extremely venomous.

snake wine - /es-nek wayn/ Cebuano and Tagalog wine [n.] a spirit soaked with a snake.

A freshly killed snake (complete with its scales, skin, flesh, bones, and internal organs) is steeped in spirit or clear (transparent) distilled wine until the juice from the body of the snake partly became the flavor of the wine.

Snake wine is taken as a potent drink and is believed to have some medicinal benefits, add vitality, energy, and as an aphrodisiac or something that boosts one’s sexual appetite.

The authentic "Cobra Energy Drink." Unlike the commercially bottled cobra energy drink, this snake wine will not cause you to worry about having diabetes. The snake wine has no sugar added in it. What you will get is a real cobra in a bottle -  not just a label with a drawing or printed illustration of snake.

The usual kind of snakes used in making snake wine are those that are highly poisonous like the dreaded Philippine king cobra (Naja philippinensis) known as banakon in Cebuano or ulupong in Tagalog. Another known highly venomous snake is the Cebuano iliw.

The usual spirits used as a base for this potent drink are the hinebra (gin), vodka, lambanog (Philippine coconut arrack), anisado (anise wine), and naturally fermented rice wine.

I found this man peddling a bottle of snake wine on the sidewalk of Ormoc City in western part of Leyte, Philippines.  He told me that he used a local gin with a brand name Mallorca as base spirit for this potent drink.

To convince me that it is safe to drink snake wine, this man swigs a shot of snake wine.

Few seconds later, the drink started to warm his body. This man told me it would keep him active for a day. Awesome. Honestly, I was actually stunned when he did that. I thought the potent spirit he drank would later take his spirit away. But no, he stayed alive.

In 2018, while on the strawberry farm of La Trinidad, Benguet (about 10 Kilometers or 6 miles north of Baguio City), I found more variations of local snake wines. They are quite expensive. The smallest bottle (350 ml) of snake wine is sold at PHP1,000.00 each and the biggest ones are between PHP3,000 to PHP4,000.

More bottled snake wines in La Trinidad, Benguet using different kinds of venomous Cordilleran snakes.

See me sampling a shot of snake wine that is made with rattle snake from Kiangan, Benguet. Click or tap the photo, below, to watch the Facebook video.

SNAKE WINE from Kiangan, Benguet is very expensive. This one is of rattle snake in lambanog with ginseng root. I don't know how they got rattle snake here in Benguet. A shot glass is P150.00. Every drip counts. (June 08, 2018)

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

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Continue to follow my blogs. You can also follow and learn more by joining us in our Facebook group account of Philippine Food Illustrated (Private) and Philippine Food Illustrated (Public). 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 all the encouragement and enthusiasm. I need also moral support, prayers, and anything else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. 

If you are pleased or happy with this blog, please share the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. It is energizing that my blog is shared with others. 

Edgie Polistico 

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