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Friday, July 18, 2008

LUO HAN GUO



  • Common Name: Luo Han Guo
  • Vernacular Names: Arhat fruit, Monk's fruit
  • Scientific Name: Siraitia grosvenorii
  • Specimens From: China
Luo han guo, the name of this uncommon fruit, is a Mandarin pinyin. It simply means "Arhat fruit" or "Monk's fruit". It was named after a group of buddhist monks, who was using this fruit during the sixth century in Southern China. It is now grown in Southern China and no where else. But four other similar looking species can be found in Taiwan, Thailand and India.

It is green when fresh but it is almost impossible to get hold of a fresh one as it was never exported or sold in the fresh form. It is always in the dried, brown fruit as it cannot be stored in the fresh form. The fruit is slightly round to oval and smooth but slightly hairy to the touch. It is unusually light weight in the dried form.

Luo han guo is extremely sweet no doubt. Its extract is almost 300 times sweeter than sugar but minus the high calorie. Hence, it has been used as a natural sweetener.

How to eat it? No, you don't eat it. You just drink its extracted juice. Wash the dried fruit and then, cut it into half. You will be able to see the numerous flattened seeds stacking together (refer to photo). The easiest way is to put the cut fruit into a bowl or container and pour boiling water onto it. Cover it with a lid and let it simmer by itself for a while.

One fruit is enough for two persons. Surprisingly, it isn't that sweet when you drink it but of course, it will depends on how much water you have added. You may need a little accustom to the taste as it also contains some aroma besides just sweet taste.

Luo han guo are used mainly for medicinal purposes, like heatstroke, sore throats, cough or for any other respiratory problems. There are several companies selling it in other forms too (powdered, pureed, bottled etc) and can be found in most of the Chinese herbal or medicine shops.

Luo Han Guo; Arhat fruit; Monk's fruit; Siraitia grosvenorii; Cucurbitaceae.


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20 comments:

Mom Knows Everything said...

I've never heard of that fruit before. Very interesting!

Sue said...

That's neat. It looks really hard on the outside...like you would need a hatchet to get through it.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting Fruity and again very exotic for a Norwegian. The juice sounds healthy though and I would have loved to try!

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

Luo Han Guo...that's a new one! WOW!!! I bet I would love this sweetener. :D Great photos and post, Fruity. So glad you are back. I MISSED you!

Did you know I'm getting published?

Hugs, JJ

cathy said...

Just found your blog, and it is FASCINATING!

Karin W. said...

What a super-fruit! It's a pity, it's uncommon. Otherwise it would be of value for health and nutrition industry.

Karin W. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
HEALTH NUT WANNABEE MOM said...

I had never heard of this but it sounds wonderful and again proof of the healing powers of fruit.

myonlyphoto said...

aha, natural sweetener would be good idea...Anna :)

Anonymous said...

I recently posted a review of six popular acai and other super-fruit juice products.

You may be interested in reading it:
http://www.acai-berry.tv/juice_comp.html

Mark

Anonymous said...

This fruit is quite common in M'sia. It's sweet and refreshing. I love it.

Unknown said...

I'm doing some reseach and need to know the typical price growers of Luo Han Guo get when selling to processors of the fruit.

Anonymous said...

You have satisfied my crave to know about these fruits. I heartily thank you for it.

suman
------------
Free Satellite TV

RoHaN said...

its great

Pritesh

RoHaN said...

its really great
Pritesh

RoHaN said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
RoHaN said...

hiiii

rohan

RoHaN said...

The juice sounds healthy , i would love to try it

"bpo solutions"

Anonymous said...

I buy this in my local Chinese Supermarket and I swear it's a miracle cure for bugs. The shell easily cracks with some pressure between your fingers, then I just pull out about a 1/4 to a 1/2 of the seeds and pour over boiling water then drink it as a tea. It literally scares sore throats away. I recommend it to everyone and they are always amazed at the results. It is an accustomed tasted though. Some people would rather be ill than drink it. More fool them. It's just really sweet.

Sharwan said...

Good
where will i purchase LUO HAN GUO fruit/ Arhat Fruit/ Monk's Fruit seed in india