SNAKE GOURD

• Common Name: Snake gourd
  
• Scientific Name: Trichdsanthes cucumerina
  
• Specimens From: Malaysia
  
• Specimens Weight: 338 gm
  

Snake gourd is a narrow and longish fruit that looks like, what else? A snake! It is long, sometimes curve, and some varieties can grow more than 150 cm (5 feet) in length. It is believed to originate from South Asia. Snake gourd is always used as a vegetable and it is very popular in India, in Southeast Asia and also in some parts of China.

Most of them are dark green with several light green lines or streaks or the other way round but there are some varieties of which, are almost or totally white. It is soft and breaks easily when bend. There are numerous seeds, of which it is relatively large and slightly gray. The seeds and those sticky mass are always discarded when cooking. The skin are usually peeled off too.

When it is fully ripe, the inside of this fruit will turn red, similar to bitter gourd or melon but it tastes better when it is still green. As with most of the vegetables, there isn't much of a taste but still reasonably nice to eat. Occasionally, some varieties may have a trace of bitter taste.

Snake gourd can be cooked in many different ways. It goes well with curries, yogurts, stuffings, stir-fry or whatever you can think of. Try it for a change! Don't worry, this snake won't bite :)

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LYCHEE

Common Name: Lychee
Vernacular Name:  Litchi
Botanical Name: Litchi chinensis
Specimens From: China
Specimens Weight: 18 gm (average weight per fruit)

Lychee, a native fruit to Southern China, can also be found in many countries in Asia. It is quite a well-known fruit as it is widely available worldwide.

There are several cultivars of lychee. The skin is usually ranging from red to pink and some with green tint. It will turn dark brown after refrigerated. The skin is rough but thin and so it tears easily when pressed with your fingernails. Lychee is usually very juicy and it tends to leak all over your fingers when prised.

The thick flesh is white to slight pinkish or grayish with a brown glossy, hard seed, which should not be eaten. There are seedless lychees too but are not common. Some lychees are very sweet and some with a sweet and sour taste. The poorer and cheaper quality is acidic. It is high in Vitamin C. Slightly similar to its smaller cousin and lesser well-known, the longan(click to compare) but lychee is sweeter and bigger.

For those who prefer peeled and pitted, canned lychees in heavy syrup can be easily found in Asia and major supermarts. There are also dried lychees available in some places.

Lychee Juice

If you prefer to drink, you may make your own lychee juice. Pure and sweet on its own with nothing added.


Fruit: Lychee ; Litchi chinensis ; Sapindaceae.

Other fruits in the same family: Fijian Longan, Pulasan, Longan, Rambutan.


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MANGOSTEEN

Common Name: Mangosteen
Vernacular Name: Manggis, Mangkhut
Botanical Name: Garcinia mangostana
Specimens From: Thailand
Specimens Weight: 82 gms (average wgt per fruit)

Mangosteen, a very popular tropical fruit with its unique sweet taste, is hard not to love it when you got the chance to taste it. It is believed to originate from the tropical Southeast Asia, Sunda Islands of Indonesia and West Malaysia. It is rare once out of its growing area and remains very expensive when available.

Mangosteen is round, about the size of an apple. The rind is deep reddish purple when ripe and after a few days, to very dark purple. The flesh is white and in several segments, similar to the mandarin/tangerine. Those with more segments, means lesser seeds as the smaller segments do not contain any seed. It is easy to tell, just by counting the number of raised pointed ridges (4 to 8) at the bottom of the fruit. It always corresponds with the number of segments inside.

The seed is brown and somewhat flattened and the flesh will always cling to the seed. The larger seeds are unpalatable to eat but the soft small seeds are edible.

The easiest way or rather, the lazy way to open the mangosteen is to use both your palms to press it. If it is ripe, it can be easily prised open even though the rind looks thick. But take care not to press it too hard as you won't want the purple juice to spill on your clothes. It will leave a permanent stain!

For those who have the chance to try it, almost all of them will like the sweet with slight sourish, juicy, aromatic, refreshing and unforgettable taste. It is easy to love them and crave for more as no acquired taste needed.

Make your own mangosteen juice but it is quite troublesome to do it. You need a sharp knife to separate the flesh from the seed. The large seeds should be discarded but the small soft seeds are alright.

Do it on a flat plate, so as to collect the juice that will spill out. One glass needs about ten small mangosteen. And you may need to add some water to dilute it or it will be too thick and too sweet.


Fruit: Mangosteen; Garcinia mangostana; Clusiaceae.


Other fruit in the same family: False Mangosteen


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