AMBARELLA FRUITS OR KEDONDONG (IN MALAY) AND ITS MEDICINAL USES

Today I want to introduce to you my Ambarella or Kedondong (in Malay) tree. Its scientific name is Spondias Dulcis or Spondias Cythere. I have always referred to this fruit as "Ambar". Ambarella tree grows well in tropical climate, in normal garden soil and in full sunlight. It is a fast growing tree and easy to maintain.

I planted this Ambarella tree in a big pot in one corner of my garden. I remembered when I was young, we had a very tall Ambarella tree at the back of our house. It was so tall that we had to use a very long bamboo pole to poke at the fruits until they dropped to the ground.

We will collect the fruits and before we eat the fruits, we will flung the fruits hard onto the concrete floor to crack or break the fruit. Please don't ask me why we have to do that because I really do not know why, as kids we just follow the older ones. Back then, we ate the fruits with the skin on. The skin tasted tart and sour but being kids, we just didn't mind.

My Ambarella tree has matured and has started to fruit. This is the second year of fruiting.

The flowers of Ambarella are small, in clusters with long stalks and they are in shades of white to yellow.

The leaves are edible, both cooked or raw.  The young leaves can be eaten as salad but the taste may be a bit tart.

The fruits are oval shaped, green and are in bunches in long stalks.  The fruit can be as big as the size of a duck's egg or smaller, is edible and has a spiky, fibrous pit.

When the fruits are young, they are green and skin smooth.  The hairy, fibrous pit inside will be soft, less noticeable and can be eaten together with the fruit.

As they mature, they will be darker green and some may be brownish.  The spiky fibrous pit inside will be bigger and harder and have to be discarded.  Can you see the tiny little white dots on some of the fruits? It is the sap forming on the fruits.

The above picture shows a very young fruit cut into half just to show that the spiky, fibrous pit is not well formed yet.  The young fruit is very crunchy and less sour even when eaten with the skin.  When the fruit matured, its pit will be well formed with hard spiky, fiber growing outwards.  The matured fruit will be crunchy with a harder texture and the skin will be sour and tart to the taste.  If it is left to ripen on the tree, it will fall to the ground.  The ripe fruit will be yellow, soft and less sour.

The picture on the left shows the smooth skin of a young fruit. The picture on the right shows how the fruit looks like with the skin removed.  

I like my Ambarella raw as it is very crunchy and I can taste the natural blend of the sour and sweetness of the fruit.  I can eat the fruit on its own with the skin or without the skin.  I can eat it with a little salt or I can make a very simple sauce of sugar, thick soy sauce and cut chili padi for dipping the fruits.  Or I can cut the Ambarella fruits together with other cut fruits and mix with my favourite rojak sauce.  Oooo..... just thinking and typing about rojak makes my mouth drools....

This is the bunch of fruits harvested from my tree.  Notice dark spots on some of the fruits?  They are caused by the sap that sometimes formed on the skin.  The fruits can be used to cook curries, can be pickled in sugar and vinegar or pickled with spices and sauce as "acar". 

Medicinal Uses:

• To treat sore throat or cough: Boil the leaves and drink the water or juice the fruit and drink the juice with a pinch of salt or honey.
• To treat diarrhea and stomach pain:  Boil the bark of the tree and drink the water.
• To bring down fever or cool down the body:  Eat the fruit. 

When I brought in this bunch of fruits into the kitchen, I was dreaming of eating rojak for lunch.  Alas! after searching in my refrigerator, I found no rojak sauce. Not having the mood to drive all the way in the hot weather just to buy the rojak sauce and too lazy to make any, I decided to juice all of them.  That is after all a good idea to quench my thirst on this hot, sunny day.

Ta dah! This is my giant mug of Ambarella juice. I have only three remaining sour plum in my refrigerator and I threw them all in together with some ice and instead of rojak, I have a giant mug of chilling, refreshing Ambarella juice to enjoy!

I must remember to buy a bottle of my favourite rojak sauce, ready for my next harvest of Ambarella fruits.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel

of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners

or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on His law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prosper.

(Psalm 1:1-3, New International Version-NIV)