What’s this exotic fruit, found in Cambodia?
I saw this interesting fruit at the market in Cambodia (near Laos), but I don’t know what it is and what it is used for and how it is eaten. Can you help me to identify this exotic asian fruit? Thank you in advance!
This is Salak (Salacca zalacca). It is a species of palm tree (family Arecaceae) native to Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The fruits grow in clusters at the base of the palm, and are also known as Snake fruit due to the reddish-brown scaly skin.
The Salak pulp is edible. The taste is usually sweet and acidic, with a strong astringent edge, but its apple-like texture can vary from very dry and crumbly to moist and crunchy.
You can peel the fruit by pinching the tip, which should cause the skin to slough off so you can pull it away. Inside the fruit has a large inedible seed. The fruit inside also containes several lobes, which resemble, and have the consistency of the large peeled garlic cloves.
Salak is cultivated in other regions as a food crop, and reportedly naturalized in Bali, Lombok, Timor, Malaysia, Maluku and Sulawesi.