the pulasan and the rambutan?
first, it was the rambai and the langsat. now, it's time to look at two other cousins in the fruit family - the pulasan and the rambutan. the name pulasan comes from the malay word 'pulas' meaning to twist. i suppose that is how it got its name. unlike, the rambutan where you need to make a break or cut to get at the flesh, for the pulasan, you twist it to get to the flesh of the fruit - one hand holding the top part and the other hand, the bottom, and you twist it in opposite directions.
the name rambutan also comes from a malay word 'rambut', meaning hair.
the other day, i was at sheng siong supermarket and they had both types of fruit on sale. the rambutans were going at $3.00 for 2 kilos and the pulasans were sold at $5.00 for two kilos. what is the implication? that rambutans are more plentiful whereas pulasans are harder to come by? that pulasans are better and preferred to rambutans?
the flesh of the two looks alike and the taste is not much different. some say the pulasan is generally sweeter. it is not true that the flesh of the pulasan does not stick to the seed. the one i had had bits sticking onto the seed (see below). the 'tood hood' rambutan does not stick to the seed. the difference is that you can eat the seed of the pulasan is edible. according to my friend, it tastes a bit like coconut.
chun see should have followed up the durian quiz with one on rambutan. the red and yellow rambutans are all over the place. to get the picture of the fruit for this blog, i punggol (hurled a stick) at a rambutan tree at the end of kampong chantek road.
the branches of the rambutan trees tend to give way quite easily. i remember, as a boy, i climbed a rambutan tree along chancery lane and found myself dangling a few metres from the ground because the lower branch, on which i had stood, had given way. i cannot remember how i eventually got back to solid ground but i believe i was not badly hurt in this incident.
i have yet to see a full-grown pulasan tree in singapore, much less climb one.
13 comments:
wao! nice description! thanks for sharing this~ i will try to eat its seed next time~
hi elims chuang, thanks for visitng my blog. i have not tasted the seed myself but some say it tastes like almond. the friend, who was with me, ate one and said it was like coconut.
potosan seeds I have not try, but bangka jackfruit seeds best...
hokkien call it putosan isnt it ?
I just got back from a trip to Msia. Bought some pulasan from a roadside stall @ RM10 for 3 kg. Fruits were big, flesh thick and does not stick to seed. Really good deal.
hi simperblog, yes, the chinese call it pu tou san. you can see the name on the plate in the first picture. it's the chempedak seed that can be eaten. when we were young, we ate them either roasted or cooked in water. usually, we would just toss the seeds into the embers and retrieved them later.
chun see, looks like i should buy the fruit from its source. both times i bought the fruit here, they are not 'tood hood'; the flesh still sticks to the seed.
I like to eat putosan. I was quite difficult to get at one time. Now they are back in abundance. I did not know that pulasan is putosan. Thanks for sharing yg.
can also eat nangka seeds boiled with salt. pulasan skin is very thick. the last one i tried was not sweet at all so dint buy.
doris, used to eat them (nangka or chempedak) when we were young. thick, then, easier to break by twsiting. i will also stick to eating rambutans beause they are cheaper and just as nice.
Anybody heard of the buah dong dong? Not great tasting and seldom found in the market but we came across a tree in our army days and one of the sarges asked us to pluck and try one.
anonymous, the malay name is kedongdong. if you go along neo tiew crescent, the road leading to the sungei buloh wetland reserve, you will come across a few of these trees. the fruit is not very big because they don't get a chance to grow bigger. tis is how it looks like
Can someone tell me which is the tastiest one??? Longan, Rambutan, Lychee, and other fruits belonging to this family!
Waiting!!!
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