Camachile

ByMaria

IMG_5758Camachile – (Pithecellobium dulce) – is a fruit that we eat in the Philippines.  It’s plentiful during the summer season.  The camachile taste sweet but dry.  It has black seeds and we used to play with it. The fruit is unusual because of its coiling.  It looks like a bean and it actually belongs to the pea family. We gather the fruit from the wild because it is not sold in the market.  The tree grows wild and becomes invasive just like its cousin the “kiawe” or Hawaiian mesquite.  The tree can grow up to 15 meters high.  Its branches is thorny and the fragrant flowers flowers attracts certain species of moths, making the plant as host for caterpillars. Birds that eat the sweet pulp disperse the seeds.  the tree is drought tolerant so it can grow anywhere without any human intervention.

Similar Posts

  • Mangoes from my hometown

    ByMaria

    I was born in Iba, Zambales, Philippines and during the summer time when I was growing up, we always enjoy eating mangoes coming from my grandparents farm. They have quite a number of mango trees and different varieties too. We have the big one we call “dinamulag” which literally means ‘like carabao’ because it is…

  • Green “Saba” Banana

    ByMaria

    Green “saba” banana or commonly called plantain is very common in the Philippines as a snack food. I grew up practically eating this type of banana. It has more starch than sugar compared to other bananas like apple bananas for example. That’s why when you eat this raw, even if its ripe, it’s not as…

  • Durian

    ByMaria

    Durian is a fruit native to Malaysia and Indonesia and is famous for its distinct odor. Some can’t stand the smell they would not even try to eat it but for those who don’t mind the strong odor is in for a great treat because it tastes really good like eating a custard with almond…

  • Breadfruit

    ByMaria

    Breadfruit or “rimas” as we call it in the Philippines can be prepared as a vegetable or a fruit but it has to be cooked. The Hawaiians call it “Ulu” and has been their staple food for decades. I like breadfruit the way my grandma prepares it. She steams it and cut them up and…

  • Tamarind (Sampalok)

    ByMaria

    Tamarind or sampalok as we call it in the Philippines is a versatile fruit. We can make it into candy or jam, we can use it in cooking as a souring agent for the ever popular “sinigang” or you can eat it as it is ripe or raw. Also the leaves were used too in…

  • |

    Jackfruit

    ByMaria

    We call the jackfruit “langka” in the Philippines.  I consider it as the biggest fruit ever.  When I was young, we  nicknamed it “hog” because sometimes it grows as big as a pig.   I remember my grandma’s jackfruit tree in the farm and the fruit almost touches the ground.  I also remember eating the fruits…