Santol

Will you brave the exoticness of the santol?

Santols are a species of exotic fruit native to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Malaya, of Southeast Asia.
The scientific name of the santol tree is Sandoricum koetjape and it is from the family Meliaceae, the family of mahogany.
‘Santols’ are also called ‘lolly fruits’, ‘cottonfruits’, and ‘ wild mangosteens’, and they are also known under a variety of local names.
Santols generally have a peachy orange coloured skin, that has a somewhat furry texture, sometimes with a slight red or yellow appearance, with flesh that is typically coloured white, while the rind surrounding the flesh is usually an orange colour.
The rind of santols can be thick or thin, depending on the variety, and the fruit has a fleshy, juicy centre that surrounds the seeds; and both the pulp and the rind are usually edible.

Santols can have a sour or sweet taste, often depending on whether it is the red leaf variety or the yellow leaf variety, with the red leaf generally having a sour taste and a thicker rind, while the yellow leaf will typically have a sweet flavour and a thinner rind.
Santols can be eaten raw, preserved, made into a jam, candied, spiced, cooked in curries or alongside meat, or used to make a beverage.
The relatively large brown seeds of santols are not edible, and they should be avoided as they can get stuck in or even puncture the intestines.
Santol fruit range from 4 to 7.5 centimetres (1.6 to 3 inches) in diameter, and a single tree is said to be able to bear thousands of individual fruit in a single year.
Santols contain pectin, and are a good source of phosphorus and calcium, and they contain other vitamins and minerals.

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