A fruity lunch

Sweet and succulent deep yellow to orange Chempedak fruits.
At the foreground are the oil palm fruits.

 The very sweet Chempedak madu is just ideal for dessert.  This variety is extra sweet and succulent.  In the above picture is shown the 'sawit' fruits (oil palm fruits) as part of presentation, though when boiled the sawit fruits can be eaten just as well.  Ok, there is such a thing as a fruity lunch.  So we have today the fruit salad Malaysian style which is made of sliced 'sengkuang' fruit or jicama and slices of  'timun' or cucumber.  These are mixed well with the Malaysian salad paste called 'sambal rojak'. The whole dish is thus referred to as 'rojak buah-buahan' or fruits rojak.

A fruity lunch plate consisting of 'Chempedak madu' and  'Rojak buah-buahan' (Malaysian fruit salad)
The Chempedak madu is for dessert.

The Chempedak fruit

Artocarpus is a significant genus of edible fruits in Sarawak - Artocarpus integer or 'Chempedak' in Malay is consumed in many ways..e.g. fritters, seeds are boiled to make porridge or smoked as in 'Likeng'

 This year the Chempedak trees are not fuiting profusely but there again a dozen of these trees at the farm collectively ensures many fruits to share and giveaway.  The big trees at the park have been planted before I was born that is more than 60 years ago.  However those original exotic trees have been preserved for posterity though I managed to add more trees over the years.  The Chempedak is easily mistaken for the Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)  which is obviously much larger in size. In another blog  I have written a fair bit about the fruit especially the art of smoking it....checkout the story here ..

The original Chempedak trees planted more than 60 years ago are still standing and growing....as seen towering above the oil palm trees or Sawit in Malay.
Oil palm trees are an added crop, well-integrated into the existing landscape and agro-forestry practices at the eco-farm..

Like most trees of the fig family (Moraceae), the Chempedak has white latex to its bark, leaves and skin of the fruit.

What's fruiting at the park?

Young fruits of the "Cempedak" (Artocarpus champeden), borne on a tree planted more than 60 years ago.

 Coming towards the end of the year there would be a series of local fruits that will come in season.  At the park right now are many Cempedak trees that are gradually bearing small fruits.  These unripe fruits can be eaten as vegetables but better leave them maturing on the branches and trunks to enjoy their sweet and juicy pulp later.  At the park there are about a dozen of these fruit trees that have been planted more than 60 years ago.  I do plant many more since about 5 years ago to add to the collection and many among them also start to bear fruits.  In another blog I wrote about 'smoking' the cempedak fruits....go here to learn how it is done...>>>>http://myussop.blogspot.com/2009/11/smoking-cempedak-fruit.html

At the background on the right hand corner  are the tall Cempedak trees.