Wild About Fruit

WILD ABOUT WILD FRUIT

Contributed by Rosemary Parkinson

Most of the fruit in these pages have only in the last few years been relegated to “fruits dat sell” previously considered simply ‘wild’, some just backyard fruit trees…many demoted to feeding pigs but today, ‘wild fruit’ is big business particularly in Barbados. A trip to Swan Street (Bridgetown) has vendors behind their neatly organized trays, little bags with salt ready for those who like to dip, understanding salesmanship with shouts of “forget de Nike, Adidas, St. Laurent, Gucci an’ de ress…I gots de bess’…designer fruits…Bajan designer fruits…yes! come fuh yuh designer fruits now… not dear like Channel an’ Rihanna’s perfume…buh smellin’ an tastin’ too sweet.” Because of this new fame, documenting some of these ‘wild delights’ adding recipes, medicinal properties, botanical names for easy identification, could encourage farming and production of such to be considered exotic by gourmet Chefs and medicinal by herbal practitioners. 

HOG PLUM

The bright yellow, fine skinned hog plum (Spondias mombin) and the reddish purple heavier skinned Jamaica or Julie plum (Spondias purpurea) used to be eaten ripe with gusto straight from the tree, or green dipped in salt that came with the warning “it gine hurt ya belly” – the seed spat out unceremoniously as the flesh was sucked off in typical island fashion Now they too are sold on the streets, neatly packaged in small bags, salt on the side. High in vitamin C, plums can be also made into juices, jellies, stewed down in syrup perfect as a dessert on ice cream. Green, plums can be curried, made into pepper massala or chilli type pastes. The juice of plums is a diuretic – the roots mixed with leaves, pulped, boiled in water are known as a febrifuge or used as a lotion or for health baths. Crushed with lime juice, leaves are effective for worms in children, an infusion made for treatment of eye infections.

DUNKS

Native to the Old World tropics, common in many islands, our little wild ‘dunk’ (Ziziphus mauritiana) has many synonyms such as (Ziziphus jujuba)  and even with its reputation as an invasive there are over 50 common names for it such as Chinee apple, Coolie plum, Petit pomme, Tao and Yuyubi amongst them. The flowers of the dunk smell to high heavens, not pleasant to be around when in bloom – no wonder in some countries the fruit is called putrea. A smooth berry with a single seed, dunks can go from acid to sweet, and locals are experts at spotting dunk trees from afar that produce the ‘fattest sweetest’ ones. ‘Dunks-season’ is December through February; fruit are yellow to orange when ripe – the leaves highly nutritious, and when dried, a laxative. Applied on ulcers or cuts dunks help healing; eaten, they aid fevers and pulmonary problems. Seeds can be a sedative – can halt nausea, abdominal pains, even vomiting in pregnancy – mixed with oil they can be rubbed on arthritic and rheumatic spots. Leaves are poultices; teas help liver health, fever and asthma. The paste from the bark applied on sores heals, the juice of the root said to alleviate gout. An infusion of the flowers is used as an eye cleanser. This fruit would be a winner to farm!

FAT PORK  

A native Caribbean shrub with a purple plum-like edible fruit (Chrysobalanus icaco) aka ‘fat pork’ has an inner white flesh that resembles pork fat.  An astringent that literally “ties up ya mout”, it has one central seed, cream-coloured flesh and maroon purple skin that looks like someone punched up each individual fruit on the tree. Carib Indians used its wood to make torches with French West Indians still using the bark to make a tea that treats ‘bad stomach’. 

SEAGRAPE

Seagrape (Coccoloba uvifera) is found mostly near the coastal areas, soaking in the sun; its rounded, saucer-like leaves used to make little boats for children; its former glory a cupped receptacle for the sought-after Bajan sea egg. Fruits grow in clusters like grapes, and once they turn reddish-purple, are ready to eat. Planted to stabilize beach frontages, or as light barriers to protect sea turtles, cross-pollination is necessary for fruit to develop. Seagrape filled with Vitamic C, is also a good anti-oxidant; makes an amazing vinegar; is delicious in jellies, jams and wine, its wood used in woodwork and for charcoal; its sap perfect for dyeing and tanning leather. Called ‘mulberry’ by early settlers, from 1696 onwards, this tiny fruit went through a series of names by different botanists before Liannaeus’ second edition in 1762 finally rested on seagrape. 

POMEGRANATE

Pomegranate (Punica granatum) or Anar in Arabic, crops up in religious cultures such as Islam, Judaism, even Christianity – a symbol of prosperity and ambition amongst ancient Egyptians and of fertility for Persians and Chinese; used to this day in the Ayurvedic medicinal structure; it’s a thorny shrub with a fruit consisting of hard rounded shell that once once opened, contains numerous seeds covered in a pinkish-looking juice sac. Filled with Vitamin C, low in calories, rich in phosphorus and potassium, difficult to juice, it’s worth the effort of eating because of its medicinal qualities. Tea made with the bark or the mature but unripe fruit relieves diarrhoea and removes intestinal parasites. Pomegranate is used to make Grenadine syrup. 

TAMARIND

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) grows on huge trees up to 25m tall whose white and yellow flowers turn into oblong pods – about 5” long and 1 ½” wide containing 6 – 10 dark brown seeds encased by a tart, edible, brown pulp that contains good quantities of Vitamin C, B, calcium. Important as antioxidants, working as a mild laxative because of its constituent organic acids, pronounced ‘tambrin’, it’s difficult to pass a bearing tree and not pick a few – again the good Caribbean way is to break the pod, rip the flesh and seed away from the threads that hold the fruit together with the teeth. Flesh removed with tongue, the seed is spat out in one perfect action. Birds do not have much work to do spreading seeds in our islands! Great in sauces especially the hot pepper kind; tamarind can also be used in chutneys, its pulp in curries. 

ACKEE 

Melicoccus bijugatus, known as guinep in some islands, chennette in Trinidad, ‘ackee’ in Barbados, is a native of the Guianas (South America). A small round, hard-skinned green fruit that grows in clumps on tall thickly leafed trees; once the skin is cracked, the edible flesh is creamy pink, gelatinous in texture surrounding a seed. The island recipe for eating – hold fruit with fingers, crack shell with teeth, suck fruit (similar to Lychee) into mouth, nibble off flesh, spit seed into garden. Excuse us, we are a bunch of natural fruit ‘spitters’ with a panache that result in more trees. In season, these favoured fruit are sold side-ah-road tied together in bundles, many brought by stealthy vendors direct to the car. A decent vendor will allow a taste before purchase, God forbid one sour ackee is purchased for this could bring on a theatre of profanities worthy of a washing-out-of-mouth with blue soap.  

JAMOON

According to Indian mythology, Lord Rama (the seventh avatar of the Hindu God Vishnu) kept himself alive on ‘jamun’ during his 14-year exile in the forests. Lord Krishna’s skin colour is compared to the fruit in the Indian Sanskrit epic ‘Mahabharata’ and in parts of India beautiful eyes are compared to ‘jamun’ with leaves used to decorate marriage pandals (pre- fabricated structures used in celebrations and festivals).   Jamoon or Jamun (Syzygium cumini) is considered to the “Fruit of the Gods”, revered also by Buddhists. Called also Jambul, Indian Blackberry, Java, Portuguese, Black or Jambolan Plum, this large evergreen tree, a native of India and its bordering countries, lives for over a hundred years flowering between March and May – its white sweet fragrant flowers rich in a nectar that yields high quality honey in apiculture. The single-seed sweet but tart fruit bears in June/July but does not ripen at the same time so, must be picked daily individually, much like grapes which they resemble. Jamoon has a soft dark purple almost black skin with a lighter purple flesh – when eaten it will stain the mouth and tongue for a few hours. Birds can make a mess of the paint on one’s car, so never park under a Jamoon tree. Apart from its longevity, what should be of interest to farmers is Jamoon’s many uses and medicinal values. Rich in Vitamins C, A, riboflavin, natural acids, sodium, potassium, calcium, manganese, zinc, iron (just to name a few of the many good things); it contains natural glucose and fructose and contains high antioxidant activity. The stem & bark contains tannin, gallic acid, resin, phytosterols (natural good steroids). The seed from which essential oils can be extracted contains glycoside, jamboline, gallic acid; the flower, terpenoids (good organic chemicals). Jamoon is a very strong acidic fruit that needs to be eaten after meals washed down with milk. The juice of Jamoon is soothing and cooling allaying thirst; as a digestive it activates the liver and spleen; is a good remedy for urinary diseases; helps diabetes by purifying the blood (boil fruit in double its weight in water till soft, crush after cooling, strain, drink 3 times daily), cures anaemia, stops skin eruptions, relieves throat infections (grind seeds, add honey to make pills, suck 2 pills 3-4 times a day – great remedy for singers); helps in respiratory and stomach diseases, has shown to break up renal stones (eat fruit or to 10 ml juice add a little rock salt, take twice daily OR mix 10-15 gms young leaves, add 2-3 black peppercorns, crush well, take twice daily OR take ½ tsp powdered seeds with yoghurt daily).  As a relief from insect bites grind 2 leaves, mix in water, drink. Dried seeds are also medicinal:  ½ tsp powdered seeds with 1 tsp honey in the evening helps to prevent the conversion of starch into sugar thereby benefitting in the control of blood sugars in diabetes – it’s claimed that 1 tsp taken every morning on an empty stomach helps to manage the disease. The bark, boiled in water until thick, cooled and applied to the affected area relieves pain and inflammation in gout.  Jamoon’s medicinal uses are far more numerous and certainly worth studying. The wood of the Jamoon tree is exceptionally strong, tough, long-lasting, water resistant, used in making agricultural implements, house building, furniture and makes a perfect charcoal. The bark is used in tanning and dyeing industries; the leaves in a variety of tooth powder brands, their extracted essential oils used in soap making and perfume, and of note for farmers – leaves are great as fodder for sheep, goats and cattle. 

DOG DUMPLING 

‘Dog Dumplin’ (Morinda citrifolia) originally southeast Pacific began its life in Barbados abhorred by locals because of the fruit’s strong putrid smell when rotting. It was treated with so much disdain it was fed mostly to hogs. When Bajans discovered that the lowly‘ dog dumpling’ equalled the much revered healthy Noni in demand worldwide; suddenly everyone was picking ‘em, selling same for wild prices prompting my friend, the late poet and author, Jeanette Layne-Clarke in her book ‘More Bajan Badinage’ to write: “Well, knock me down wid a feather! Lookah wuh could happen in Bridgetown – Okras selling nex’-kin to neffin, But dog dumplin’s is ten dollars a pound’!….De drink suppose to bring down high blood pressure, Help sufferers from diabetes; it could on-crossgare- eyes, top yuh telling lies, An’ straighten parrot-toes an’ knock knees!… But ef business folk could promote dog dumplin’s, An’ sell dem at ten dollars a poun’, Nex’ t’ing yuh know, easy-easy so, Somebody gine start marketin’ cow-dung!” Leaves are used as a poultice to relieve rheumatic and arthritic pain – its infusions treating fevers and ulcers. Rich in Vitamins C, B; filled with minerals, the fruit is considered an antioxidant, its goodness extracted from placing plastic bags over the fruit whilst still on the tree, allowing it to rot and ferment into a liquid supposed to be the star cure-all; the relaxing and pleasant-tasting tea made from the non-stimulant leaves having antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial properties; the leaves and seeds containing omega 3 fatty acids.  Scientist will claim there’s not enough studies done to prove its anti-cancer and many therapeutic claims but traditional healers have been using it for some 2,000 years with much success.

PRIMROSE 

Now I hear Bajans calling it ‘primrose’, ‘plumrose’ or ‘malay fruit’ (Syzygium malaccense) and when in season, you see them in mounds on street corners. Called Otaheite Apple in Jamaica – the name derived from Tahiti, from whence they came in the 16th & 17th century with Captain Bligh – Trinidad has adopted a more French name, Pommerac. A prolific ‘spreader’ through bats enamoured with the fruit – it’s one of the prettiest in the fruit kingdom with a cleverly artistic flower and bright red, sometimes pink thin outer skin with a white flesh that surrounding one large seed; the fruit is almost sexy to eat making fine preserves, jellies, jams, wines even sauces and marinades. Perfect stewed down like prunes, used in dessert pies such as crumbles or raw in salads – unripe fruit of the Primrose can make bar pickles. Very young leaves can be consumed raw with rice or even cooked as greens. Seeded fruits, seeds, bark and leaves have shown antibiotic activity helping blood pressure levels. The wood makes strong bowls – the bark pounded together with salt, strained through coconut husk fibre, the juice poured into deep cuts, is said to have excellent healing qualities – even if producing horrific screams from patients!

BAJAN CHERRY
Last but not least, it would be remiss not to mention the Barbados Cherry for, it is indeed almost the national fruit of the island. A large, extremely thick bushy shrub reaching up to 25′ in height; it’s a difficult one to harvest, a fact birds enjoy! The fruit is slightly acid with three small yellowish seeds that make for difficult juicing. Blending whole, then straining works – the remaining pulp frozen is used as a concentrate – just add water and sweeten to taste. Filled to the max with ascorbic acid (vitamin C), this cherry is highly acclaimed worldwide for its anti-oxidant properties with the added value of being beneficial for coughs, colds, diarrhoea, liver ailments, relieving sore throats by gargling but, mostly, in Barbados it is used widely in syrup, juices, chutneys, jellies, jams, toppings, ice cream and even to make local wine. All of the above-mentioned ‘wild fruit’ can be made into wine as Barbadian Kenrick Boucher of Shalana Wines has proven. Served as a dessert wine, just before freezing, these wines show that our wild fruits can make you…well…happy and wild! Cheers!