Averrhoa bilimbi | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Oxalidales |
Family: | Oxalidaceae |
Genus: | Averrhoa |
Species: | A. bilimbi |
Binomial name | |
Averrhoa bilimbi | |
Synonyms [1] | |
|
Averrhoa bilimbi (commonly known as bilimbi, cucumber tree, or tree sorrel [2] ) is a fruit-bearing tree of the genus Averrhoa , family Oxalidaceae. It is believed to be originally native to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia but has naturalized and is common throughout Southeast Asia. It is cultivated in parts of tropical South Asia and the Americas. It bears edible but extremely sour fruits. It is a close relative of the carambola tree.
Averrhoa bilimbi is a small tropical tree reaching up to 15m in height.[ citation needed ] It is often multitrunked, quickly dividing into ramifications. Bilimbi leaves are alternate, pinnate, measuring approximately 30–60 cm in length. Each leaf contains 11-37 leaflets; ovate to oblong, 2–10 cm long, and 1–2 cm wide, and cluster at branch extremities. [3] The leaves are quite similar to those of the Otaheite gooseberry. The tree is cauliflorous with 18–68 flowers in panicles that form on the trunk and other branches. The flowers are heterostylous, borne in a pendulous panicle inflorescence. There flower is fragrant, corolla of 5 petals 10–30 mm long, yellowish green to reddish purple. [4]
The fruit is ellipsoidal, elongated, measuring about 4 – 10 cm and sometimes faintly 5-angled. [5] The skin is smooth to slightly bumpy, thin, and waxy turning from light green to yellowish-green when ripe. [3] The flesh is crisp and the juice is sour and extremely acidic and therefore not typically consumed as fresh fruit by itself. [6]
A. bilimbi is believed to be originally native to Moluccas, Indonesia, the species is now cultivated and found throughout Indonesia, Timor-Leste, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar (Burma), and Malaysia. It is also common in other Southeast Asian countries. In India, where it is usually found in gardens, the bilimbi has gone wild in the warmest regions of the country. [7] It is also seen in coastal regions of South India.[ citation needed ]
Outside of Asia, the tree is cultivated in Zanzibar. In 1793, the bilimbi was introduced to Jamaica from Timor and after several years, was cultivated throughout Central and South America where it is known as mimbro. In Suriname, this fruit is known as lange birambi. Introduced to Queensland at the end of the 19th century, it has been grown commercially in the region since that time. [7] In Guyana, it is called Sourie, One Finger, Bilimbi, and Kamranga.[ citation needed ]
This is essentially a tropical tree, less resistant to cold than the carambola, growing best in rich and well-drained soil (but also stands limestone and sand). It prefers evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year, but with a 2- to 3-month dry season. Therefore, the species is not found, for example, in the wettest part of Malaysia. In Florida, where it is an occasional curiosity, the tree needs protection from wind and cold. [7]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(September 2020) |
In Indonesia, A. bilimbi, locally known as belimbing wuluh, is often used to give a sour or acidic flavor to food, substituting tamarind or tomato. In the northwestern province of Aceh, it is preserved by salting and sun-drying to make asam sunti, a kitchen seasoning to make a variety of Acehnese dishes. It is a key ingredient in many Indonesian dishes such as sambal belimbing wuluh. [6]
In the Philippines, where it is commonly called kamias and ibâ, it is commonly found in backyards. The fruits are eaten either raw or dipped in rock salt. It can be either curried or added as a souring agent for common Filipino dishes such as sinigang , pinangat and paksiw . It can be sun-dried for preservation and used as a spice. It is also used to make a salad mixed with tomatoes, and chopped onions, with soy sauce as dressing.
The uncooked bilimbi is prepared as relish and served with rice and beans in Costa Rica.
In the Far East, where the tree originated, it is sometimes added to curry.
In Malaysia and the Philippines, bilimbi or kamias is made into a rather sweet and sour jam, with a flavor profile similar to prunes or plums.
In Kerala and Coastal Karnataka, India, it is used for making pickles and fish curry, especially with sardines, while around Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Goa the fruit is commonly eaten raw with salt and spice. In Guyana and Mauritius, it is made into achars/pickles.
In Maldives where it is known as bilimagu, it is pickled with aromatic spices and eaten with rice and local Garudhiya (fish soup). It is also used in various Maldivian local dishes such as Boakibaa and Mashuni as a souring agent.
In Seychelles, it is often used as an ingredient to give a tangy flavor to many Seychellois creole dishes, especially fish dishes. It is often used in grilled fish and also (almost always) in a shark meat dish, called satini reken. It is also cooked down with onion, tomato, and chili peppers to make a sauce. Sometimes they are cured with salt to be used when they are out of season.
Bilimbi juice (with a pH of about 4.47) is made into a cooling beverage. It can replace mango in making chutney. Additionally, the fruit can be preserved by pickling, [8] which reduces its acidity.
The fruit contains high levels of oxalate. Acute kidney failure due to tubular necrosis caused by oxalate has been recorded in several people who drank the concentrated juice on continuous days as treatment for high cholesterol. [9]
In Malaysia, very acidic bilimbis are used to clean kris blades. [10]
In the Philippines, it is often used in rural places as an alternative stain remover. [11]
In the region of Addu in Maldives, the flowers of the bilimbi plant were commonly used in the 20th century as a cloth dye.[ citation needed ]
Calamansi, also known as calamondin, Philippine lime, or Philippine lemon, is a citrus hybrid cultivated predominantly in the Philippines. It is native to the Philippines, parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, as well as parts of southern China and Taiwan.
Carambola, also known as star fruit, is the fruit of Averrhoa carambola, a species of tree native to tropical Southeast Asia. The edible fruit has distinctive ridges running down its sides. When cut in cross-section, it resembles a star, giving it the name of star fruit. The entire fruit is edible, usually raw, and may be cooked or made into relishes, preserves, garnish, and juices. It is commonly consumed in Southeast Asia, South Asia, the South Pacific, Micronesia, parts of East Asia, the United States, parts of Latin America, and the Caribbean. The tree is cultivated throughout tropical areas of the world.
Tamarind is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae.
Phyllanthus acidus, known as the Otaheite gooseberry, Malay gooseberry, Tahitian gooseberry, country gooseberry, star gooseberry, starberry, arbari, West India gooseberry, Grosella, or simply gooseberry tree, is one of the trees with small edible yellow berries in the family Phyllanthaceae. Despite its name, the plant does not resemble the gooseberry, except for the acidity of its fruits.
Averrhoa carambola is a species of tree in the family Oxalidaceae native to tropical Southeast Asia; it has a number of common names, including carambola, star fruit and five-corner. It is a small tree or shrub that grows 5 to 12 m tall, with rose to red-purple flowers. The flowers are small and bell-shaped, with five petals that have whitish edges. The flowers are often produced year round under tropical conditions. The tree is cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions for its edible fruits.
Sinigang is a Filipino soup or stew characterized by its sour and savory taste. It is most often associated with tamarind, although it can use other sour fruits and leaves as the souring agent such as unripe mangoes or rice vinegar. It is one of the more popular dishes in Filipino cuisine. This soup, like most Filipino dishes, is usually accompanied by rice.
Cauliflory is a botanical term referring to plants that flower and fruit from their main stems or woody trunks, rather than from new growth and shoots. It is rare in temperate regions but common in tropical forests.
The generic term for condiments in the Filipino cuisine is sawsawan. Unlike sauces in other Southeast Asian regions, most sawsawan are not prepared beforehand, but are assembled on the table according to the preferences of the diner.
Peranakan cuisine or Nyonya cuisine comes from the Peranakans, descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Penang, Malacca, Singapore and Indonesia, inter-marrying with local Malays. In Baba Malay, a female Peranakan is known as a nonya, and a male Peranakan is known as a baba. The cuisine combines Chinese, Malay, Javanese, South Indian, and other influences.
Mangifera caesia is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. Known in English as jack or white mango, among other names. It belongs to the same genus as the mango and is widely cultivated in areas of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.
Spondias dulcis, known commonly as April plum, is a tropical tree, with edible fruit containing a fibrous pit. In the English-speaking Caribbean it is typically known as golden apple and elsewhere in the Caribbean as pommecythere, June Plum or cythere. In Polynesia it is known as vī.
Kinilaw is a raw seafood dish and preparation method native to the Philippines. It is more accurately a cooking process that relies on vinegar and acidic fruit juices to denature the ingredients, rather than a dish, as it can also be used to prepare meat and vegetables. Kinilaw dishes are usually eaten as appetizers before a meal, or as finger food with alcoholic drinks. Kinilaw is also sometimes called kilawin, especially in the northern Philippines, but the term kilawin more commonly applies to a similar lightly grilled meat dish.
Antidesma bunius is a species of fruit tree in the family Phyllanthaceae. It is native to South Asia, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, and northern Australia. It is commonly known as bignay, after its native name in the Philippines, where the fruits are commonly used for making bignay wine and jams. It is also known more ambiguously as Chinese laurel, Queensland cherry, salamander tree, wild cherry, and currant tree.
Botok or ꦧꦺꦴꦛꦺꦴꦏ꧀ (Bothok) is a traditional Javanese dish made from grated coconut flesh which has been squeezed of its coconut milk, often mixed with other ingredients such as vegetables or fish, and wrapped in banana leaf and steamed. It is commonly found in the Javanese people area of Java Island (Yogyakarta Special Region, Central, and East Java. It has a soft texture like the mozzarella cheese and is usually colored white.
Diacrotricha fasciola, commonly known as the starfruit flowermoth, is a species of moth in the family Pterophoridae. It is widely distributed throughout south-east Asia.
Pickled fruit refers to fruit that has been pickled. Pickling is the process of food preservation by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. Many types of fruit are pickled. Some examples include peaches, apples, crabapples, pears, plums, grapes, currants, tomatoes and olives. Vinegar may also be prepared from fruit, such as apple cider vinegar.
Sambal is an Indonesian chili sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of a variety of chilli peppers with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. Sambal is an Indonesian loanword of Javanese origin. It originated from the culinary traditions of Indonesia and is also an integral part of the cuisines of Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Sri Lanka. It has also spread through overseas Indonesian populations to the Netherlands and Suriname.
Spondias pinnata, sometimes also known as hog plum, is a species of tree with edible sour fruits. It is native to the Philippines and Indonesia, but has been widely naturalized in South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Southern China, and the Solomon Islands. It belongs to the family Anacardiaceae. This species, among several others, has sometimes been called the "wild mango" in other languages and was once placed in the genus Mangifera. It is found in lowlands and hill forests up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft).
Media related to Averrhoa bilimbi at Wikimedia Commons