BATWAN

The taste is sour but not acidic, a tartness that promotes saliva in the mouth without impacting on the stomach, the way vinegar or even kalamansi often does. This is the kind of sourness only batwan can deliver. An important part of the souring arsenal of cooks in Negros Occidental and some parts of Panay, batwan is actually found in abundance in Bohol and Mindanao. However, there is no tradition of eating this fruit in these places said Ponchit Ponce-Enrile, general manager of the Eduardo Cojuanco, Jr. and Sons Farms in Negros Occidental. It seems that only Negrenses and cooks in certain parts of Panay have discovered the flavors of batwan. Batwan is close cousin of mangosteen, being under the genus garcinia. And indeed, they have similarities; batwan actually looks like green and stunted mangosteen.

Usually selling between P30 to P40 a kilo, seasonal batwan can command as much as P80 a kilo when it disappears from the markets, which cannot be forecasted. The manner to propagate batwan has remained a mystery, except in the ECJ and Sons farms here in Negros Occidental, where some 10 hectares have been planted to this fruit in what could very well be the country's first batwan plantation. Ponce Enrile said salting is one way of preserving batwan. However, while this traps its one of a kind sourness, it also retains its saltiness.

DALANDAN

The local orange. Or what's left of it. In the '60s, we had a variety of local oranges that were big, juicy and sweet. The ladu variety, which was common then, had a deep green and orange peeling that had the shape of, but was much bigger than, the ponkan. A really special variety which delighted many people was the suwikom variety, which had very firm but very sweet pulp bits. There were many varieties that grew in Batangas. Too bad a pestilence killed these oranges trees in the late '60s. Now we're left with these small fruits that are often too sour for eating, but are very juicy and perfect for making into juice.

DAYAP

The local lemon or lime. Among traditional cooks it is the critical flavoring for leche flan and macapuno because it keeps the rich desserts from being too sweet. I put a slice of dayap into my glass of Coke and noted that my soda had a fuller, heartier taste. Dayap is also said to be the equivalent of key lime, which grows in Florida and is often made into pies. I met an elderly woman in Bulacan who said that she sculpts the dayap rind before pickling the fruits when these are in season. I should see that work of art.

KALAMANSI
Very popular as a souring agent is the kalamansi. This little green lime, which is indigenous to the country, plays a giant role in Philippine cuisine. It is squeezed into juice and punches, into hot tea, over pansit, into arroz caldo, over charcoal-grilled fish, over kinilaw, and is an important ingredient in innumerable dipping sauces (sawsawan). When used as a sawsawan, kalamansi is often mixed with patis (fish sauce) or soy sauce for that indescribable sour-salty taste.

Don't throw away those kalamansi peels. They effectively wash away the lingering smell of seafood after picking on them with the hands. Or dip them into dishwashing solutions to produce a lemony fragrance. Enterprising Filipinos have come up with bottled pure kalamansi extract flavored with honey. It is a welcome idea as it spares us the task of having to squeeze each tiny fruit of its juice. Mixed with ice cold water it makes a refreshing drink. One restaurant even came up with a dessert called calamansi tart, in which this native fruit takes the place of lemon as the main flavoring.

MACAPUNO
The macapuno is a mutant of the coconut. Until I had to write this piece, I thought that the macapuno fruit is just an abnormal outgrowth of the regular coconut tree as I had learned as a child. Not anymore, the Philippine Coconut Authority corrected me. The Authority has developed macapuno trees that yield 80 per cent macapuno fruits. The trees grow in abundance in Albay where the Authority's research center is.

The macapuno fruit looks like the regular niyog except that it is bigger. Farmers have a way of knocking on the nut to determine if they have macapuno or niyog. The macapuno meat is as thick as the niyog but softer, making it easy to grate. Macapuno is cooked with sugar, sometimes with dayap for flavor, and served as a dessert. Local ice cream makers also have macapuno flavors.

MAKOPA

What a waste these makopas are when the trees are in bloom. The pink and bright red bells are so attractive and the trees produce so much fruit but, alas, there are so few takers. The best way to eat makopas is chilled, with a sprinkling of salt. Watch out for worms, though, as you reach the core. Or, make them into salads as some creative housewives have.

PAPAYA

This one versatile tropical fruit. When ripe, it is eaten fresh or mixed with milk and sugar to make a papaya shake. When still raw, it is cooked with chicken to make into tinola, or shredded and flavored with vinegar and spices to make into achara.

There are several varities of papaya. The solo is the mini papaya, so-called because it is meant to be eaten by just one person. Its orange-colored flesh is firm and sweet. The distinctive mark of the morado is that its flesh is pinkish. Unlike regular papaya, the morado flesh is not very sweet but it is light and refreshing.

SINEGUELAS

Many people always associated sineguelas with the spookiness of its tree before it bore fruit. The sineguelas tree sheds off all its leaves before it flowers, and the fruits appear just in time for the summer. Wait for the fruits to turn red because that's when they're sweet and juicy. Nutritionists tell us that the sineguelas is loaded with Vitamin C.

TIESSA

This heart-shaped, orang-yellow summer fruit is said to be one of the best sources of vitamin A. Eating tiessa is like eating boiled kamote (sweet potatoes), given its fibrous, sticky texture and thick flesh. But it has a cloying sweetness that makes one fruit too much for just one person to finish.

Source: www.filipinoheritage.com