Page 9 - AHATA

Saturday 11 February 2023 locAl
A10

Fruit Loose

Fresh fruits make a tropical Druif
holiday’s picture complete. There is no chance you
Whether you see the man- did not bump into one of
go’s hanging in the trees or the sea grape trees while
the fresh fruit cocktail on the spending your vacation on
side table of your pool bed, Aruba. The sea grape plant
the link is there: you are in is often used in ocean-side
the tropics. Aruba grows landscaping in sandy soil
her own fruits and veggies right on the beach and it
and there are some pretty produces clusters of fruit
out-of-space local species that resemble grapes. Are
you may never had heard sea grapes edible? Yes,
of, but really healthy and they are. Animals enjoy sea
delicious. grapes and humans can
eat them as well, and they
Mispel are used to make jam. They
This is a fruit with a charac- contain very low calories
ter (5-10 cm/2-4 inches). and sugar, enabling good
It does not ripe until it is bacterium to digest food
picked or falls off the tree. and excrete waste quickly
Mispel is hard with a sand- which is effective in pre-
paper like texture when im- venting constipation. Sea-
mature, soft and juicy when son: Sep-Oct.
ripe. It's technically a berry,
but contains a skin similar to Shimaruku
that of a kiwi. It's grainy and Maybe Aruba’s most popu-
sweet, with a light, musky lar wild fruit tree. You may
flavor. The sap or gum from have noticed cars at the
the tree is also a source of side of the road and peo-
'chicle' the original ingredi- ple picking those red ber-
ent used to make chewing ries. Well, that’s Shimaruku.
gum. Rich in tannins, anti- The local habit to stop for
oxidants shown to contain these delicious fruits goes
anti-inflammatory com- from generation to genera-
pounds, and vitamin C, es- tion. Its fruit’s degree of sour
sential for healthy immune depends on the amount
function. Season: year- of rain it gets. Red Shima-
round. rukus tend to taste better
than orange. The fruit has
Kenepa super power: a true vi-
Ovoid green fruit that tamin bomb. Adults only
grows in bunches on trees need to eat 3-4 of these
up to 30m high. The fruit is berries to meet their daily
related to the lychee and recommended amount of
have tight, thin but rigid Vitamin C. Season: Rainy
skins. Inside the skin is the months (Oct-Jan).
tart, tangy, or sweet pulp
of the fruit covering a large Tamarind
seed. The pulp is usually A delicious, sweet fruit that
cream or orange colored. has a wide variety of uses
Kenepastrengthens the and applications, both for
immune system, and pre- medicinal and culinary pur-
vents the reproduction of poses. It is a medium-sized
bacteria and viruses in the bushy tree with evergreen
body. This fruit is highly rec- leaves and fruit that devel-
ommended to treat lung ops in pods characterized
infections and urinary tract by long, brown shells. In-
infections. It also helps to side is a sticky, fleshy, juicy
cure insomnia and rejuve- pulp, which is the Tamarind
nates the nervous system. fruit. Both sweet and sour
Season: the fruit typically in taste, the fruit contains a
ripen during the summer. significant level of vitamin
C, as well as vitamin E, B vi-
tamins, calcium, iron, phos-
phorous, potassium, man-
ganese, and dietary fiber.
There are also a number of
organic compounds that
make tamarind a power-
ful antioxidant and anti-in-
flammatory agent. Season:
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