Santol: Where, Bro?

Santol: Where, Bro?

Tristan Jay Pinca

 

            Have you ever wondered to the English translation of ‘Santol’? Most Filipinos will jokingly say “Where, Bro?”. To take this question seriously, do you know that Santol is known as Cotton Fruit? It is because of the white pulp inside of the fruit that looks like a soft cotton. This tropical fruit, Sandoricum koetjape, commonly grown in different countries in Southeast Asia.

 

            According to botany experts, native cotton fruit is originated in Indochina and Peninsular Malaysia. After several years of trading, cotton fruit has been introduced and naturalized in different tropical countries such as Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Borneo, India, Indonesia and Philippines. There are two kinds of Cotton Fruit, the red variety and the yellow variety, the only difference is the color. Both fruits have 5 to 6 inedible seeds. The peel has a thin outer rind and thick inner rind. A white pulp mostly has sweet-sour taste.

 

            If you want to have this kind of fruit, you need to wait for its harvest season between August and September. Its tree needs to be fertilized twice and an enough amount of water annually. The Santol Tree is started from being a seed tree, and when it turns 3 to 4 years old, it will produce fruits. After 2 to 3 years, it will consider as a mature tree and can grow up to 150 feet. It may produce more than 18,000 fruits in a year.

 

            If you already harvested your cotton fruit, you can eat its pulp with or without spices. The inner rind is edible also. If you want to partner it with rice, you can use it as a flavor in your favorite dishes like sinigang and bicol express. In some areas, they use it as an alternative candy for dessert and an alcohol drink to heat up your body. To complete the setup, you can sit on the chairs and eat on a table made from its woods and barks.

 

            Cotton fruit is really essential to human body. It is rich in vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B and C, phosphorus, calcium, iron, carotene and dietary fiber. If you have health problems, food scientists proved that it has anti-cancer, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that helps you maintaining healthy body. It boosts up your metabolism, increases immune system, rise saliva production, kills oral bacteria and lowers cholesterol. However, incidents may happen. Be careful of eating this fruit because if you unintentionally swallow the big seeds of cotton fruit, it may lead to intestinal obstruction and perforation. In the Philippines, more than 200 cases of obstruction were recorded yearly while in Thailand, some abdominal surgery has done, and 6 out of 30 patients died 28 days after the surgery.

 

            This is the time for the Cotton Fruit to take the spotlight. With its benefits, it does not matter how you will call this fruit in its local names, English name and scientific name. People should value all the benefits of Cotton Fruit. People should consume it efficiently and effectively. Keep in mind that what you have at your backyard is the blessing you are looking for.

 

Photo courtesy: https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/625578204470827468/