March to May, trees in Sri Lanka are abundant with fruits that are not found in the shops, says Mr. Fernando – the owner of Roots, the fresh fruit juice chain. You don’t have to go far to look for these fruits either, he continues, for you’ll find at least some of these in any thicket. Most of these fruits are full of vitamin C as evidenced by its strong sour taste, but the best part is that these fruits grow without a drop of man-made chemicals and are thus concentrates of pure natural delights.
It is nearly impossible to list all the wild fruits that grow in Sri Lanka, for there’s such a variety. However, some of the wild fruits that are popular among children are:
•
Maadam – tiny, round dark purple fruit that’s rather sweet, but also very tannin
•
Kalukamberry – tiny round fruit that’s purple-black in color and is rather sharp in flavor
•
Mulberries – in appearance these look like tiny dark red caterpillars, but the riper the fruit gets, the juicier it is
•
Lovi – this is a dark red-purple fruit the size of a cherry. It’s very sour and quite tannin
•
Ugurassa – very much like a lovi, though much sweeter and is bruised before eaten
•
Jam pera – these are small guavas, the size of cherries. The riper the fruit is, the darker red the skin is, which is soft and contains very succulent flesh, but relatively large seeds
•
Knami-knam – a knobby yellowish-green fruit that grows at the base of its short tree. The ripe fruit defies its rough appearance with its sweetish flesh. There is a stone inside the fruit.
•
Laavulu – a heart-shaped yellow fruit and is the size of a large pear. Full of vitamin A, this fruit tastes a little bit like boiled egg yolk
•
Kottamba – small nut-like seeds found inside a hard casing. Children gather the fallen kottamba and crack it open with the use of a sharp stone. The reward is too miniscule for the effort!
•
Jumboo – a spongy-like fruit that’s very juicy. The pink variety is small, but sweeter where as the white variety called pini (dew) jumbo can be as large as a large apple, but not as sweet. However, both are great thirst quenchers
•
Junbola – these are football sized fruits similar to grapefruits, but with pink flesh that are not as bitter as grapefruits
Fruits to Seek in March & April
