Monday, June 1, 2009

Siniguelas or Spanish Plums



Say hello to Sir Lancelot - our pet lion cub! Hey! He's an authentic lion imported from South Africa! Even if he was looking intently at the siniguelas, he will not bite :) All he does is sit around the sofa the whole day!

Ok, back to Siniguelas or Spanish plums :) This is a fruit which I don't think South Africans lions are familiar with. Since it is summer here, lots of summer fruits come out and Siniguelas is one of them. It is purplish green when unripe (like the photos shown here). It tastes a bit tart and sweetish at this state, the skin is taut and crunchy when you bite into it. This is sooo yummy eaten with a few grains of salt! It makes my mouth water just writing about this. I have heard before that this is the favorite fruit of singer Gary Valenciano.

The fruit turns either yellow or deep red when ripe. Then, it becomes sweet. Still yummy and oozing with juice with every bite. Beware the large seeds however. :)

The siniguelas is a small fruit, approximately one inch to one a half inches in length. It looks like this:



Why write about this fruit? Because this fruit is a part of my childhood summer memories of playing in the streets with the neighbors. Remember jackstone, hopscotch, and Chinese garter? And of course, munching on these Siniguelas (aren't they the perfect size for small kiddie hands?) dipped in salt...

11 comments:

Galatians 5:22 said...

Aw... Your lion is so cute!! I hope he won't eat me.. :)

HyperBaby143 said...

I've eaten a lot of those fruits, too! I love to eat them after school before..

Unknown said...

i agree... siniguelas was a part of my childhood too... :) lots of good memories...

Oggi said...

How I miss siniguelas, specially the manibalang.

Jude said...

This really takes me back. We had a siniguelas tree in our backyard and there was always a lot of salagubang around. I really like it when soft and ripe.

Soli Deo Gloria said...

Thanks, Galatians!

Hello Hyperbaby! I would expect vendors to be selling these around schools as well :)

Thanks, Mikky!

Soli Deo Gloria said...

Hello Oggi! Manibalang is how I like my siniguelas, too! Maybe it is time we export some :)

Hi Jude! I would love to have a siniguelas tree! Am dreaming of course :)

Rumela said...

Spanish Plums are finally maturing and I'm eating my share. Last weekend as I hiked through a village in the valley below my town, I met two old women and a young man coming down the road, each carrying two buckets filled to their brims with Spanish Plums. On my walk to the market there's one place where the sidewalk is dangerously slick with squashed, fallen plums. thank you for shearing your post.

Unknown said...

One of the three Philippine fruits that I haven't seen fresh here in the US yet. :-(. lIke everyone said, it's part of our shared childhood memories - comfort fruit if you will. BTW, the other two that I haven't seen are santol and kamias.

Marie said...

I eat siniguelas after having an exercise from the gym..really so good for your body!

Canada Viagra said...

I love this fruit, it is one of my favorites, thank you so much for the information...

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