The Apple Of Sengkubang : A Unique Fruit From Coastal Area

Berembang Fruit (Mangrove Apple)

This time, I’d like to write an article remembering my childhood. When I was a child, I used to race for taking the fruit  with my school-friends after classes, and the fruit is called as Berembang.
The fruit is a fruit that grows in salty aqueous coast. And incidentally, I grew up in the coastal village of Sengkubang.

In Latin, this fruit called as Sonneratia alba. Berembang tree grows in tropical areas from Southeast Asia, Southern China, Northern Australia and the Pacific islands. This plant produces fruit that can be eaten as a vegetable even though it is less well-known. Berembang young fruit is very sour and is used as a food flavoring. Berembang also referred to as pagapate (Papua New Guinea); pagatpat (Philippines); tapoo, tamoo (Myanmar); Lamphu (Thailand) and baanchua (Vietnam).
According to some sources say that berembang young leaves can be eaten raw or boiled and can be eaten with Sambal Terasi, Budu, tencaluk and so on. The young fruit can be processed into Sambal and eaten with rice.

The Efficacy and Nutrition of Berembang
Berembang, the ripe fruit contains 80 g of water, protein (2.3 g), fat (1 g), carbohydrate (9.4 g), fiber (5.7 g), Ash (1.6 g), phosphorus (50 mg), Calcium (40 g) and energy 235 kiloJoule for every 100 g of fruit. Berembang fruits taste like 'cheese', whether it’s eaten raw or cooked. There is a high content of pectin in the fruit of berembang. Berembang fruit can be used as a medicine to reduce coughing. The leaves can be finely ground and mixed with salt and it is very good for being attached to the wounds and stopping the blood. The trunk of berembang is a bit soft and is often used as firewood. Berembang aerial roots can be picked and dried and used as a cork (Cork), which contains 10% tannin material and it is useful for shining the leather.

How to Eat Berembang Fruit?
The people in my village often eat and dip the fruit with salt or soy sauce mixed with cayenne pepper and a little of sugar.

Thus, an article about the fruit that was called by my biology teacher as "Apel Sengkubang”. He named it so probably because the fruit is easy and is usually found in the coastal areas around Sengkubang Village.
Hopefully, in the future this fruit can be processed into a new type of food consumption for the people.
Have you ever eaten this fruit KEy fellas? Well, if you haven't , why don't you give it a try? :)

For more information about this fruit, click the link below :
The Apple of The Coastal Area

Compiled and Written by : Septian Adinegara