Fruit stand

Wax jambu ($5 per pound) is a member of the Myrtle family; rose apple, wax apple, water apple, Java apple, and bell fruit are colloquial names for multiple species. When I've tried these in Bangkok, Xiamen, and Taipei, they've generally been crisp, and moist if not juicy, but to me the sweetness is almost a trick of the mind; it's more a lack of any balancing tartness.

These Florida-raised specimens don't have the vibrant hue, be it rosy or golden, of the fruits I've enjoyed in the past, and the flavor is correspondingly pale. Perhaps they're not quite ripe.

First noted on Chowhound's regularly updated Chinatown fruit report.

Fruit stand
Canal St. near the southeast corner with Mulberry St., Manhattan

Comments

[Dave Cook]

Perhaps they're not the sort of fruit that continues to ripen once harvested. Several days later my Taiwan-raised Mandarin teacher, who calls them lian wu, was willing to credit these as "not sour," no better.

[Dave Cook]

A commenter on my Flickr photostream observed that this crisp fruit also serves well as a vehicle for the spicy pasty sauce in rujak. (Thanks, Sammy!) On reflection, I've already enjoyed jambu just that way. Note the sliced red fruits in this hawker's setup.

[Jay]

In Manila, Philippines we call it Macopa. Probably it resembles an inverted cup.