Kasturi

What it is

An oval kasturi measures about 4.5–5.5 cm (1¾–2¼ in) long and 3.5–3.9 cm (1⅜–1½ in) wide. Green skin darkens as the fruit matures, becoming brown-black. Inside, the orange flesh is stringy and slightly rough, wrapped around a single hard stone.

Its fragrance is a big part of why most people in South Kalimantan prefer it. The flesh brings a little sourness as well as sweetness, with noticeable fibres.

Where it comes from

Kasturi comes from Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, and especially the province of South Kalimantan. Among Banjar families there, trees grow in yards and fields and pass from parents to children.

Living trees also form part of a conservation effort at Sultan Adam Forest Park. New plants have been raised both by ordinary propagation and by tissue culture, growing small pieces of plant material into whole plants.

How it's eaten where it grows

In South Kalimantan, kasturi is eaten fresh and added to iced fruit drinks. In Banjarmasin, it also becomes sari buah kasturi, a bottled fruit drink. In 2020, a family making the drink froze the extracted fruit during harvest so it could keep producing bottles until the next kasturi season.

How it's grown

Kasturi is an evergreen tree suited to wet tropical places without a dry season. Trees can be bearing regularly by ten years of age, and some trees inherited in Banjar yards are up to fifty years old. A single seed can produce several seedlings.

Harvesting can mean climbing: fruit buyers climb the trees, pick the crop and carry it to local markets.

When and where you'll find it

In South Kalimantan, kasturi usually fruits from November through January. Banjar families get the fruit from their own trees and by buying it at traditional markets. In Florida, the nursery Tropical Acres Farms has two types growing in West Palm Beach and has brought one to fruit in Loxahatchee Groves.