Sugar palm fruit

What it is

The food comes from Arenga pinnata. Each whole fruit is roughly 5–8 cm (2–3 in) long and holds two or three seeds. The pale interiors of the young seeds, called endosperm, are boiled with sugar to make the oval, chewy pieces.

Those pieces come already prepared. The green peel of the unripe fruit holds calcium oxalate crystals that cause serious skin reactions, so the raw fruit isn't something you bite into.

Where it comes from

The sugar palm is native to Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar, and it's widely cultivated in India and Malaysia. It's common in secondary forest and in woodland near villages, and in the Philippines it grows mainly in natural forest. The same tree supplies several different foods.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Indonesia, kolak pairs kolang-kaling with banana in sweet coconut milk. Manisan kolang-kaling jahe simmers the prepared pieces with ginger, sugar and pandan. These sweets are among the foods eaten to break the Ramadan fast.

In the Philippines, kaong adds chew to halo-halo: shaved ice and evaporated milk with sweetened beans, jackfruit and jellies. Flan, purple-yam jam or ice cream can finish the glass.

How it's grown

Arenga pinnata is a tall palm that can reach 20 m (66 ft). Old leaf bases and coarse black fibres cloak its trunk. It grows best with warmth, light and plenty of water. In North Sumatra, irregular flowering keeps the fruit harvest going throughout the year.

When and where you'll find it

In North Sumatra it's harvested all year round. The form that travels is the prepared seed interior, canned or packed, often cooked in syrup. In the US, Filipino groceries are a route to kaong; Phil-Am Market in Moreno Valley, California, lists Kapuso sugar palm fruit.