Wood apple

What it is

Wood apple is Limonia acidissima, a member of the citrus family with a woody shell. It is a different fruit from bael. Round to oval and about 5–12.5 cm (2–5 in) across, it holds brown, mealy pulp dotted with small white seeds.

The pulp is sticky, and the flavour runs from sour to sweetish, with a drying edge and a resin-like smell. It is scooped out of the cracked shell; for a drink, the seeds and coarse fibres are strained away.

Where it comes from

Wood apple grows naturally in the drier parts of India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Indochina. It is planted around villages and in parks across that range, and in Malaysia and Indonesia. In Sri Lanka, it is common in the dry and intermediate zones.

How it's eaten where it grows

In India, wood-apple sharbat begins with pulp scooped from the cracked shell, soaked in cold water, mashed and strained. Jaggery or sugar balances its sharpness, and roasted cumin, cardamom and black salt season it.

For wood-apple chutney, the pulp is pounded with salt, cumin seeds and red chilli powder, then with jaggery and a little water. Sri Lankan wood-apple cream is another preparation of the pulp. The pulp is also eaten raw, with or without sugar, blended with coconut milk and palm-sugar syrup for a drink, or frozen as ice cream.

How it's grown

Wood apple is a thorny tree that sheds its leaves and thrives in a monsoon or seasonally dry tropical climate. In Sri Lanka, a seed-grown tree takes about 10–15 years to give a harvest, and a grafted tree about five years.

There, ripe fruits are mostly gathered after they fall naturally from the tree.

When and where you'll find it

In India, wood apples usually ripen from early October through March. In Peninsular Malaysia, the usual window is October and November.

Besides the whole fruit, the pulp is made into jelly, jam and chutney, and into a bottled nectar: the pulp is diluted, passed through a pulper to remove seeds and fibre, strained and pasteurized. The jelly is purple, much like blackcurrant jelly.