jambu mawar - rose apple

my former neighbour who lived in a grand old house had a jambu mawar in her garden. it was a tall tree growing at the fringe of her sprawling garden. the grand old lady would inspect the garden at about eight every morning. i would time my fruit gathering session before her inspection time. if the ripened fruit was hanging low, i would pluck it. those that were beyond my arm's reach, i would use a projectile and tried to bring them down. sometimes the noise would bring the old lady out of the house. then i would disappear hastily.

rose apple or jambu mawar may be a shrub but generally a tree reaching 7.5m to 12m in height, and has a dense crown of slender, wide-spreading branches.

the fruit is nearly round, oval or slightly pear-shaped, 4-5cm long with smooth, thin, pale yellow or whitish skin, covering a crisp, mealy, dry to juicy layer of yellowish flesh, sweet and resembling the scent of rose in flavour.

rose apples bruise easily and are highly perishable. they have to be freshly picked to be crisp. the birds will usually get to them before humans.

rose apples are eaten out-of-hand by children. they are seldom marketed.