Have you tried Santol? I bet all Filipinos reading this know this fruit so well. We all know this fruit as "SANTOL" but recently I discovered it's English term is "Cotton Fruit" with scientific name Sandoricum koetjape. I was amazed by how it's English name then I realized, yeah, it actually looks like a bunch of cotton balls inside.

Cotton fruit - a tropical, commonly known in the Philippines as "santol" is a round yellow orange fruit, sometimes red orange in color with thick leathery skin. It has a thick layer of meat and a bundle of cotton-ball-like pulpy seeds inside.

The pulp has this sweet and sour taste and it's best paired with rock salt.

Also good in soy sauce with a little sugar in it and chopped chilies. The meat can be eaten, too, but I peel off the skin along with the first layers of the meat leaving only the soft part of the meat since it has a bitter after taste.

We used to collect fallen fruits from a big santol tree in the barrio. I am fond of climbing trees before but not as good as my brothers and other cousins who are used to it. I only climb smaller trees like the star fruit and cacao. Lol! My father won't allow me to climb higher since I'm too small and besides, I fear heights.

Along with other tropical fruits such as semi-ripe papayas, guava and green mangoes, santol is sold peeled and packed in a plastic with soy sauce, salt, vinegar and chopped chilies which we enjoyed during break time at school.

Those were the days when we enjoy snacking fruits more than junk foods. It's way better since it contains natural vitamins and minerals.

There are delicious recipes for santol. It's sweet and sour taste can be a good match for soups like sinigang. I remember my father cook "Sinigang na Baboy sa Santol" and the taste is so good. It's better than the sinigang seasoning 'coz it has a natural flavor.

Health Benefits of Santol

Let's take a look at some healthy contributions of Santol to our body.

Boost Immune System - since it has a specific component called quercetin, a pigment that is commonly found in plants, vegetables and fruitst that help boost the immune sytem.

Control Body Weight - it contains fiber that's needed by the body to control calorie intake. The fiber also helps with constipation and diarrhea. Plus it prevents inflammation of the hemorrhoids since it is said to be effective against constipation.

Battle Anemia - like any other fruits, it's fortified with iron which is ideal for those who have low levels of hemoglobin. The iron content could also help those who experience heavy menstruation.

Cancer Prevention - it's contains a lot of antioxidants that help prevent cancer.

Good for the Teeth - eating or biting santol could produce more saliva than usual which gives you a healthy teeth because the number of bacteria could vary due to the presence of saliva.

Reduce Bad Cholesterol - santol can reduce bad cholesterol leaving the good cholesterol to work in the body.

Insecticide, termite and mosquito repellant - the bark of it's tree can be used as an insect and termite repellant. While mosquito coils made up of santol is said to be proven and effective.

Rich in Vitamin C and Antioxidants.

source:

https://www.practicalhealthandwellnesssolutions.com/health-benefit-santol-cotton-fruit

Here's another link that gives more facts about the fruit : https://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/santol-fruit/

Making a Santol Jam, Two Ways

Last week my husband's cousin came to visit and brought us a bag of Santol. It's way too much for me and I can't consume all of it at once. They are going to ripen and will eventually rot if not consumed in a few days, so, I invited my cousins to come and shared it to them.

As I was not able to eat my share immediately, it almost got rotten but I tried to save them. I took away all the rotten parts and separated the seeds from its meat. I searched over the internet which I could make something out of that over ripe santol.

Then I found a Youtube video on how to process the fruit to make a jam and good thing it showed two ways. Both meat and seeds can be saved from getting wasted. I tried the procedures and it came out good.

Heres how to do it!

Santol Meat Jam

Ingredients:

Santol meat cut into tiny cubes

water

sugar

1 tbsp lime juice

pinch of salt

Note: measurement is 2:1; if you have 2 cups of meat water and sugar should be 1 cup.

Procedure:

Cook santol meat in boiling water.

When meat becomes tender, mash them using fork or a mashing tool.

Add the sugar, lime juice and a pinch of salt.

Stir continuously to well incorporate all the ingredients together.

Continue stirring until it's sticky and caramelized.

Allow to cool and transfer in glass jars.

Santol Seed/Pulp Jam

Ingredients:

Santol seeds

water

sugar

1 tbsp lime juice

pinch of salt

Note: do the same measurement with the meat jam

Procedure:

Soak the seeds in water with salt for atleast 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Wear a hand glove then squeeze the seeds to remove the pulp.

My seeds were too thick that I had to cook it along with the mixture. Or if the seeds has few pulps left in it, then you could just throw it away.

Now, boil the water with the squeezed pulp of santol in it.

Add sugar, salt, and lime juice and let it cook until thick.

Stir continuously until it turns out very sticky.

Transfer to a glass jar when cool.

So this is my santol seed jam. Obviously it could not be spread so, eat it just like a candy. However, the pulp is spreadable and taste way better than the meat. So, you can use this on your bread.

So far I made two jars of meat and a jar from it's seeds. These are made from three pieces big santol fruit called the "Bangkok" variant of santol.

There are other many ways to cook a santol fruit but for me, I like to eat it as a fruit with salt or with soy sauce. It's still the best way for me. But if you like something new, try to search in the internet for great recipes a santol can make.

Anyway, here's the video of that Santol Jam. Credits to the owner of this video.

By the way, I didn't watch it all the way and made my own steps, but try to watch for proper procedures and try to compare if I did it right. So far my recipe turned out as jam, so maybe I did it right. 🤣 🤣