Snake fruit? Has anyone tried this before?

[glenearnhart]

Just spent some time in Bali Indonesia and this fruit was given to us by our resort (middle one)
They called it snake fruit because of the skin. It was a very hard skin, but soft texture inside.
Wasn't too sweet... and just tasted 'ok'

[9B in Brazil]

I find snake fruit to be on par to roasted chestnuts.

[fruitlovers]

Real name is salak. There are lots of different kinds, and some can be quite good and even rather addictive, as in i bet you can't eat just one.

[Mvule101]

They germinate readily from seed. I have a whole bunch of seedlings from seeds brought from Thailand.

[pvaldes]

Is a short palm with horrid spines, therefore they need space (will turn into a nuissance in small gardens or greenhouses), and will have the common palm problems and requirements

[sahai1]

the ripeness can be temperamental, to the point to the professional growers I visited in southern Thailand would label and date the fruits after pollination.  Then they would keep records and compare to see which stage is best for harvesting.  Even so, each inflorescence will still vary in flavor as fruits can have 0-3 seeds, those seeds affect flesh and flavor as well.

Then the big flavor killers is after they harvest they flavor degrades, to the point where they are still edible but have a musty mushy sweet flavor.

Then.. finally, you have many different genetic varieties, and species, with flavors like sour lemon, plain apple, pineapple, etc.

Anyways, there is my 2 cents, Sala is one of my favorite fruits!  Plus the branches can be laid down and stacked to keep out animals and people!

 

Just spent some time in Bali Indonesia and this fruit was given to us by our resort (middle one)
They called it snake fruit because of the skin. It was a very hard skin, but soft texture inside.
Wasn't too sweet... and just tasted 'ok'

[fruitlovers]

They germinate readily from seed. I have a whole bunch of seedlings from seeds brought from Thailand.

That is probably a different species you got in Thailand than the ones in Bali. There are several different edible species of Salacca.

[All the fruit]

Most salak you get anywhere will be Salacca zalacca with a wide range of flavours. To get any other sp you usually need to get to the small native markets in Borneo or other remote areas.
https://youtu.be/I4Ukg8Q5KUw

[Chandramohan]

First fruits on my Salak.

[sahai1]

wow huge!  where did you get your seeds and what kind is that?  how is taste?

[Chandramohan]

They are from fruits I ate in Java and I think they are called 'Pondo'. They are quite sweet.

[sahai1]

They are from fruits I ate in Java and I think they are called 'Pondo'. They are quite sweet.

are these self pollinating like Bali?  they have the crisp clean taste kind of like an apple?  In Thailand problem is they have labeled all 'brown' Salak as "Sala Indo" which has made quite a problem identifying any Indonesian varieties in Thailand.  The taste is less  sweet then the sweet Sumalee Thai Sala, but much more meat, less juice, more firm, and no sourness at all.  However it looks like yours are much larger, and bearing at such a young age as well.

[fruitlovers]

Most salak you get anywhere will be Salacca zalacca with a wide range of flavours. To get any other sp you usually need to get to the small native markets in Borneo or other remote areas.
https://youtu.be/I4Ukg8Q5KUw

That's not really true. For example, a lot of the salaks in Thailand are Salacca wallichiana.

[All the fruit]

Yes, you are right. I forgot about Thailand. I was refering to Malaysia/Indonesia where S. zalacca is the only cultivated species im aware of

[Finca La Isla]

There’s also s. affinis seen here on a palm and the fruits mixed in with s. salacca.  Good red salak is juicier and can be quite sweet.
Peter

[All the fruit]

True, good sweet S. affinis was really tasty. But most affinis fruit they sell are horribly sour😖Fortunately they usually warn you. Found it mostly on small jungle farms or in the jungle in Borneo.

[Chandramohan]

They are from fruits I ate in Java and I think they are called 'Pondo'. They are quite sweet.

are these self pollinating like Bali?  they have the crisp clean taste kind of like an apple?  In Thailand problem is they have labeled all 'brown' Salak as "Sala Indo" which has made quite a problem identifying any Indonesian varieties in Thailand.  The taste is less  sweet then the sweet Sumalee Thai Sala, but much more meat, less juice, more firm, and no sourness at all.  However it looks like yours are much larger, and bearing at such a young age as well.

No, they have to be hand polinated. They are crisp and sweet, with a slight acetone like flavour. I believe they are S.wallichiana.

[chriskien]

True, good sweet S. affinis was really tasty. But most affinis fruit they sell are horribly sour😖Fortunately they usually warn you. Found it mostly on small jungle farms or in the jungle in Borneo.

Do you sell the fruit?

[All the fruit]

No, i did not take any seeds from Borneo. But next year im planning to collect seeds for Botanic Gardens and might maybe have some for private growers, too.

[chriskien]

There’s also s. affinis seen here on a palm and the fruits mixed in with s. salacca.  Good red salak is juicier and can be quite sweet.
Peter

do you sell the fruits? In costa rican, if i go to buy

[Finca La Isla]

Sure, salak is a commercial fruit for us.  There is a little these days but by late July I should have a more regular supply.  I also have salak plants for sale, ready for planting.  C2000
Peter