The Forbidden Fruit
I can still vividly remember how I used to attack the bag of this delicious fruit in the back of my dad’s car like an animal. Terminalia Catappa fruit, known as tropical almond, was hard to find in Qatar’s fruit market. This fact has always made me excited for our family trips to Bahrain because it meant that I would be able to binge on all the different colors of the tropical almond fruit. With the blockade on Qatar and not being able to go to Bahrain anytime soon, having a taste of my favorite fruit has become forbidden.
The almond-shaped fruit usually comes in three different colors burgundy, yellow, and green. The fruit’s size is small to medium, and most of the time, all of the colors have a juicy red flesh from the inside, but sometimes the heart of the yellow and green ones is off-white. I remember grabbing the burgundy ones first because, with every bite, the pigmented sweet red bloody juice will cover my lips like a fancy lipstick, which made me satisfied as a child because I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup at an early age.
The thin outer layer of the fruit is crunchy yet tender; it’s also sweet, but it has a slightly acidic flavor. When you first bite the fruit, the rich exotic fresh juice will burst into your taste buds, and when you bite deeper, you will feel the rough but gentle layer of the shell inside, which has a settled citrus sugary flavor. With every bite, the sour perfume of the fruit will make you eager to eat more. All of the colors have the same taste, but the yellow ones are the sweetest because they are always chubby, ripe, and have a sugary floral taste.
This large tree grows in tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and Australia because it needs hot weather, which means that it can be easily planted in Qatar. It has many common names like tropical almonds, country almonds, Indian almonds, Malabar almonds, sea almonds, and beach almonds. This tree belongs to the leadwood tree family of Combretaceae, which makes it useful for its wood. The leaves of this beautiful tree are helpful for a lot of different things. For example, it can be used as a wrapping paper. But it can also be used in a more sophisticated way in folk medicine because the leaf itself contains antibacterial properties. Research done by Abul Manzur, who works in the department of microbiology in Bangladesh, confirms that “T. catappa leaf extracts showed better antibacterial activity than commercially used antibiotics.” Moreover, it is known that the young leaves of this tree are used to cure headaches and colic.
I did not know that the seed inside the fruit is the most valuable thing about it, and I think most of the people in the region are not familiar with this fact too. It’s known in the area that we are always buying the fruit to enjoy its tasty flesh but not the bitter core. The fruit shell can be cracked open for the inner golden crunchy seed that has a nutty flavor. The light solid seed can be eaten raw or roasted; also, it can be used in a lot of different things, including cooking. For example, the extracted oil from the seed can be used for cooking, and the nuts can be added to desserts, soups, bread mixes, and more. The precious seed is beneficial to our health too. For instance, a science article states that “both the fruits and seeds of tropical almond fruit contain calcium and have a great effect on reducing cholesterol levels in the body.” This means that this fruit is not only delicious but full of benefits for humans.
Finally, the amount of information I have found about this fruit made me appreciate it more and more because it is not just a good taste. Sadly, it has been a long time since I haven’t tasted this gem. I’m not able to go to Bahrain anytime soon, but growing a Terminalia Catappa tree at home will be easy since I live in a tropical maritime climate. Having my favorite fruit around me will satisfy me because I will be able to make use of all the benefits of this tree, especially the leaves. At the same time, I will be able to taste the delicious, wholesome fruit and its seeds every now and then.