Jambu Epal... New Variety? Old Gimmick !

The ‘new variety’ of Jambu had been in the market for few years, but still many are not aware of its existence.

Visitors to Cameron Highlands will surely encounter this fruit at either Kea Farm or Brinchang night market.  Priced for a hefty RM10 for 3, it come in two attractive colours: Fuji-apple-red and granny-smith-green, vacuum packed in clear PE bags. 

Consumers Association of Penang ( CAP ) had in 2007 warned the public about this ‘new variety’ of guava.   According to CAP, the guava was actually normal jambu batu berbiji ( Psidium guajava ), peeled, soaked in coloured sugar solution.  The coloring agent used are E133 Brilliant Blue and E102 Tartrazine for the light green colour; and E122 Carmoisine for Fuji-apple red respectively.

The product is correctly labeled as ‘Jambu Jeruk’.  However, information on coloring agent is Ec177, which is non-existence.  Also, E509 Calcium Chloride is used.

  

Florals @ Cameron Highlands 2

爱情果is the name the local Cameronians call it, translated to ‘love fruit’ in English. It is so called due to its mixed taste of sweet, sour and bitter … the taste of LOVE.

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It is originated from South America, where it is called tomate de árbol, literally means tree tomato. The name tamarillo was adopted in New Zealand to distinguish it from ordinary tomato, and soon it has become the standard commercial designation for the fruit.

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Tamarillo, Solanum betaceum, is a family of the Solanaceae family. It is also called Cyphomandra betacea.

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The fruit is egg-shaped berry, about 4’’ length and 2’’ width. Fruit colour varies from purple, red, orange to yellow. The tree can grow up to 6 meter in height.

Zucchini or courgette is a small summer squash. Along with some other squashes, it belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. Zucchini is the more common name in North America, Australia, Germany and Italy; while courgette is more commonly used in Britain, New Zealand, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and South Africa.

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‘Zucca’ is the Italian word for squash, and ‘zucchina’ is its diminutive, become ‘zucchine’ in the plural. However, ‘zucchino’, the masculine form, become ‘ zucchini’ in the plural.

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‘Courgette’ is from the French word for squash. It is a diminutive of ‘courge’

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Zucchini can be yellow, green or light green, and generally have a similar shape of a ridged cucumber, though a few cultivars are available that produce round or bottle-shaped fruit.

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In culinary context, zucchini is a vegetable, which means it is usually cooked and presented as a savory dish or accompaniment. Botanically, it is an immature fruit, being the swollen ovary of female zucchini flower.

Florals @ Cameron Highlands

Garden strawberry, a species of Fragaria, belongs to the family Rosaceae. There are more than 20 described Fragaria species and many hybrids and cultivars.

The garden strawberry was first bred in Brittany, France in 1740 via a cross of Fragaria virginiana from eastern North America, which was noted for its favor, and Fragaria chiloensis from Chilie and Argentina brought by Amédée-François Frézier, which was noted for its large size.

Cultivars of Fragaria x ananassa have replaced, in commercial production, the woodland strawberry ( Fragaria vesca ), which was the first strawberry species cultivated in the early 17^th century.

Technically, it is an accessory fruit : that is, the fleshy part is derived not from the ovaries, but of the hypanthium. So, the seeds are the actual fruits of the plant, and the flesh of the strawberry is modified receptacle tissue.

Persimmon is from the genus Diospyros of the Ebenaceae family. There are several species of edible persimmons :

Diospyros digyna – black persimmon / black sapote –native to Mexico. Its fruit has green skin and white flesh, which turns black when ripe

Diospyros discolour – Mabolo / velvet apple – native to the Phillipines. It is bright red when ripe

Diospyros kaki – Japanese persimmon 柿子- originated from China, it is the most widely cultivated species. It is edible in its crisp firm state, but has its best flavor when allowed to soften

Diospyros lotus – date plum – Native to southwest Asia and southeast Europe, it was know to the ancient Greeks as ‘the fruit of the gods’

Diospyros virginiana – American persimmon - Native to eastern United States.

Sweet corn, ( Zea mays ) also know as maize , or corn, originated from American continent. RM10 for 8 ears, the corn are sweet. even eaten raw. It is also best consumed after steamed, boiled or grilled.

Sweet corn is the result of a naturally-occurring recessive mutation in the genes which control conversion of sugar to starch inside the endosperm of the corn kernel.

The fruit of sweet corn is the corn kernel, a type of caryopsis. The ear is a collection of kernels on the cob.

Chayote 佛手瓜( Sechium edule ), is an edible plant that belongs to the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae.

Chayote was first domesticated in Mexico, where the fruit is used in both raw and cooked forms. When cooked, it is similiar to summer squash. Raw chayote can be added to salads or salsas, and it is often marinated with lemon or lime juice.

In Taiwan, chayotes are widely planted for their shoots, known as 龍鬚菜, literally means dragon-whisker-vegetable.

Daylily is the common name of Hemerocallis, a member of Hemorocallidaceae famliy, originated from Europe and east Asia.
Hemerocallis are perennial. The flower of most species open at sunrise and wither at sunset, yet some are night-blooming.

The flowers of some species are edible and are use in Chinese cuisine. They are sold fresh or dired in Asian market as 'golden needles' ( 金针).

Hoya is a genus of 200 - 300 species of tropical climbing palnts in the family Apocynaceae, native to southern Asia, Australia and Polynesia. This genus was named by botanist Robert Brown, in honour of his friend, Thomos Hoy.

Hoyas grow well indoor, preferring brigt but not direct sunlight, but will tolerate fairly low light levels at the expense of rapid growth and blooming.




Anthurium, is a large genus of about 600 - 800 species, belonging to the arum family ( Araceae ). The species has neotropical distribution : mostly in wet tropical mountain forest of Central America and South America, but not found in Asia.







Sunflower ( Helianthus annuus ) are annual plants native to the Americas, from the family Asteraceae ( formerlly Compositae ). What is usually called the flower is actually a head of numerous florets drowded together. The outer florets are the sterile ray florets, while the inner florets, called disc florets will mature into what are traditionally called sunflower seeds,but are actually the fruit ( an achene ) of the plant.

The florets are arranged in a sprial pattern where the number of left spiral and the number of right spirals are successive Fibonacci numbers. Typically each floret is oriented toward the next by approximately the golden angle, 137.5°. Typically, there are 34 spirals in one direction and 55 in the other ; on a very large sunflower there could be 89 in one directionand 144 in the other. This pattern produces the most efficient packing of seeds within the flower head.