Sumptuous Sineguelas

There is an abundance of sineguelas or Spanish plum this season which you can find in the North and other parts in the South such as in Laguna and Batangas.

A typical summer fruit in the Philippines, sineguelas has a sweet-sour taste and eaten when ripe by biting and sucking its flesh or pulp. Sineguelas tree is unique in that its lush leaves fall off, a sign that its fruits are about to sprout.

Not only is sineguelas delicious but it is also nutritious especially when ripe. It is rich in vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C, phosphorous, iron, calcium, fats, and several important amino acids. It also helps strengthen the immune system and eliminate waste products in the digestive system. Eating sineguelas also helps strengthen bones and muscles and address spasm and anemia problems.

To eat sineguelas, put them in a small bucket, sprinkle some salt, then shake until the salt has fully coated the fruit. This gives a satisfying sweet-sour-salty taste to the fruit. Instead of salt, some use sugar to make the fruit sweeter. Whether with added salt, sugar, or none at all, sineguelas is savory with aromatic juice every one will love to nibble at.

Sineguelas is also used in cooking in some regions in the country, such as in sinigang and kinilaw. Some also make marmalade out of sineguelas pulp, or its juice made into wine.

Sineguelas ranges in price from P180 to P200 per kilo. Come, fill your bag with sineguelas!