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What Is an Elephant Apple?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

The elephant apple, or wood apple, is a tropical acidic fruit native to Southeast Asia. The fruit is eaten in both ripe and unripe stages, and it is common in chutneys and other pickled dishes. The fruit comes into season in the fall months, depending on the region, with maturity in October and November in Malaya and a longer harvesting period, October through March, in India. The wood apple is an acquired taste: in addition to being very mealy, it has an odor that some consumers find offensive.

The elephant apple tree grows up to 25 feet (7.5 meters) tall, in tropical and subtropical regions, and it can also be found at relatively high elevations. It is a dense tree that prefers full sun or very light shade and has dark green, toothed, leathery leaves. The tree has a core of a few branches reaching up and long drooping branches returning to the earth. The bark is scaly and spined. The flowers of the tree are white to pale red in color and have a distinctive odor that many find very pleasant.

Woman baking cookies
Woman baking cookies

The fruit of the tree is enclosed in a hard husk, which must be cracked to get at the fruit. This can be accomplished by hurling the fruit at a hard surface or by using a hammer to crack the husk open. The elephant apple itself is brown and mealy, with astringent and resinous notes. It also has a strong smell, along with numerous small seeds.

While the fruit was originally thought of as a source of food for the poor, recent years and more mechanized harvest techniques have popularized it in Southeast Asia. The knobbly, misshapen fruits are still relatively unknown in the United States, like many Asian fruits. The wood of the elephant apple is very hard and prized for construction applications in which durable wood is needed. During the rainy season, the tree exudes a gum that is used in some parts of the world to replace gum arabic, and it appears in watercolors, inks, varnish, and other applications in which gum arabic might normally be used. Products of the tree are also used in some traditional Indian medicine, and the plant is said to be soothing to the digestion.

Should you encounter elephant apples available for purchase, look for fruit still in its outer husk. Shake it gently to see whether the fruit has become dislodged from the sides of the husk, which will indicate that the fruit is ripe. When you open the fruit, the pulp should be a rich brown in color. Elephant apple is also available canned, although it is often not perfectly ripe in that case.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a DelightedCooking researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a DelightedCooking researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

anon345580

Where can I buy this fruit?

LisaLou

A cold wood apple drink has a very distinct taste and can be quite refreshing if you like the taste of it. It has one of those tastes that you either like or don't like right away.

You mix the pulp and fruit with some cold water. It might take a few minutes to get this mixed up, and then you will want to run it through a strainer. Once it has been strained, add some black salt, pepper and some cumin. The cumin is what really helps bring out the flavor.

I like it best served chilled and will even add some ice cubes if it is not cold enough for my taste.

anon143377

What is the highest elevation at which the elephant apple tree is to be found?

anon15891

please give details regarding wood apple beverage.

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