Boutique dates!

In the basement supermarket at lotte next to ratu plaza I came across a peculiar thing. A date stand.

Arranged under glass on platters like fine chocolate truffles were at least 2 dozen types of Saudi date

Ive always loved dates from when I was a child but all I've ever had available to me were imported pitted Iranian dates or in recent years the soft Californian medjool date.

But here in front of me is a range of colours shapes and sizes, like a candy store, for dates
They come in all tones, short and long

One type stood out for it's price, the Ajwa variety, and something about being planted and eaten by the Mohammed the founder of Islam.
This humorous and enjoyable site explores some Islamic medical beliefs

And had this to say of the Ajwa date;

Eating seven dates, specifically of Ajwa variety is supposed to build up immunity for for all sorts of poisons (Arsenic, Strychnine and Cyanide?).
Narrated Sad: Allah's Apostle said, "He who eats seven 'Ajwa dates every morning, will not be affected by poison or magic on the day he eats them."
Sahih Bukhari 7:65:356
Narrated Saud: The Prophet said, "If somebody takes some 'Ajwa dates every morning, he will not be effected by poison or magic on that day till night."
Sahih Bukhari 7:65:66

I didn't try it. Maybe I wasn't in a holy mood, maybe I wanted to avoid offending the eager Muslim salesgirl if i didn't like them!

So I tried a couple of others. Quite good. I think I'll be working my way through their selection in the next 2 months and reviewing their dates!

As a gardener I was happy to find the dates contain seeds. I've germinated Californian medjool dates before quite easily and so I imagine ill be sending home quite a few carefully labelled and cleaned bags of date seeds for trial.
I don't believe timescale is a factor in viability as a 2000 year old judaean date seed was germinated 5 years ago and is nearing fruiting age!
I just hope the Saudis haven't messed with the dates to kill the seed!
I'd like to taste a fresh Ajwa one day...maybe make some date wine :)

Fruits, nuts, leaves and crackers

Melinjo (gnetum gnemon) is a remarkable tree that I'm surprised isn't better known yet outside it's homelands.

It's a member of an ancient lineage of plants the gnetales, family gnetaceae with one genus gnetum and 30-35 species found across the tropical regions of the world.

It

Alang Alang grass

Alang Alang (Imperata cylindrica) is very interesting plant, a real Faustian entity
Its ranges widely over Asia and tropical and subtropical Australia and seems to go hand in hand with human impact on forests.
It's a weed, and a blessing. It chokes out land when forests are cleared and suppresses it's regrowth. The vietnamese are said to call it American grass because it took hold after their ecocidal aerial spraying campaigns to defoliate vietnamese forests.
It is highly flammable and regenerates after fire quickly.frequent burning allows it to outcompete other grasses and tree species.
Yet Blady grass, American grass, Kunai or Alang Alang is also extremely useful.
It does after all stop total soil erosion in damaged landscapes. It Also captures leachable nutrients and holds them in the ecosystem.
It supports whole communities in Papua who live and farm amongst the anthropogenic Kunai grasslands.
Alang Alang is the grass thatch of Asia and it was the primary means of putting a roof over ones head until very recently for millions of people.

This is however the first time ive ever seen it in a culinary situation..
And I don't know for what!! Yet

BANDUNG DAILY PHOTO: "Nyiru" and "Leunca"

There is a Sundanese fruit I've sometimes seen in markets called leunca
So far I'm not entirely sure of it's botanical identity. Web sources claim it as solanum nigrum but there are a few doubts in my mind when examining the fruits.
For a start they are quite large, large for most specimens of solanum nigrum I have ever seen. This species has many common names and a cosmopolitan distribution.
This blog discusses it a little and the comments by readers attest to the fondness some have for it.

BANDUNG DAILY PHOTO: "Nyiru" and "Leunca"

The author mentions American sources claiming solanum nigrum is toxic.Well it is, but it's not too ;) in the same way tomato leaves are toxic, as are green potatoes.
If this Plant is indeed solanum nigrum then it's yet another case of it's use as a vegetable.
In west Africa s nigrum leaves are boiled and eaten as a popular spinach.
Also in Papua new guinea where it's name is karakap. I was shown this by a Papuan lady at the diversity gardens community garden in townsvillle.

So... Is it or isn't it?and what does it taste like and how to use it
All questions to be answered soon!

Jengkol, the controversial food of Java!

Jengkol is a large bean like seed from a Javanese forest tree (Archidendrum pauciflorum)

Its is to culinary tastes what i guess garlic is to the west. Some love it, some hate it, many love it but still avoid it due to its effects on breath and body odour.
Jengkol is the stinky food, the stinky addictive food ;)

The jengkol tree is a forest tree in the legume family, it is cultivated widely on Java and some other islands as well as scattered throughout Asia as far as Burma.
The edible portion is the large seed, like a bean, inside the pod fruits.

Jengkol contains a toxin called jengkolic acid

Ubi Ungu, an Okinawan import

Ubi Ungu

Ubi Ungu, or Purple Sweet Potato (Kumara for our NZ viewers) is a newcomer to bali.

Originally from Okinawa, japan.

The sweet potato itself is a cultigen from Peru that somehow managed to be traded westwards prior to the European exploration of the Pacific ocean. Its presence seems to indicate at least some level of human contact between the polynesian seafarers travelling east and the ancient civilizations of western south america. Apart from its presence from antiquity, the name for the root, Kumara, is identical between the New Zealand Maori and the indigenous farmers of Peru.

Sweet potato also had a significant impact in New guinea. At some point probably in the last several hundred years pieces of this vegetatively propagated crop made their way into the remote Papuan highlands. Prior to this the staple food were indigenous Yams (Dioscorea spp.). The sweet potato is a much more productive crop and allowed the population to explode much as the potato introduction oreland released a population from chronic hunger and cased a population boom.

When western explorers first entered the New guniea highlands they were amazed by the large populations they found living in near isolation from the outside world - and owing in most part to one plant. Today it remains the staple of highland Papua.

The sweet potato sure is a nutritious crop, rich in sugars and starches, minerals and in pigmented strains full of valuable carotenoids (Pro Vitamin A) and betains.

It can be boiled, roasted, fried, turned to snack foods, confectionary, flour,

Indonesia is home to many varieties of this root crop and i will talk about those in future, varieties like Ubi Cilembu...

But what grabbed my attention last time was the amazingly purple Ubi Ungu.

Generaly they seem smaller than the regular sweet potatoes and the skin is a dark purple.

You may first see them in grocers as a potato chip in clear bags, the rich purple looks unnatural!

These are a well made crisp fried in Palm kernel oil.

But the way i preferred it most was simply boiled or steamed and eaten plain. They are a filling food, and sustain energy over a long time.

Pisang - Indonesias many Bananas

Pisang is Bahasa indonesia for Banana, and there are many many kinds.

The banana most like the Cavendish banana that graces the shelves of most Australian supermarkets is pisang Ambon. Long large and yellow.
However I've probably had enough of this kind of banana to last me a lifetime! Here are a few bananas you may encounter to whet your appetite..

Pisang hijau "green banana"

Also know in Balinese as Biu Gedeng.
As the name suggests it remains green when ripe.
This variety is regarded as being good for people with heart disease.

Pisang susu "milk banana"

A small sweet and creamy banana with very soft yellow skin when ripe. A true dessert banana.

Pisang Mas (Gold Banana)


Pisang Uli ( )
This banana is the best for pisang kukus, steamed bananas, although it can also be fried eaten ripe.

Pisang Tanduk (Horn Banana)

A frying banana or fir making Kolak Pisang^

Pisang Rajah


Pisang Ambon


Pisang Batu ( Bal: Biu batu) "Stone Banana"

A diploid banana, that means it is fertile and produces many hard seeds in the flesh. The flavor is nice but the seeds are tooth chippers! So in effect it's inedible.
The Balinese preserve many unusual crops and animals purely because of their ceremonial value, I will endeavour to find out if this banana is one of these.
In Ciputat, Banten Java, locals grow Pisang batu mainly to use the leaves for plates and wrappings for food. They occasionally eat the fruit despite the seeds as the flavour is sweet and delicious.
The plant itself is 3-4m tall with black stems much like the dessert banana variety "goldfinger"

Pisang Kepok/ Burung

Usually for feeding to pet birds but can also be steamed.