Page 58 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 25
P. 58
Food health
the persimmon. In their domicile 6. Gumvines exuberantly that during the
in the wild, African members Some of the roughly 17 season a family can reportedly
of the Family Ebenaceae also Landolphia species (Family collect hundreds of kilos of
produce widely enjoyed fruits. Apocynaceae), occurring mainly fruits a day, even from untended
And they could be much more in West and Central Africa, wild stands. The small, round
widely enjoyed. The fruits have bear masses of fruits that make seeds from the center of the
advantages: They are suitably tasty morsels. These “gumvine fruits are also edible. And the
sized for marketing on a large fruits” or “rubber fruits” look huge edible roots are so much
scale, attractive to look at, somewhat like apricots, with like a much better-known staple
and appealingly succulent and tough skins that are red, yellow, that their common name in
sweet. They are, however, very or orange in color. The plants English is “false yam.”
soft and delicate. This fragility is themselves are common and
at present the biggest—perhaps are obviously at home in the 8. Imbe
the only—barrier to ebony fruits African environment. They Food and travel writers
becoming a valuable, everyday, are forest lianas and sprawly commonly elevate Asia’s
Africa-wide food. shrubs nowadays admired for mangosteen into the lofty level
their jasmine-scented flowers as of “world’s most delicious
5. Gingerbread Plums much as for their plentiful fruits fruit.” However, the plant
Within virtually the whole of or the latex-filled stems that producing it happens to be only
sub-Saharan Africa—the vast once provided Europe and other one of 400 Garcinia species
stretch of territory between parts of the world with much of found across Asia and Africa.
Senegal and Madagascar— their rubber. Africa’s best-known member is
there exist a number of the imbe (Garcinia livingstonei,
interrelated wild fruits (Parinari 7. Icacina Guttiferae), a crooked tree
and kindred genera of the Icacina (Icacina oliviformis, whose soft and colourful fruits
Family Chrysobalanaceae) Icacinaceae) is a small, drought- brighten up markets from
with agreeable strawberry- resistant shrub forming dense Senegal to South Africa. This
like flavours. These so-called stands in the West African and small, orange-coloured delight
gingerbread plums can have a Central African woodlands and provides a juicy pulp that has a
texture firm enough to crunch plains. Although the species pleasantly sweet-to-acid flavor.
like a crisp apple. Usually is truly wild, several million East Africans have dubbed it
red or yellow in color, these people rely at various seasons “King of Fruits.” Even those
plum-sized delicacies lack upon its separate products: specimens that are unusually
the sourness typical of wild fruits, seeds, and tuberous sour prove notably appealing on
fruits (and of true plums, roots. The fruits are usually a hot afternoon.
for that matter). Millions of consumed fresh. Bright red and
aficionados, notably children, plumlike, they have a sweet 9. Medlars
love their crunchy sugariness, and pleasant flavor. The plants In East, Central, and Southern
and consume them in quantity. grow so densely and yield so Africa at least eight species of
58 | we tell the true afrikan story
