Salak

Salak
Various species of palms of the genus _Salacca_ in the subfamily Lepidocaryoideae. Grows in very low, dense, prickly clumps and on a short palm tree, with huge leaves up to 6m long. The tough skin of this golf ball-sized fruit is quite thin and strong and is easily peeled off. Inside are three or four segments of firm, creamy-beige flesh. The flavor of a ripe salak is intriguing, neither sweet nor sour. The fruit "buah salak" ["buah" means "fruit" in the Malay languages] that one comes across in rural markets throughout Malaysia is generally from _Salacca edulis, which is often cultivated. The fruit is brown, very roughly elongated pear-shaped, about 4 - 7cm long, covered all over with a remarkable coat of brown shiny scales that give them a rather reptilian aspect! As with many tropical fruits, it finds no taste equivalent in temperate fruits. The scaly skin is easily peeled off, revealing a firm shiny pulp which looks like and has the consistency of garlic. Good ones are sweet, with a perky dash of astringency and tannin (a bit like cooking apples).