Stuffed cucumbers are a delicacy, and if you have travelled in the Andes, you may have come across something even better, namely a dish made from the fruits of Cyclanthera pedata – also a cucurbit – which grow a big cavity wanting to be filled with other food stuffs as if to prove “intelligent design”. There is now much hype surrounding the supposedly “pharmacological effects” from swallowing capsules containing a flour made from the dried fruits, but we derive much greater pleasure from eating a well cooked “pepino de rellenar”, or caigua or achojcha as the fruit is known in mountainous areas of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

We have never seen this crop outside its native range, and so it was quite a surprise when our friend Dr Thimmaiah [email hidden; JavaScript is required], an agricultural specialist advising the Ministry of Agriculture in Bhutan, pointed out to us the popularity of Cyclanthera pedata in that country and neighbouring North-Eastern India and Nepal. Elderly informants in Bhutan remember this crop being cultivated by their forbears so it can’t be a recent introduction. It is now grown all over Bhutan, in kitchen gardens and for commercial purposes, at considerable altitude, particularly in the regions of Punaka (altitude 1000-1200 masl), Trashigang (2200-2300 masl), Chukka (2300-2600 masl), Paro (2400-2800 masl) and Bhumtang (2700-3400 masl).

The common names used in Bhutan for this plant include “slippery gourd”,  “olochoto” and “kichipoktho” (crow’s beak), “korila” (also used for bitter gourds) as well as “ajangkairu” and “carabanthu”. Dr Thimmaiah describes the plant as a vigorous annual climber, which grows up to 5-7 meters length. Propagation is by seeds. The plants are spaced at 1 by 1 meters and staked after the first leaves have appeared. In kitchen gardens the plant is allowed to creep on fences. The first fruits can be harvested in about 45 days after planting, and the plants bear fruits for several months. The plant also does well when cultivated in plastic greenhouses during winter months. Slippery gourds fetch a good price in the market. In the early season it is sold at about US$ 2 per kg, at peak season at about US$1 per kg.

In Bhutan the slippery gourd is cooked with local cheese and chillies. The fruit are cut in halves longitudinally and briefly boiled in salted water. Local cheese and chillies are put to the pan and cooked for another 5 minutes. This dish it is called ‘datsi’ or ‘olochoto datsi’.

Photo courtesy: Shree Padre, 2011

Shree Padre from Kerala, India, has sent us this attractive promotional booklet on jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus). He also settles the eternal question about the “king of fruits” or “raja buah” as we say in Malaysia. He writes: “In India mango is the king of fruits. In Southeast Asia it is durian. Others argue that mangosteen is the king [...]. If all these are kings, then jackfruit is the kingmaker”. We agree jackfruit is a worthy contender for botanical royalty, but for the time being we suggest to keep the contest open… In a new edition, Shree might want to explain the significance of the book’s title to a non-Indian audience. According to Wikipedia  Kalpavriksha is a mythical wish-fulfilling divine tree in ancient Sanskrit literature. Here is Shree’s jackfruit-Kalpavriksha connection:

“Jackfruit [...] can fulfill the hunger of an entire family. Imagine a Jackfruit tree in your homestead garden. It gives shade. Keeps your micro climate cool. Sheds bagful of dry leaves for you to mulch your vegetable and flower plants. Green leaves and roots are used as medicine. Goats relish these leaves. The tree remains for centuries and offers very valuable timber when grown. Jack timber, very expensive and durable, is used in making furniture and musical instruments”. There is a very useful list of jackfruit Internet resources on the last page of the book, notably this blog. We look forward to further Jackfruit news from Kerala!

Deepa Dwivedi, Associate Professor at the Department of Applied Plant Science, Ambedkar University, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, has sent us this interesting factsheet on barhal (Artocarpus lakoocha), a poorly known tree of the humid sub-Himalayan regions of India with edible fruits of an intense yellow color, and peculiar taste reminiscent of citrus. The genus Artocarpus is well-known for the pantropically distributed breadfruit (A. altilis) and jackfruit (A. heterophyllus), but the genus contains some 50 species, several of which are used for their edible fruits. Here in Malaysia, cempedak (A. integer) is a common sight in supermarkets. Cempedak fruits combine the texture of jackfruit with hints of durian flavour.

Prof Dwivedi describes the food and medicinal uses of barhal, and has identified factors that have possibly constrained the wider use of the species. The tree has comparatively low yields, its fruits are highly perishable and are irregularly shaped, which is said to result in poor market acceptability. We look forward to further research to address how these constraints can be overcome: perhaps through the selection of superior genotypes with better yield and fruit types, or convenience products with better shelf life? Apologies to Prof Dwivedi for the delay in posting her very interesting material!

Read the Maya Nut Institute summer 2010 Newsletter!

FAO and Bioversity International have developed two nutrition indicators for biodiversity useful to measure biodiversity-related food composition and food consumption of underutilized species (www.fao.org/infoods/biodiversity/index_en.stm).

More information can be found in the document “Specific definition of underutilized species for human consumption”

While reporting upon these indicators, difficulties were encountered in defining underutilized foods. Therefore, FAO and Crops for the Future have developed specific criteria in order to establish the reference list for underutilized foods counting for the nutritional indicators for biodiversity:

Of the following criteria, the first one is compulsory, and several of the others should be met for a species to be included in this list:

• The food was/is/could be used for human consumption.
• May have great potential for contributing to food security and nutrition.
• Mainly local and traditional crops/animals (including insects, amphibians and reptiles) whose distribution, biology, cultivation and uses are poorly documented.
• Receive little attention from research, farmers, policy and decision makers, technology providers and consumers.
• Have weak or no formal seed/animal germplasm supply systems.
• Farmed, reared, gathered or caught in small scale.
• The species must be grown/raised in the country/region where it is underutilized.
  Species that are imported do not count as underutilized in that region.

Furthermore, information on country/region of origin should be given.

These criteria, only intended to be used to report on the two nutrition indicators for biodiversity, should not replace the broad criteria that has been defined for categorizing underutilized species as such (www.underutilized-species.org/spotlight/what_are_underutilized_species.asp).

The integration of these specific criteria and the reference list of underutilized foods counting for food biodiversity will be uploaded on the websites of the Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species at www.underutilized-species.org/species/about_species.asp and of the INFOODS at www.fao.org/infoods/biodiversity/index_en.stm.

We would appreciate receiving your comments by email (email hidden; JavaScript is required) within the 20^th March 2010 on both the criteria and the list before publishing them on the websites.

We look forward and thank you!