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Thursday 10 December 2015

#ewew makes "Kedondong" or Umbra Juice

I've always loved "kedondong" juice and will order it whenever I see it on the menu.  Now, "kedondong" goes by many names (in different countries) but here it's more common to hear it referred to as "sar lay", ambra (umbra) or ambarella.
 
With its numerous health benefits like preventing heart disease, controlling cholesterol levels, for eye health, prevent aging, heal wounds, acts as antioxidants or as an excellent source of Vitamin C....etc., etc...it's obviously a fruit we should partake in frequently.
 
I like the juice with "assam boi" (preserved sour plum) or "sar lay shuen mui" in Cantonese like the one from Village Park...but I like them equally without the sour plum...like the one above from Penang Village.
 
And so, when I was doing grocery shopping and chanced upon the buah kedondong, I thought maybe I can try to juice it at home.  It retails for RM0.55 per 100g and this packet costs me just RM3.16 and there was probably about 20 fruits in the packet.
 
Now, you can peel the skin and eat the fruit just like that.  I did and found it crunchy with a sweet sour taste but a bit hard.  That's why you'd find it sometimes in salads and rojak too.
 
The balance I used for my juice.  I found out that if you juice the fruits whole, without peeling the skin, you'd get that nice green colour in the juice (like how I get it when I order it outside).  If you juice the fruits with the skin off, you'd end up with a light brownish coloured drink.
 
So, I cut up the fruits into small pieces, added a little bit of water and juiced them in my makeshift blender coz I don't have a proper juicer....heck, I don't even have a proper blender!  So, I had to blend and then pass the juice through a sieve.  I find making juices at home too much work coz I can easily have it outside but kedondong juice is not as commonly found as the other juices.
 
Add sugar syrup, as much or as little as you like, to sweeten your kedondong juice.  It was indeed a very refreshing drink...a little on the sour side than sweet which I love! ;)  If you have preserved sour plums, you can add one or two in as well (but I didn't have any).  It perks it up with more sourness and a tinge of saltiness as well.
 
Although it was good, it didn't taste as good as the ones I had at restaurants!  I guess the restaurants get these fruits at their optimum 'ripe age' for juicing....but we don't have such expertise to 'eye' the optimum 'age' of the fruits.  That's probably why a lot of the juices I've had outside always seem to have just the ideal sweetness (compared to the ones I make at home).
 
Would I make it again?  Hmmm, probably not......it's just too much work for this one glass! :'(

"Chompy Charlie" (Juicer Only)
But if I have a proper juicer at home (like if someone was kind enough to gift me this super efficient, super expensive Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer *wink wink*)....then, maybe! :D  Nevertheless, I did enjoy my laborious homemade iced kedondong juice...I had to! ;)
 


10 comments:

  1. Wah, this is my favorite juice! And also a favorite in rojak. Sometimes if you are unlucky, you get the older fruit and it is very fibrous. I've given up on juicing because I hate the washing up!

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    1. That's probably why our own homemade versions are never as good as though we have outside due to the 'age' of the fruits we buy.

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  2. Some Penangites say ambra and sar lay is different and will get mad if we say they are the same...

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    1. Really? Maybe it's because we also call Asian and Chinese pears sar lay ;)

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  3. ooo, looks delicious and wholesome ... i don't often order kedondong - the versions at some outlets can be a bit too sweet for me ... maybe they add extra sugar to counter the sour :)

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    Replies
    1. Hmmm, the versions I've had have always had a tinge of sourness than sweet per se.

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  4. Good for you to try to juice this at home when you do not have a blender/juicer. I love to drink this kosong without any sugar and without any sour plum but I am just too lazy to juice this at home.

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    1. I don't think I can drink this kosong as it'd be too sour for me.

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  5. Ah yes, this fruit is also well known in Brazil. It's said to have lots of health benefits.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, with all its health benefits, we should include this in our diet as much as possible :)

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