Wax jambu revisited

Wax jambu revisited

I have written on Wax jambu in 2006 (see previous blog) .  However, ten years have passed and I feel there is a need for an update as I have learned a lot more about the tree.

First at all, flowering of the Wax Jambu is totally unpredictable.  It flower sas early  in May in some years and as late in September in some years.  Last year, it actually bloomed twice (once in early May and again in late August) and produced two flushes of fruit.  I though the second crop must have less fruit or small size of the fruit.  It turned out that  the second crop is just as good as the first crop for both the number  and size of the fruit (see graph 1).  The only problem for the second crop is that some of fruit matured during a cold snap and the fruit tended to crack which attracted ants and fungus.

Graph 1.Wax Jambu trees with lots of fruit.

Secondly, Wax jambu is one of the most productive fruit trees.  It does not mind the clay soil and high mineral content of San Diego water and is virtually pest and disease free in more than 10 years.  It produced thousand of fruit each year.  It is best to wait until the fruit turns a dark red prior to harvest for the best flavor.  The huge amount of fruit that matures in a period of 4-5 weeks creates an interesting problem.  Although it is delicious, there are only so many fruit you can eat each day.  I tried to refrigerate or freeze them.  It will keep in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.  The color and texture of fruit are damaged by freezing.  My wife tried to add the fruit to salad.  It actually adds a sweetness and crunchiness to the salad and is very delicious (graph 2).  But, again, we can each only so much salad each day.  I finally come up with an idea.  I cut the fruit into a few pieces, remove the seed(s)  if present (most of them do not have seeds) and run the fruit pieces through an electric Juice extractor. The machine grinds fruit to tiny particles, separates the juice and pulp.  I add a pinch of salt and a few drops of Tequila liquor to a 2-liter container.  The juice has a beautiful purplush-red color and is very tasty (graph 3).  It has just a tint of saltiness which complements the mild sweetness and the unique flavor.  The juice is low in calorie and high in soluble fibers and is one of my favorite fruit juice.  Best of all, the juice can be frozen for 2-3 months without losing the flavor or color.

Graph 2. Wax jambu fruit salad with shrimp, scallop and vegetables.

Graph 3.  Wax Jambu fruit juice with beautiful color.

Thirdly, Wax jambu leaves are a favorite food for goats.  My neighbor has 3 goats and I tried to feed to leaves to them.  They approached and smelled the leaves tentatively and started to chew on them.  It was at that time I realized that the broken leaves had a nice aroma reminiscent of lemon Eucalyptus.  The goats then grabbed the leaves aggressively and fought each other to get the leaves.  The goats ran to me whenever  I brought the leaves.  I guess they really like the leaves.

Wax jambu is a beautiful evergreen trees that produces plentiful and delicious fruit every year.  The leaves are also aromatic and a useful animal feed.  It is both an ornamental and fruit tree.  These virtues combined with easy care should make a valuable addition for any home with edible landscape in Southern California.