Kwai muk

Artocarpus hypargyraeus (syn. related to A. lakoocha, monkey-jack) · Tropical fruit

40 pairings

Kwai muk is a small, tart fruit from an evergreen tree of the mulberry family (Moraceae), a close relative of the jackfruit and breadfruit. Native to southern China and cultivated across Southeast Asia, it produces irregular, thin-skinned fruits about 2.5–5 cm across that ripen to a soft, dull orange to reddish-brown. The juicy pulp is subacid to sharply sour with a fragrant, apricot-like tang, and the fruit is eaten fresh, stewed, preserved or dried into a chewy, raisin-like sweet.

Picking a good onedrag

UnderripeOverripe

Breaking russetFirm enough to carry home, which a full-ripe one is not. The window is short and the fruit does not keep, so plan to eat or preserve it within a few days.Buy it here

Skin colourGreen breaking to russet on the high shoulders

GiveFirm still, the faintest give at the shoulders

Latex at the stemA milky bead or two, drying amber at the scar

SmellA first apricot tang coming up under the green

Reading a just ripe one. Move the slider and the rest of this page — nutrition, pairings — re-scores with it.

Preparing