Wax apple
Syzygium samarangense · Tropical fruit
Top 10 pairings
The wax apple (Syzygium samarangense) — also called jambu, rose apple, java apple, bell fruit or wax jambu — is a glossy, bell-shaped tropical fruit from a flowering tree in the myrtle family. Crisp, faintly sweet and exceptionally watery, it is eaten fresh out of hand as a thirst-quencher across Southeast Asia.
Picking a good onedrag
Glossy, taut, heavy, colour deepDull, dented, browning, weeping
Shop freshEveryday bestThe all-rounder: whole out of hand, or diced into rojak-style salads with chilli, salt, lime and a little sugar.
SkinBright, matte in a patch or two, a shallow scuff
In the handFirm, gives a fraction at the widest part
The open baseLobes drying at their tips, cup still pale and dry
Smell at the baseAlmost nothing at all — clean, neutral, wet