An interesting fruit that boasts an ancient history and a bite-sized crunch.
Living in Hawaiʻi, one gets to taste many new foods, and fruits are not the exception. Thanks to my generous Hawaiian friends, I was privy to discovering the benefits of several fruits I had never seen, tasted or even heard of before my arrival. Like so many things Hawaiian, each fruit-bearing plant has more than one use.
One interesting example are mountain apples, also called Malay apples or rose apples. These crunchy fruits - not related to typical apples - are named ohi'a 'ai ("oh hee ah eye") in the Hawaiian language.
Mountain apples grow year-round in the islands, in forests and backyards. wild and domestic.
Originally from Malaysia, ohi'a 'ai were brought to Hawai'i by canoe-faring Polynesian settlers who used the treeʻs (Latin name Syzygium malaccense) wood - related to the guava and eucalyptus - for building. The fruit ranges in color from deep red to pale pink and besides being eaten, was also used for dye.
Hawaiian mountain apples are waxy on the outside, but crunchy and sweet on the inside, having the texture of a firm pear. Inside is a fuzzy pit. They're not the size of standard apples, but rather fit inside your fist. Because they're smaller can be polished off in two bites.
My beauties came from a hānai (adopted) cousin's tree in Wai'anae. She is kind enough to feed others with her extra bounty; she also blesses her fans with mountain apple jam in different flavors. (Check the Last Working Vacation online store - coming soon - for ways to order Pili's Homestead Jams & Things.)
As with many things Hawaiian, there is an accompanying saga. Mountain apples are no different. After all they, like many wondrous and useful plants, have had a long history on the islands. Like anything that has - over hundreds of years - become so meaningful to so many, there is always a story.
As I delivered a bagful of mountain apples from his cousin Pili, my other favorite hānai cousin Kimo told me his own history involving the fruit. When he was a boy, his uncles, parents and cousins used to make the trek to the other (windward) side of the island to pick the precious pomes. Together his family would spend most of one day hiking a treacherous route up to a hidden waterfall to harvest the fruit, and back down... very carefully, of course.
That all came to an end, he told me, when the State of Hawaiʻi closed the path to the public.
"But why?" I asked, thinking that perhaps I could make the journey myself, with my dog perhaps.
Solemnly he spoke, his already-quiet and serious tone almost inaudible. Memories had gotten him thinking.
"Too many rockfalls and other accidents," he replied.
After a respectful pause and his implication of some kind of island magic, I whispered, "Are there spirits up there?"
His expression told me that he wasn't sure he should go on, due to the tragic nature of his tale.
"They're called 'Sacred Falls' for a reason," he said somberly.
Gulp.
Stay on the safe side and buy your apples at a local market or organic farm. If you can't find them but you're in Hawaiʻi for a spell, the spirit of aloha will bring them to you. That way theyʻre even more memorable. You will enjoy every crunchy bite!
(To read why you SHOULDN'T hike in forbidden places, check the link: https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/02/18/hawaii-sacred-falls-trespassers-targeted-by-crackdown/amp/)
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