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Aroy Mak Mak

Rose Apple

ชมพู่

Chomphu: bell-shaped, crisp and watery, the most refreshing fruit in the hot season.

Rose Apple

Rose apples are small, bell-shaped fruits with glossy skin in pink, red or green. The flesh is spongy, crisp and very juicy, more refreshing than sweet, with a faint floral scent. On a hot day, a chilled bag of rose apples from a fruit cart is hard to beat.

Pronunciationchom-poo
FlavourCrisp, watery and lightly sweet, with a faint rose scent
SeasonYear-round, best from December to April
EatenFresh and chilled, with prik kluea

Varieties

  • Chomphu Phet (“diamond rose apple”): green with a pink blush, crisp and sweet, from Phetchaburi; the most prized.
  • Thapthim Chan (“ruby”): deep red and glossy, very crisp and sweet, now the most popular.
  • Chomphu Mamieo: dark red, rounder and softer.
  • Chomphu Kaew: pale green-white, very watery and lightly sweet.

How it is eaten

Fresh, chilled, sliced into wedges with the seedy centre trimmed out, and often with prik kluea for dipping. It is not usually cooked.

Choosing and storing

Choose firm, glossy fruit without bruises. Rose apples bruise easily and keep only two or three days in the fridge.

In Thai markets

Phetchaburi's Chomphu Phet Sai Rung is a registered geographical indication product, grown in the province's orchards and sold at a premium for its sweetness and crunch. Most rose apples are sold from fruit carts, trimmed and chilled in plastic bags with a small packet of prik kluea, or by the kilo in markets. The cooler, drier months bring the crispest, sweetest fruit.

Outside Thailand

In English the Thai chomphu is also called wax apple, wax jambu or java apple, and it is sold under those names in Asian grocers, often imported from Taiwan. Do not confuse it with the true rose apple, a different species that is round, pale yellow and strongly rose-scented, with drier flesh. Choose glossy, firm fruit and use it within a day or two.

Cook’s tip

Serve rose apples very cold. Their crunch and juiciness are at their best straight from the fridge.

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