All about PILI NUTS

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For Ms gAn...here is your REQUEST...will post for more!

The Pili nut (Canarium ovatum), one of 600 species in the family Burseraceae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burseraceae), is native to the Philippines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines) and is abundant and wild in the Bicol Region particularly in Sorsogon, and in parts of Visayas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visayas) and Mindanao (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindanao).
Trees of Canarium ovatum are attractive symmetrically shaped evergreens, averaging 20 m tall with resinous wood and resistance to strong wind. C. ovatum is dioecious (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioecious), with flowers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower) borne on cymose (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cymose&action=edit&redlink=1) inflorescence at the leaf axils (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axil) of young shoots. As in papaya (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaya) and rambutan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambutan), functional hermaphrodites (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermaphrodite) exist in pili. Pollination (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollination) is by insects (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect). Flowering of pili is frequent and fruits (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit) ripen through a prolonged period of time. The ovary contains three locules, each with two ovules, most of the time only one ovule develops (Chandler 1958).
Pili (pronounced pee-lee) fruit is a drupe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drupe), 4 to 7 cm long, 2.3 to 3.8 cm in diameter, and weighs 15.7 to 45.7 g. The skin (exocarp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exocarp)) is smooth, thin, shiny, and turns purplish black when the fruit ripens; the pulp (mesocarp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesocarp)) is fibrous, fleshy, and greenish yellow in color, and the hard shell (endocarp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocarp)) within protects a normally dicotyledonous (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dicotyledonous) embryo. The basal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_location) end of the shell (endocarp) is pointed and the apical (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apical) end is more or less blunt; between the seed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed) and the hard shell (endocarp) is a thin, brownish, fibrous seed coat developed from the inner layer of the endocarp. This thin coat usually adheres tightly to the shell and/or the seed. Much of the kernel weight is made up of the cotyledons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotyledon), which are about 4.1 to 16.6% of the whole fruit; it is composed of approximately 8% carbohydrate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate), 11.5 to 13.9% protein (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein), and 70% fat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat). Kernels from some trees may be bitter, fibrous or have a turpentine odor.


wikipiedia.org

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Photos


http://media.nowpublic.net/images//a9/f/a9f0c4202e7a461ec27df9f32fe49c39.jpgpili nut


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The Pili Nut is a tropical tree, and indiginous to the Philippines, its center of diversity is the Bicol Region, where it's a priority crop, also have spread to the provinces of Catanduanes, Masbate, and Southern Quezon area. The bulk of the raw nuts are supplied from wild stands in the mountain around Sorsogon, Albay, and Camarines Sur, in the Bicol region.
In my province in Sorsogon, the nuts concoction is called "nilanta" similar to "steaming"-- it will be boiled in a lukewarm water for about 10 to 15 minutes, to soften the ripe pulp, when ready removed the black skin and served; you can seasoned it with soy sauce, with bagoong or kuyog (padas) and siling labuyo (chili), match it with cooked rice, grilled fish, or grilled meat, then you will have an special dinner or lunch time.
Young shoots are edible too, used for cooking and making green salad, the Pili nut kernel is crispy and delicious, emulsion from crushed kedrnels has been used by the natives in early days as substitute for infant's milk. It's used also for making medicinal ointment. Some says, that the nuts is also an "Aprhrodisiac."
Other uses; resin-rich wood is an excellent firewood, it's good for furniture making, and the oil from the pulp has been used for manufacturing of soap and other products, the hard stoney shell is also an excellent fuel.
Other Pili products, are candies...
Origin: Philippines; abundant and wild in Southern Luzon, and parts of Visayas and Mindanao in low and medium primary forests.


NowPublic.com

[tcha]

Native to the Philippines, the pili nut is abundant and grows wild in many southern provinces, including Luzon, Mindanao and Visayas.

When raw, the pili nut is said by many to resemble the flavor of roasted pumpkin or pepita seeds, and when roasted, the pili nut's mild, nutty flavor and tender-crispy texture is superior to that of the common almond. A perfect example would be a cross between a macadamia nut and a marcona almond.

Besides from being eaten raw or roasted, pili nuts are also used in chocolate, ice cream, candies and baked goods as well.

The largest buyers of pili nuts outside of the Philippines are in Hong Kong and Taiwan. There the pili nut is one of the major ingredients in a famous Chinese dessert known as "moon cake".

Aside from being a treat for your taste buds, the pili nut is also a nutritional treat for your body. Nutritionally, the pili nut is high in calcium, phosphorus, and potassium, and rich in fats and protein.

Pili nuts are also rich in oil. They yield a light yellow oil consisting mainly of oleic glycerides and palmitic acids (60:40 percent respectively), very similar to olive oil.

Unfortunately, unless you live in the Philippines, pili nuts can be extremely hard to find. With the extremely hard shell encasing the pili nut, most commercial plantations do not see the value of the nut. Therefore, most of the pili nut trees grow wild rather than in plantations, making the harvesting of the nut erratic and limited.

As new breeds are being introduced with easier to access fruit and new devices are invented for the opening of the pili nut, the future of the pili nut definitely looks bright.

One downside: that wonderful, bountiful, nutritional oil that makes up the pili nut also causes it to spoil rather quickly. Any nuts found outside of the Philippines would more than likely already be preserved with salt or sugar.

www.zimbio.com

[gAn]

:thanks: tcha, thanks a lot for the various information on pili nuts! Now I'm craving for them.

:thatsit:

[tcha]

LOLz!

[gAn]

The largest buyers of pili nuts outside of the Philippines are in Hong Kong and Taiwan. There the pili nut is one of the major ingredients in a famous Chinese dessert known as "moon cake."


That's interesting! :thatsit: