Local fruits : Duku

Duku is one of the favorite tropical fruits among Malaysians. Duku is a name in Malay and its botanical family is Meliaceae. I don’t know what it’s called in English. Anyway, theDuku is native to Malaysia and is regarded as one of the most delicious of all fruits in Malaysia. Due to its popularity, the Duku is now cultivated throughout Southeast Asia and it grows on a tree belonging to the same family as the Langsat. The Langsat is also another favorite fruits in Malaysia that shares many similarities with Duku.

Most people are confused between Langsat and Duku. Here are some tips on how to differentiate the Duku from Langsat.

Duku - The fruit are round like golf balls and have a very hard skin. They don’t bruise easily and an unripe fruit is super sour! If it is fresh and ripe, it tastes tangy and sweet and delicious!

Langsat – The fruit looks similar to the duku but are always sold on the stem. If they drop off, they are no longer fresh. The skin has a lot of latex if you don’t open it properly so eating it requires a technique not many have. The fruit is very sweet.

Duku tree at my kampong

To fetch the fruits... we have to climb the tree

two sisters climbing the tree

a nephew joint the group

pick the leaves or duku ?

look what inside the basket !

Duku

Duku

the closeup

another closeup

the fruits