The Rose Apple, Syzygium samarangense is native to S.E.Asia. Common names for Syzygium include Wax Apple, Rose Apple, Malabar Plum, Malay Apple and Chomphu. In spite of the name, Rose Apple is not an apple, with neither the tree, nor the fruit nor the taste resembling an apple. The Rose Apple is a member of the Myrtaceae (Myrtle) family and there are several varieties with fruit ranging from white to pale green through to red and deep purple. As a general rule of thumb when purchasing Rose Apples, the darker the colour the sweeter the fruit will be.
The skin of a Rose Apple is very thin with a waxy sheen and the whole of the fruit can be eaten. The fruits are about 6cms long and bell shaped. The flesh is crispy but not as dense as that of an apple and when fully ripe, Rose Apples are juicy with a slight flavour of rose water. We should mention at this point that Rose Apples are not our favourite fruit. Whilst very attractive to look at, and almost irresistible when seen laid out on a market stall, many times we have found Rose Apples to be almost tasteless and the flesh not as crispy as we expected and with very little sweetness. For our tastes, the dark red varieties are preferable to the whitish green ones. However, we are obviously in a minority as Rose Apples are one of the most popular fruits in many Asian countries.
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In india, i grew up eating the Rose apple. I cannot find it anywhere in the U.S. It’s so yummy, I miss it. Thank you for explaining all the different names of this pretty fruit
This can be found in some Vietnamese markets in Westminster, CA area.
Thanks for more information about it. In Kerala, South India, it is found common in most of the low and midland homesteads. It is called ‘Champa’ and the size is slightly smaller than that of Indonesian/Thai varieties. We have wild species also in the evergreen Western Ghat Forests. Though everybody, particularly women likes it, Whenever i taste the fruit, i get slight itching on tounge and throat. However, the Malaysian, Thailand varieties are not problem to me. I do not know the reason.