Jakarta, Aug 13 (Antara) - The Car-Free Day on Thamrin Street in Central Jakarta's business and office district was a special day on Sunday, Aug 13, when it also served as a 'free fruit day' for local fruit lovers.
The appetite of joggers, bikers and other Jakartans who took morning walks on the Thamrin street was therefore arouse when they were offered to taste different local fruits for free such as mango, papaya and durian.
Jakarta residents and other visitors to Thamrin were able to taste different Indonesian local fruits for free as Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman during the Car-Free-Day on Sunday launched a one-day 'love local fruit' campaign in the area.
"Loving local products is the same as loving (the country's) Red and White (flag), loving the people, loving the country and loving the farmers," he said.
Amran called on the people to consume local fruits. Local fruits taste delicious. There are abundant local fruits. Consuming them will benefit the local farmers. Among the local fruits which were promoted and offered for free to the people were banana, salak (snakeskin fruit), orange, Balinese orange, mango and durian.
Durian is considered by many Indonesians to be the king of fruits. It is a large greenish brown fruit with hard spines. The hard outer skin needs to be pried open with a large knife to reach the yellowish, soft and creamy textured flesh inside.
The flesh is eaten direct from the stone. The strong smell can be overwhelming and many people find it disgusting, however for those who love the sweet taste of the durian the smell just arouses their appetite! Some supermarkets sell segments of durian in sealed plastic packs. Durian flavored ice cream or cookies are also popular.
Mango (mangga) is seasonal fruit most plentiful during the months of November, December and January. There are several varieties of mango, the most delicious being mangga harum manis, which means fragrant and sweet.
The skin is green while the flesh inside is bright orange. Other varieties are mangga gedong, mangga golek, mangga Indramayu and mangga manalagi, according to www.indoindian.com website.
Balinese orange or jeruk (citrus fruit) is one of the many varieties of Indonesia's jeruk.
The largest is jeruk Bali, pomelo or shaddock, which is a seasonal fruit. It is larger than a grapefruit and has green skin and a thick whitish membrane, which is peeled or cut off to expose segments of pink or yellowish pulp.
Salak or snakeskin fruit is generally not very appealing to the western palate. The shiny, dark brown, scaly skin can be peeled off and inside there may be two or three irregular sized segments.
The most common and cheap fruit in Indonesia is the banana (pisang). There is a wide variety of bananas, from the tiny, sweet pisang mas to the large pisang tanduk or plantain used for making banana fritters (pisang goreng).
Pisang kepok and pisang raja are also good for making banana fritters, pisang susu is a kind of small starchy banana with light yellow skin and pisang Ambon is the kind of banana that is most commonly eaten in western countries.
Other local fruits included pawpaw (papaya) and pineapple. papaya is also cheap and available all year round and is very healthy for consumption. The size and shape can vary and the skin can either be smooth and yellow or slightly rough and green and yellow striped. The flesh inside is yellow or orange.
Regarding pineapples (nanas), there are three varieties named according to their place of origin. Most common are nanas Palembang, normal size but elongated, sweet but not very juicy. Nanas Subang or nanas madu (honey pineapple) is more expensive but much juicier and has a fatter shape. Nanas Bogor is a small, golden skinned variety that is very sweet but dry.
There are other local fruits such as duku (is available for only a short season each year and the best ones come from Palembang in South Sumatra), Manggis or mangosteen (It is a medium sized fruit slightly smaller than an apple with a brownish purple hard outer skin and a green calyx), belimbing or star fruit, rambutan (sometimes known as hairy lychee, it is in season from November through February), kelengkeng (seasonal fruit similar to rambutan or lychee, but smaller with brown skin), and nangka or jack fruit (is the giant of Indonesian fruits, often measuring 50 cm in length).
The Indonesian government is determined to develop Indonesian local fruits. It set a side a relatively large amount of budget for the development of local fruits.
"Let us be active in cultivating our horticulture, plantations, and fruits because the future is here," Minister Amran Sulaiman said.
Minister Amran Sulaiman said the government has allocated Rp5.5 trillion to support local farmers in developing local fruit and food crops.
"This is the president's order. We will provide seed and fertilizer assistance worth Rp5.5 trillion from September this year until next year," the minister said after attending the launch of a local fruit campaign in Jakarta on Sunday.
The minister said the seeds to be provided with the assistance will be adjusted to the kinds of the local superior fruits.
"If possible, all local fruits, such as mango and others, will be developed as superior fruits and be provided with assistance," he said.
Moreover, local fruits in Indonesia have big potential for export. Many countries, particularly ones which have four seasons, are keen to import local fruits such as mango, mangosteen and pineapple.
"Mango, mangosteen and pineapple have very good prospect," he added.***3***
(A014/H-YH )
(T.A014/A/A. Abdussalam/A/Yosep) 13-08-2017 18:07: |
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