Fah Thai Magazine - Inflight Magazine of Bangkok Airways Issue Jul-Aug 2023

OVERTURES
FRUITFUL FINDS
Pucker,
Squint,
Swallow –
Meet the Star
Gooseberry
These tiny flavour-packed gems offer a sour break
from Thailand’s sweet treats
If durian, mangosteen, rambutan,
and longan are the sweet darlings
of Thai fruit-lovers, then the tiny
star gooseberry is their tangy
upstart brother.
The star gooseberry is known
as “mayom” in Thai – not to be
confused with “mayong”, the
orange marian plum.
The star gooseberry also has
little in common with the European
gooseberry, apart from its sour
taste. This tropical fruit is believed
to have originated in Madagascar
but can now be found across Asia,
the Caribbean, and Central and
South America.
Shaped like six-pointed stars,
its berries may be tiny but they
are crisp, juicy and tart enough
to make your mouth pucker and
your eyes squint. Chew carefully,
because there’s a tiny pebble-like
seed hidden inside.
The light-green berries ripen
to a yellow-white colour and
turn red when cooked. Eaten as
a refreshing snack straight from
the tree, these tiny flavour-packed
berries are also transformed into
culinary delicacies. Think pickled
star gooseberries served with chilli
salt dip. Or in syrup. Or sun-dried,
or pounded into a som tam or yum
spicy salad. Also keep a look out
for star gooseberry juice, jam
and sorbet.
The berry and other parts
of the tree have also been used
in Thai traditional medicine for
centuries. Local folklore says
planting a star gooseberry tree in
your garden will bring you “niyom”
or admiration (the Thai word for
admire sounds a bit like the fruit’s
Thai name “mayom”).
Yet despite its wide-ranging
uses, this berry is rarely found in
supermarkets. So if you spot a
street vendor selling these rare
and juicy gems, grab a few!
WORDS ARIYA CHAIYARIT PHOTO & STYLE SAMATCHA APAISUWAN
22