Flower or Fruit? The Mystery of Elephant Apple!

This is elephant apple, a fruit that is not only edible but also has incredibly unique inner structure. So let's cut it open to explore what's inside and discover some fascinating facts about this fruit in today's video. Speaking about the elephant apple fruit, many people nowadays have been misled by images of harvests like this. It may look normal, but in fact, the video creator attached elephant apple fruit to a different tree and pretended to pick it for views. Personally, I strongly oppose this, as this kind of mixing and matching inadvertently distorts viewers' understanding, especially that of young children about different types of plants. In reality, this is the actual elephant apple tree. The leaves of apple trees are entirely different from those in the fake videos. Elephant apple leaves are broad with evenly raised veins. The elephant apple tree is rarely cultivated in gardens but mostly grows naturally in forests, along streams in humid climates. Despite living near water, it's far from weak as every part of this tree is sturdy. From its large, pure white flowers to its tall, robust trunk, strong and resilient, the outer bark is rough, somewhat similar to the wava tree in that it peels and becomes slippery. In the past, this fruit is just a snack for children. Hardly anyone would bother picking it to sell as there was no buyers, and even if it could be sold, the money wouldn't be worth the effort and risk of climbing the tree. However, in recent years, the elephant apple has gained popularity. Videos featuring people eating this fruit have sparked curiosity among viewers. And with the development of technology, people now simply stay home, touch the screen, and the elephant apple will be delivered within days. As a result, this fruit has now appeared on the market. The ripe one has a smell somewhat similar to the ripe wava. The elephant apple attracts attention due to its incredibly unique structure. The fruit appears to be encased by large petal-like layers, but don't think you can easily separate them with your bare hands. It's nearly impossible to crack it open by bare hand. I can't do this. Very thick and hard. Very hard. Some people say this fruit is actually formed by petals curling into fruit shape. But the more convincing explanation is that these are sepals, not petals. What we consider the flesh or petals of the fruit are actually thick, large, juicy sepals that encase a full fruit. The inner core is quite slimy and is not eaten by anyone. People often throw it away. From my research, the ways of eating elephant apple in different countries are very diverse and fascinating. In Bangladesh and India, at street fruit stores, you often see vendors hanging elephant apples in front of their stands. Their way of eating this fruit reflects the deep rooted culinary culture of the local people. They start by rinsing the fruit, then cutting it open, removing the inner core, slicing it, and putting the pieces into a container. They combine this fruit with various other ingredients rather than just eating the elephant apple alone. They mix it with green bananas, waber, amberella, and fresh herbs. They would add a variety of strong, spicy local seasonings and continue to mix and pound everything together. Once the mixture becomes smooth and blended, the vendor scoops it into small cups for you to enjoy. Elephant apple is also used by people in India and Bangladesh for cooking. They slice it, remove the inner core, and cook the fruit in their own unique ways, serving it with white rice. And in Vietnam, the country where I live, the common way to eat elephant apple is by dipping it in chili salt. I'm gonna taste this. It's slimy, a little sour, astringent, and fibrous. But when we dip it in chili salt, it's more enjoyable to eat. Taking advantage of sour and astringent taste of elephant apple, the people in the northwestern region of my country often use this fruit to make sour soup, a dish commonly made with fish. The flavor of the fruit helps to mask the fish's smell, creating a fragrant and flavorful soup for the family. And I also plan to use the remaining fruits to make sour soup as I can't just dip them in salt and eat them all. Thank you for watching the video till the end. Be sure to like and subscribe to our channel to discover real-life stories and spread love for green spaces and protecting the Earth. See you in the next video.