Littuko / Rattan Fruit
I wrote about some rattan or yantok vines that I spotted roadside in Coron, Palawan a few months ago and some of the commenters on that post mentioned that rattan also has a fruit… I didn’t know that, and since then, have been on the lookout for rattan fruit. I found some in the markets this morning and since they seemed very reasonably priced, I decided to buy some so that I could try them for the first time. Actually, I have seen these many times before, but I never realized that they were rattan fruit. I thought they might be related to longgan or lychees or even snakefruit/salak, a delicious Indonesian fruit that we used to get in Bali quiet often… but oddly, I never bothered to taste the rattan fruit before. Rattan used to be a very common vine in the archipelago when it had more virgin rainforests, and the country is home to at least 40 different species of rattan, from very thick poled ones to rather slim varieties. Not all rattan fruit is edible, however. The fruit from Calamus manillensis (a variety of rattan with a larger diameter vine) is edible and it is now actually raised in small plantations for commercial sale.
When you peel away the snakeskin like outer layer, it reveals a fruit with at least 3 sections. In this case, a slightly brownish fruit around large seeds (the sections look 
a bit like lansones). I popped some sections in my mouth and juicy but shockingly sour and astringent taste burst onto my palate. YUCK!!! The first taste and reaction were definitely a turn off! I think this is very much an unripe rattan fruit and I shall wait a couple of days before attempting to taste it again. I can see how this might be enjoyed with some rock salt and chilli, but for now, I can also see why it isn’t that popular and easy to find… Otherwise known as littuko in the North, this is probably an acquired taste, or at least one you needed to have early in life. A little googling suggests you can make jams or jellies from it, and that would be interesting, but the fruit still needs to grow on me a bit before I head down that route, if ever…
i’ve always seen these in the baguio markets, but the fruits taste very much like ripe tamarind. thay make good additions to flower arrangements and such.
July 28th, 2007hahahahahahha…. MM, maybe you should use them in your sinigang next time because that is their natural taste… they will never turn any sweeter than that! I remember this fruit from childhood. The first time I tasted it, I spitted it out because it was just too sour for me. But being so into sour fruits, I tried it again, this time with some rock salt. I like sour fruits with salt. :)
July 28th, 2007You should try the ones from Isabela which are larger and sweeter, almost red in color and have smaller seeds; Okay, I’m biased. I think the more ripe ones are those that peel easily. I grew up eating this cooked in sugar syrup with vinegar and stored in bottles so we can still have some when they go out of season. Great with rock salt, haven’t seen anyone use it in sinigang though.
July 29th, 2007Too bad the ones you got were sour. The ones I’ve tasted were very sweet, to the point na nakakaumay na sha. Choose the smaller variety (probably as big as a P1 coin), maybe they’re sweeter.
July 29th, 2007i miss this sour fruit.
July 29th, 2007I have not seen this fruit before. Only on your site! Looks beautiful though.
July 29th, 2007They do abound in Baguio or somewhere up North as I see these in the market. They are very sour though, and sells for P10 bucks a bunch.
July 29th, 2007Yeah, Ive seen those fruits before but I wont put that in my mouth cos for me it looks like small armadillos.
July 29th, 2007In Butuan, we call this Kapi. Your posting brings back memories when we use to peel them, put them in a plastic bag, sprinkle salt over them and shake-shake-shake. We would then pour it into a bowl and munch on them.
Oh my, now i am salivating! hehehehe
July 29th, 2007I really didn’t know they were edible because the only time I saw them was in a souvenir shop among carved objects. And then maybe, those I saw were not the edible variety. They look good though in a native-looking X’mas wreath. Thanks!
July 29th, 2007I tried a similar fruit in Sabah, Malaysia a few months ago. It was called ‘Snake Fruit’ because the the peel looked and felt like snake skin. Quite creepy actually. Peeling it was a chore as the scales were sharp. The flesh tasted like a cross between a tamarind and a ‘chico’ fruit. It’s always amazing when you you discover and try something new. (I actually have a picture if you’re interested).
July 29th, 2007grocerypimp, yes, I am familiar with snakefruit, I actually like it a lot, the skin is adark brown or almost burgundy and the fruit is significantly larger than this one with more opaque flesh… it was common in Indonesia and I grew to like it there…
July 29th, 2007An ex-officemate who is an ilocano tells me that they have a sweeter variety of this fruit. As for me, the ones i’ve tasted are so sour
July 29th, 2007I’ve only tasted a sweet one once, all others were really sour. Our housekeeper used to bring some as pasalubong. Never really got the hang of eating this fruit.
July 29th, 2007I tasted these at Salcedo market and the guy said it really tasted this way…asim enough to make you cry! And I almost did…right there in his stall when I had my free taste! I actually asked him, “Does anyone actually eat this?” And he said, “Oo, yung naglilihi”…okeeeey.
July 30th, 2007nakakapangasim. hmmm. intriguing. looks like fun to experiment with.
July 30th, 2007this is one interesting fruit to look at!!! so this fruit comes from “rattan” like the ones used for chairs, tables, etc? sorry to sound so dumb, i’ve never seen this fruit before!
July 31st, 2007I remember these on those fruit stands, I mean those food vendors with their “kariton”, selling seasonal fruits just outside the school’s gate. The vendors would usually give you salt in a rolled, cone shape recycled newspaper, dip the sour fruit in it. I forgot the local name we have for these,I think we just call them rattan. I like it but I tend to gravitate towards the other fruits they offer. Like the indian mangos cut in half, seeded then bagoong is placed in the hallowed out fruit.
July 31st, 2007Funny, I miss things like that when Mom would always says those are not the cleanest places you could it from. She was right, but heck it tastes good for some reason. Maybe because of the extra dirt in it. Like eating salt off newspaper with ink coming of it. LOL.
i too have never heard and seen this fruit before. quite interesting but thanks, i think i’ll pass. “snakeskin like outer layer”?? creepy! =/
August 1st, 2007MM I’m from Davao del Norte and i was intrigued with your littuko..yah its from rattan and when i was a kid I’d used to go with my cousins to the forest near the stream to hunt them up…but your littuko looks different from what we used to get as kids…ours have a brownish-yellow snakeskin peel…and the fruit isn’t segmented and it as a single bleck seed (wondering if its the same kind that you have here…or is mine from a different variety?)However i never forget how sour it was…we could peel them and pack them in jars or bowls and sprinkle it with lotsa salt(like burong mangga) then we’d wait for a couple of hours and eat it…this makes the seed easy to separate from the flesh….gotta go home to the province and hunt them up again … :)
August 14th, 2007I forgot what it is called locally, but my aunt from Quezon will bring some to us in Manila, and I remember them being sour and sweet. They do peel bits & pcs at times (like boiled egg), at certain times, half-whole My family and I loved sour fruits and I myself can eat a very raw fresh kamias. We also have one fruit that looks like duhat, but very sour (liputi) and we will put them in a bowl, add rock salt, cover and shake, shake, and eat it till our mouth goes berserk. Next time I come home, I will hunt for this fruit.
August 22nd, 2007I saw these at Landmark supermarket. About 80 a kilo I think… it was pre-packed into a styro tray, about 30+ a tray :)
September 3rd, 2007i was in the hypermart for my weekly routine (home supplies) of course, i was in the fruit section to buy lansones, i was curious about this fruit when i see this one… it’s really caught my attentiion so i bought it instead of lansones….i don’t know this fruit and even this name… so, when i see the tag of this fruit… so rushed in my computer in started to search about this fruit….and i found it at market manila website… so it’s really great,, i didn’t know that this fruit exists…it’s taste like you don’t wanna taste it again…but i guess, it’s good for the skin….and it’s a citrus fruit.. tnx
September 17th, 2007marivic, I am glad you got to try it out. It is extremely sour, but I don’t think it qualifies as a citrus fruit.
September 17th, 2007maasim yan,.. dami ganyan sa min,. masarap na ibabad sa suka na may konting asukal,..hmmmmm,.. asim asim tlga,..
February 12th, 2008I tasted this fruit and found it very sour, but it reminded me the taste of “griottes”, sour cherries that we have in Europe. So I peeled the fruits, added a large quantity of water, a lot of sugar, and cooked it smoothly for a while, 1/2 hour at least. The result is a compote that I find delicious, and also my filipino friends like it.
July 21st, 2008