Tambis / Makopa / Curacao or Malay Apple
Makopa and Makopang Kalabaw (Syzygium samarangense and Syzygium malaccensis) 
are reaching their peak just about now! Another sign that Summer is here (besides schools being on holiday, lighter traffic and a rising mercury) is the arrival of a brief but impressive explosion of makopa. Our neighbor across the street has a makopa tree that is groaning with fruit so I asked if I could take these photos. Makopa is one of those tropical summer fruits that don’t keep or travel well. Most of our childhood memories of eating makopa probably meant we lived near a source, usually a tree in the backyard or neighborhood.
The makopa tree is part of the myrtle or eucalyptus family. 
The fruit is bell shaped with a waxy skin and comes in pink, white, green and purple. It has a crisp, light (airy or spongy) white pulp that is mild in flavor. I hadn’t tasted makopa for nearly twenty years when during a business trip to Indonesia I noticed one of the office workers eating an intriguing afternoon snack of chopped makopa, green mango, snake fruit, pineapple and other fruits tossed with a chilli and dried shrimp sauce/paste - yum! Makopa is native to the Malay archipelago and it is believed to have been introduced to the Philippines in prehistoric times according to Doreen Fernandezin her book Fruits of the Philippines, who writes that makopa and tambis are interchangeable terms for the same fruit. There appear to be two main types of makopa in the country, I presume one being the smaller variety and the other being the larger variety, hence the addition to Kalabaw (Water Buffalo) to the name of the latter. The tree has now spread to Indonesia, the South Pacific Islands, Hawaii, India, the West Indies and even South America.
While the fruit is mostly eaten raw here in the Philippines (sometimes with rock salt), it is sometimes used for medicinal purposes in other countries or as a salve for the skin. In Puerto Rico, it is also made into a wine according to Desmond Tate’s book, Tropical Fruit of the Philippines… 
In this final photo, I spied a white makopa hybrid variety that was for sale at the market last weekend and the vendor said it was from Thailand. Marcotted and bearing fruit at just five feet in height, it was tempting to try and grow it in our small backyard… While there is some confusion over two very similar varieties (samarangense and malaccensis), makopa in other languages is known by the names malay apple, rose apple, java apple, curacao apple, pomme de java, etc. Here in the Philippines, Visayans know this fruit as tambis, while others call it tersana, yanba or yanbu. At a Shoemart grocery today, I was amazed to find makopa for sale in the fruit section (because they don’t usually keep well)at P33 a kilo, but they looked a tad bit beaten up. Still best to pick yours straight off the backyard tree.
Hehehe, you beat me to posting this! :-)
PhP 33/kilo? That’s almost as much as pico mangoes! But then I suppose macopas are a bit rare in the cities while they’re for the taking in rural areas. Ah, another fruit which evokes memories of childhood.
March 18th, 2005Hello from Oslo, Norway… isnt it food so evocative? The photos of tambis brings me back of hot sweaty days in Cebu while am up here in the Northern Hemisphere feezing!They have makopa in the Caribbean as well I think in the Seychelles too.
March 19th, 2005Am in Mac Store in Oslo checking my mail, got no internet connection at our flat yet!
I’m on a Mac and can’t see anything on any page except the titles and comments. You came highly recommended by Pernille and I’m sad that the articles won’t load :(
March 22nd, 2005I love makopa! My then boyfriend, now husband of 20 yrs,
March 22nd, 2005used to bring me baskets of freshly picked fruit from
their farm in Laguna. We just moved from Vancouver to Singapore and I am just sooo happy that makopa is
plentiful here. It brings back memories of those
wonderful summers! ‘course it’s great eating too:)
we have a white makopa in the Philippines, we call it the “albino” tambis in our place, and you are right, it taste best when you pick it from your backyard (or over the fence from your neighbor’s backyard) :)
April 7th, 2005From what I know ‘makopa’ is different from ‘tambis’.
April 15th, 2005Makopa is bell shaped while Tambis is round shape. Tambis
has more air inside and the seeds are bigger than Makopa.
We have tambis in our backyard while our neighbor has
makopa though the leaves look thesame.
From what I could tell, makopa is more the luzon name and tambis the Visayan name for the same thing. However, as I mention in the post above, there are two very closely related species samaragense and malaccensis that probably explains the two types of makopa you refer to. If there is a more knowledgeable botanist out there, your comments please…
April 16th, 2005mostly here in the visayas, we have 2 names for Malay Apple Makopa and Tambis. the larger bell shaped one is the Makopa and the smaller redder and more acidic one the Tambis. Teehee! i so mis my childhood days..we used to steal tambis and makopas from our neighbors and…they, the neighbors i mean, happen to be my god parents!! hehehe! ofcourse..that was then..
April 27th, 2005Dear Marketman,
Last weekend, I discovered your blog while I was endeavoring to identify what we now know is a prolific Mokopa tree in our yard. In September the tree had fluffy white flowers that were all blown off by the big typhoon (our first). Now the tree is covered with blossoms and fruit in various stages. A few pieces of fruit have have turned pink or red. I couldn’t wait to experience the taste, so I spent quite a bit of effort trying to get one down. How do local people harvest them? This Makopa was not sweet. Is it supposed to be?
If they aren’t sweet like the Macs, Jonathans and Golden Delicious we are used to, what shall I do with them? Has anyone made into an “apple” sauce?
I would like to ask a question about quavas. When will we see these in the market again? They were available when we arrived here from the US in late August and we enjoyed making a sauce from them. Will we have to wait until August to see them again?
We have an Avacado tree and a Mango tree in our yard also. They both are bothered with pests of one kind or another, but the Makopa is a trouper.
Thank you for your help in identifying the Makopa tree. I am trying to forgive you for your irreverent treatment of Passion fruit which I adore. I have even built a trellis and am looking forward to harvest time. Do you know how long from planting to harvest and how many times a year it will bear fruit?
Peggy Whidden
March 31st, 2007Peggy, Makopas ARE prolific but I have to say, a childhood acquired taste. Unfortunately, most makopas are not memorable taste-wise, in my opinion. However, having said that, to me the best makopas are crisp, just ripe (not ripe and they are a bit astringent, too ripe and they get cottony or mealy), and eaten with some rock salt. It is a Filipino/Asian thing to eat fruits with salt…perhaps the saltiness makes the fruit seem sweeter. I also lived in Indonesia for several years and saw that they enjoyed this fruit with other tropical fruits chopped up and mixed with a chilli and dried shrimp paste. As for guavas, they are in the markets now. The smaller “more native” guavas are pungent and filled with seeds, perfect for jams, jellies and soups. I have a post on guava jam and a guava sinigang soup in my archives. The larger guavas (which are usually crisp and best when served cold, in my opinion) have less seeds and are hybrids…but I find the smaller ones have for character. The passion fruit I have had here is not the best. I understand it is significantly more fragrant and tasty in other places. If you are interested in the local fruits, there is an excellent book by Doreen Fernandez called Fruits of the Philippines, that describes the fruits, gives rough seasonal information, etc. It should be available at large bookstores.
March 31st, 2007did a google search on makopa (as I munch on a bowl of -just picked- makopa) and stumbled on to your site.
The thai purple ones are Bigger and sweeter, though it may only be because there was more of the juicy part in the thai variety.
Where was that vendor with the white hybrid? Would love to add that to my backyard!
May 23rd, 2007My real name is Goga Makopa. I was so surprised and excited at the same time to learn i share a name with such a wonderful, sweet and much liked fruit. I live in Malindi, Kenya, i have started looking for that sweet fruit that i share a name with. I would be so thrilled when i find it. Keep on liking Makopa.
June 8th, 2007FYI, makopa and tambis are two different fruits. Makopa is the one which is dark red and starchy when ripe. Tambis is the one which is pink when ripe, white when unripe and is rather crunchy when bitten. However, these fruits belong to one genus, Syzygium, and different species (which I am not sure of…)
August 18th, 2007i can’t seemed to find this makopa plant here in the west coast. i was looking for a makopa tree to plant here but i just can’t seemed to find my luck. next week i am going to san francisco by way of the west coast area. i will be driving through the coast of santa barbara, then monterey then san jose to the heart of san francisco.
September 17th, 2007nmaybe they do not know makopa fruit here .
does it go by another name .
or perhaps i am just lokking at the wrong places.
do you know where i can get a makopa tree so i can plant them in my backyard.
thanks.
I’m just wandering if there is makopa, tambis tree available somewhere here in US where we could order. If there is, please let me know. Thank you.
Rose
December 1st, 2007Tambis & Makopa are not the same fruits! In the Visayas, Philippines, we have both. They may come from the same family but are definitely two different fruits. Makopa has a smoother skin while Tambis’shallow furrows are more pronounced. Makopa’s fruit is finer but has a faint tart taste. Tambis fruit is coarser & no tartness. Makopa has a deeper red color. Tambis is lighter like pinkish red.
April 21st, 2008