It’s that time of year again and it is literally raining santol at our home and I suspect most of the Southern Tagalog provinces are at the peak of the santol harvest. I just thought I would post this to remind those of you in high-rise airconditioned offices and apartments or homes who haven’t been to the wet markets lately to savor this wonderful fruit at its peak… I have done 5 previous posts on santol before…
For a wonderful, quick easy and spectacularly refreshing drink, make a pitcher of santol juice.
If you are a bit more adventurous and can manage the time, read this post and this one on making santol preserves.
And if you make the preserves, you can then make these fantastic santol turnovers.
Finally, if you want to cook with it, I tried this santol at sugpo sa gata recipe.
I’m going to see how many kilos we pull down from the trees this morning and decide if I am going to make some preserves this year… It’s been ages since I have enjoyed a brined santol (in salt), but maybe I might give that a go as well. And definitely, some santol juice!!! Enjoy!
7 Responses
I love santol juice. I’m in a mission of serving this wonderfully rereshing drink to family, friends and foe. I want to see a nation of santol juice drinkers. Stand tall drinkes of santol.
I love it’s amber tone and astringent refreshing bite. Is it healthy? hope so… Would it taste good with rum or vodka?
I saw a feature Bicol cuisine on tv, one of the recipes was “sinantolan”. I think it’s the same as santol at sugpo sa gata. There’s a slight difference in the procedure though, in bicol they just halve the santol, take out the seeds and grated it on a contraption used for grating coconuts (looks like a cross between a turtle and a bench, with a metal “grater” sticking out like a turtle’s head). No peeling needed! I miss this dish. A cousin went back from Quezon and gave brought this for pasalubong, maybe it was really from Bicol?
Re Lee: Santol is rich in tannin and pectin that’s why it stains and congeals easily into a beautiful conserve. It has the same pleasant puckering astringency as cranberries so any drink that calls for cranberry cocktail (such as the racy Sex-on-the-beach) presumably can be mixed with santol juice. Experiment and maybe call your version True grit.
The many lives of santol. I just like the sweet variety of santol with sauteed bagoong.
a million thanks to apicio for accurately spelling out my thoughts in precise words, “pleasant puckering astringency” it is.
be very careful with the seed though… i remember, my dad had a very unfortunate patient who accidentally swallowed a santol seed…
Indeed, the trouble with santol are the seeds but for some perverse urge, eating santol off hand is barely satisfying if you did not swallow the seeds too. And if I may be ever so indelicate, it invariably hurt twice too.