Would You Be Interested In SNACKING On SEA ALMONDS?

Part picture of the Ketapang or Sea Almond or Terminalia catappa tree ( with fruit clusters ) - taken adjacent to A'king Jetty, Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia.

Once, my Singaporean friend was hesitant, when I extracted a tiny nut from a small fruit which I had picked up from under a big tree at the East Coast Park and handed it over to him to taste, " Are you sure this is edible, and not POISONOUS??? "

Seeing my serious gesture, he popped it into his mouth anyway. Not without a doubtful look on his face though. His eyebrows raised questioningly and that made me laughed out aloud.

He chewed on it for a few seconds. Then, he blurted out, " Oh, this tastes just like almond! " 

" It is one, " I smilingly said. " An almond... - well, a sea almond to be exact! " I told him, happily. 

" We had lots of these fruits landed on our garden - dispersed by fruit bats and squirrels from an adjacent tree - when I was still a child. Our parents told us that their kernels are edible. Growing up, I have had eaten lots of them - especially whenever I feel bored. And as you can see, I am still around today! " I continued, laughingly.

While the trees are most commonly found growing on our coasts or in our jungles and parks or along our roadsides, the Sea Almond or Ketapang or Terminalia catappa fruit kernels ( nuts ) edibility is rarely known to a lot of people. It is not surprising though - considering the fact that they are extremely difficult and not worthwhile to extract. Thus, making them uninteresting to people and so, words about them, not widespread too. Only a FEW like me, I suppose and some wild animals like fruit bats and squirrels know about and appreciate them, it seems.

To me, they make really great snacks on a boring day. The fun is all about having to really ' work hard in extracting them ' - in order to enjoy just a tiny bit of them - which I find most challenging and interesting! 


What about you? Would you be interested in SNACKING on SEA ALMONDS too?

An old Ketapang or Sea Almond or Terminalia catappa tree - Picture taken at Tenggol Coral Beach Resort, Tenggol Island, Terengganu, Malaysia.