All About Mountain Apples
Is it a pepper? A pear? Squash? Nope, it’s a mountain apple! Mountain apples are a very rare form of apple that FruitStand ships directly to you from our specialty farm partner in Hawaii.
Mountain apple is a rare apple variety that has a surreal, oblong apple shape. They almost look like they were grown in a Salvador Dalí painting! While this isn’t your everyday apple, the flavor and texture of the fruit is deliciously familiar.
Want to learn more about these rare apples? Keep reading!
Mountain apple is a very hard to find variety of apple. Their quirky shape gives them a striking look, but they have a classic apple. Mountain apples taste sweet and floral, with a distinct pear-like essence and texture, giving mountain apples a taste that’s both surprising and classic at the same time.
Mountain apples are a deep red color with occasional blushes of green and yellow. Like many varieties of apples, their edible skin is extremely with refreshingly crisp flesh beneath. When you open it up, you will find firm white fruit with a seed or two in the center, but no core.
These are very delicate fruits that have a short shelf life. We recommend handling them very carefully and enjoying them within a few days. Once spots are visible, mountain apples can spoil quickly.
The good news is that there are countless ways to eat mountain apples! Plus, they make a satisfying, low fat, hydrating snack that’s a good source of fiber, vitamins A and C and calcium.
Many people love to eat the mountain apple like, well, an apple. You can eat the entire fruit, skin and all, making sure to discard the 1 or 2 seeds that you find in the very middle. Slice them up for a snack with a side of your favorite nut butter, or use them in your favorite apple pie, cake and cobbler recipes. They’re even known to make for delicious pickles! With no core and just a few seeds, mountain apples make excellent caramel apples too.
The juice of these beauties makes for a special addition to cocktails, or accompanying other fruit juices like ginger, pineapple or mango.
Mountain apples go by many names including: Malay rose apple, Malay apple, rose apple, ohi'a 'ai apple, pink satin-ash and pomerac. It’s believed that mountain apples were brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Polynesians centuries ago from where they grew natively in Malaysia and Australia. Today they grow throughout the South Pacific and Southeast Asia.
Mountain apple, Syzygium malaccense, is a wild tree native to Malaysia and Australia. The tree is thought to have been brought to the Hawaiian islands by Polynesians between 1,000 and 1,700 years ago. The mountain apple has since naturalized in Hawaii, and that is where they are most commonly found in the US.
The peak season for mountain apples in Hawaii is late summer to fall. Mountain apples will fit in with your favorite autumnal apple recipes!
At FruitStand, we only partner with the best specialty farms for exceptional quality of produce. Some of our partner farms are organic, and all follow sustainable procedures. When mountain apple harvests are available on FruitStand, we will note whether this fruit is considered organic or conventional.
You’re definitely going to want to share a photo of these hard-to-find mountain apples! Tag us when you share them on Instagram @Fruitstandcom!