Sampinit is probably one of the rarest and most unpopular fruits in our country that you will only hear it from either the mountaineers who’ve already climb the abundant Mount Cristobal or the locals in the provinces of Laguna and Quezon, where the said mountain stands. In addition, the most popular search engines show only a few articles or posts talking up sampinit.
The subject fruit is only available for a short period specifically during the summer season so it’s kind of expensive compared to other tropical fruits. Plus, due to the way it’s being harvested as it requires extra effort like enduring the scorching heat of the sun and the thorny trees surrounding Mount Cristobal.
The locals prefer to gormandize this fruit straight from the bush which I also did when I ate some during our “take 5″ on that part of the forest where these wild raspberries are sprouting like weeds. According to our guide, sampinit is tastier when it’s added with a bit of salt or when you let these berries sit on the salt for a few minutes. The reason is that, the salt penetrating through its TEXTURED skin brings out more of that berry juices, slowly. The latter is a common way of eating sampinit in Laguna. Sampinit tastes a bit sour like a ripe tamarind and is a bit smaller and more delicate compared to the commercially available raspberry.
I was lucky I got a photo of what I consider as one of Mount Cristobal’s Treasures, the sampinit, last 06 March 2011 when I and my hiking buddies conquered said mountain. I’m glad I was able to utilize the TEXTURED skin of sampinit through this week’s photo challenge.
Reference:
Txt from: http://yobynos.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/weekly-photo-challenge-textured/
