'Pili Nut' The pride of Bikolanos

by danesller0127 | November 17, 2008 at 02:19 pm

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The Pili Nut is a tropical tree, and indiginous to the Philippines, its center of diversity is the Bicol Region, where it's a priority crop, also have spread to the provinces of Catanduanes, Masbate, and Southern Quezon area. The bulk of the raw nuts are supplied from wild stands in the mountain around Sorsogon, Albay, and Camarines Sur, in the Bicol region.

In my province in Sorsogon, the nuts concoction is called "nilanta" similar to "steaming"-- it will be boiled in a lukewarm water for about 10 to 15 minutes, to soften the ripe pulp, when ready removed the black skin and served; you can seasoned it with soy sauce, with bagoong or kuyog (padas) and siling labuyo (chili), match it with cooked rice, grilled fish, or grilled meat, then you will have an special dinner or lunch time.

Young shoots are edible too, used for cooking and making green salad, the Pili nut kernel is crispy and delicious, emulsion from crushed kedrnels has been used by the natives in early days as substitute for infant's milk. It's used also for making medicinal ointment. Some says, that the nuts is also an "Aprhrodisiac."

Other uses; resin-rich wood is an excellent firewood, it's good for furniture making, and the oil from the pulp has been used for manufacturing of soap and other products, the hard stoney shell is also an excellent fuel.

Other Pili products, are candies...

Origin: Philippines; abundant and wild in Southern Luzon, and parts of Visayas and Mindanao in low and medium primary forests.

The Pili nut (Canarium ovatum), one of 600 species in the family Burseraceae, is native to the Philippines and is abundant and wild in southern Luzon, and in parts of Visayas and Mindanao.

Trees of Canarium ovatum are attractive symmetrically shaped evergreens, averaging 20 m tall with resinous wood and resistance to strong wind. C. ovatum is dioecious, with flowers borne on cymose inflorescence at the leaf axils of young shoots. As in papaya and rambutan, functional hermaphrodites exist in pili. Pollination is by insects. Flowering of pili is frequent and fruits ripen through a prolonged period of time. The ovary contains three locules, each with two ovules, most of the time only one ovule develops (Chandler 1958).

Pili fruit is a drupe, 4 to 7 cm long, 2.3 to 3.8 cm in diameter, and weighs 15.7 to 45.7 g. The skin (exocarp) is smooth, thin, shiny, and turns purplish black when the fruit ripens; the pulp (mesocarp) is fibrous, fleshy, and greenish yellow in color, and the hard shell (endocarp) within protects a normally dicotyledonous embryo. The basal end of the shell (endocarp) is pointed and the apical end is more or less blunt; between the seed and the hard shell (endocarp) is a thin, brownish, fibrous seed coat developed from the inner layer of the endocarp. This thin coat usually adheres tightly to the shell and/or the seed. Much of the kernel weight is made up of the cotyledons, which are about 4.1 to 16.6% of the whole fruit; it is composed of approximately 8% carbohydrate, 11.5 to 13.9% protein, and 70% fat. Kernels from some trees may be bitter, fibrous or have a turpentine odor.

Manny Ferrer aka, FreeWilly also wrote The Wonders of 'Pili Tree' (www.sorsogonweb.com)

There are three Pili nut cultivars in the Philippines, they are: 'Katutubo', 'Mayon', and 'Oas'. 'Poamoho' is the only cultivar in Hawaii.

Collections: College of Agriclture, University of the Philippines at Los Banos, College, Laguna 4031, Philippines.

USDA/ARS, National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Hilo, P.O. Box: 4487, Hilo, HI 96720 LTD.

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Paschen

at 05:11 on November 18th, 2008

I like it and it is very tasty. Long time though since I came across any.

danesller0127

at 07:51 on November 18th, 2008

Wow! you did? yeah! the kernel is similar to cashew nut and pistachio...very tasty, crispy and delicious. if you know, The ripe pulp is also edible. In my place, we boiled it in a lukewarm water for about 10 to 15 minutes and when it's ready you can remove the black skin and seasoned it as you like, but for me and my sisters, sometimes we will put in a blender, add a milk and sugar, and you have the colour, a taste similar to avocados...

jayjaylucas

at 19:48 on November 18th, 2008

In Bicol, Philippines this is the famous nut that is used for all sort of scrumptious delicacies and sweets.

jayjaylucas has contributed a photo to this story.

danesller0127

at 07:42 on November 19th, 2008

Thanks a lot! jayjay'...Iyo baga, naiiba talaga an 'Pili Nut' sa intero na nuts, kaya sinabi ko na 'Pride kan mga Bikolanos' kay digdi lang talaga sa ato sa Bicol, an may pinakadakol na tanom kan Pili,.na naka tabang sa ato ekonomiya.

Dios Mabalos!