Fruits In Thai And English

[snowleopard]

Hi folks! Farangs and Others!

How many different kinds of fruits and berries are native to Thailand?

Are there any exotic fruits that have been introduced here from the outside and are now grown successfully in the Kingdom?

Do you know of any fruits from Temperate and Subtropical climatic zones which thrive in the Tropics?

What are the Thai and English names of all the different types of wild and domestically grown fruit found in markets around the country?

What regions are famous for what kind of fruit?When does each one come into season?

Which one is your favorite?Which has the most succulent flavor?Which kind tastes horrible?Which ones are well-known overseas?Which ones did you know and experience only once you'd landed on these shores?

Let's get both their Thai and International names,shall we?

If you know only one name,post it here anyway and some other poster will figure out what you're talking about!

Here are a few of my palatable favorites...

1.mangosteen=ผลมังคุด "pon mang-kuht";or only "mang-khut"

2.jackfruit=ลูกขนุน "loohk ka-nuhn";or "ka-nuhn"

3.lichee;or,litchi=ลิ้นจี่ "leen-jee"

4.rambutan=เงาะ "ngah"

5.durian=ทุเรียน "toh-ree-an"

Let's have a fruitful discussion so start delivering some toothsome fruit now!

Cheers.

Snowleopard.

[snowleopard]

Why are guavas called farang (ฝรั่ง "fa-rahng") while Farangs aren't called guavas?

Myself,I'm mighty proud of being a Thai Farang!

It's known that some Native Americans are called by the slang term "apples"because they're behaving like Whites and their ethnicity is only skin deep!

For the same reason some Chinese have been labeled "bananas"!

Both of the above terms are probably considered offensive in the wrong context while I think "Farang" is quite cute.

I don't mind having my fruit label stuck on my persona!

Do you think there's any connection between the expat community in Thailand and guavas;eventhough,there are two different classifiers in Thai for the two groups?

Cheers.

Snowleopard.

[meadish_sweetball]

Hardcore?

[Spee]

How many different kinds of fruits and berries are native to Thailand?

Also unsure of what fruits are native, but I know these are grown there:

(sorry, have no idea of the thai spelling, but hopefully someone will contribute)

pineapple - saparot

coconut - spelling unsure

mango - mamuang

papaya - spelling unsure

orange - som

lime - spelling unsure

watermelon - spelling unsure

banana - spelling unsure

Have also seen and heard of the ones you mentioned

[snowleopard]

How many different kinds of fruits and berries are native to Thailand?

Also unsure of what fruits are native, but I know these are grown there:

(sorry, have no idea of the thai spelling, but hopefully someone will contribute)

pineapple - saparot

coconut - spelling unsure

mango - mamuang

papaya - spelling unsure

orange - som

lime - spelling unsure

watermelon - spelling unsure

banana - spelling unsure

Have also seen and heard of the ones you mentioned

pineapple - saparot=สับปะรด

coconut= มะพร้าว "ma-praow"

mango - mamuang=มะม่วง

papaya=มะละกอ "ma-la-goh"

orange - som=ส้ม

lime=มะนาว "ma-naow"

watermelon=แตงโม "dtaeng-moh"

banana= กล้วย "kloo-ai" (please do not pronounce it incorrectly now I think you know why! )

Cheers.

Snowleopard.

[sbk]

In addition to these you could also add (sorry, my browser doesn't support thai language- mozilla) :

lo gum (southern word maybe?) don't know the english name of this one

langsat (YUM!) or this one

longan

lum-yai ditto

and I don't know if this would be classified as a fruit but it does grow on a tree:

sa-taw (gives me heartburn!)

[SweGuava]

Why are guavas called farang (ฝรั่ง "fa-rahng") while Farangs aren't called guavas?

I am a pround Guava calling myself farang...or if it was the other way around....

[bina]

i already was bugging plachon for names of all the wierd things i have growing in my garden that the thai workers gave me to plant. I know how to eat them but dont know what they are, but also want latin names since the common or local names change from locale to locale (i'm quoting plachon here from a thread we had in the issan farming thread).

so far: this site has pics, name, latin, sometimes the thai translit. uses, etc.

www.thaiherbs.com

Herbal and Medicinal Plants

Baubok/Penneywort

Bay leave

Boraped

Bitter melon

Candle bush

Cardamom

Cha-plu

Catnip

Chocolate mint

Cilantro

Culentro

Curry plant

Curry mint

Galanga

Garlic chive

Ginger

Golden tumeric

Grachai

Grachai dum

Holy basil

Horseradish

Italian basil

Kaffir lime

Lambsear

Lemon balm

Lemon basil

Lemon grass

Majoram

Marigold mint

Onion chive

Orange mint

Oregano

Pandanus

Peppers

Pineapple sage

Plai

Rao ram

Purple basil

Red plumbago

Rosemary

Shiso (Perrilla)

Sorrel

Spear mint

Thai chili pepper

Thai sweet basil

Thai yellow pepper

Thai tango pepper

Thyme

Tumeric

Vapca

Vitex

White Tumeric

Flowers House/Water Plants Vegetables

Althea Asiatic Penneywort Bitter melon (vine)

Bee balm Canna Egg plant

Bluemist Cloud nine Gratin (Lead Tree, Horse Tamarind))

Butterfly bush Golden tumeric Luffa Gourd (vine)

Canna Hidden ginger Peppers

Candle bush Horsetail plant Sanoa

Cloud nine Orchids Sorrel

Columbine Pandanus Taro

Cosmos Philodendron Tum-leung (vine)

Fall aster Pipe plant Water chestnut

Fall obedient Praying plant White tumeric

Four O'clock Red plumbago Yard long bean (vine)

Frost weed Sanoa

Ginger Orchid Taro

Golden Tumeric Imperial Taro

Hidden ginger Umbrella plant

Mealy blue sage Vap Ca

Mexican bush sage Water chestnut

Mexican heather Water lily

Mexican petunia Water iris

Orchids White flag

Ginger orchid (white flowers) Umbrella plant

Passion vine Vitex

Peruvian verbena

Red plumbago

Trumpet vine

White Tumeric

Copyright © 2002 Thai Herbs & Spices. All rights reserved.

Revised 7/16/02

[bina]

found my other source:http://asiarecipe.com/thaispice.html

HERBS & SPICES FOR THAI COOKING

The special combination of herbs and spices used in preparing Thai dishes is what gives Thai food its very distinctive character, both within Thailand and throughout the world. There are 27 main herbs and spices which form the real basis for Thai cooking with that special Thai flavor. Below is a chart with description and sketches of those twenty seven. A star indicates those non-chewable ingredients. So be sure, don't chew and swallow the unpleasant ones. (This is not a page of Thai Vegetables).

HORAPA

A sweet basil similar to the kind used in Italian Pesto and various European tomato dishes. Used as a vegetable and for flavoring.

GA-PROW

A sweet basil different from Horapa in that the aroma and flavour is released only in cooking. Used in fish, beef and chicken dishes.

MANGLUG

A sweet basil with a somewhat peppery taste. Sometimes called lemon-scented basil. Used as a vegetable and a flavoring.

MINT (Saranae)

Very similar to the mint used in mint sauces in England. Used on Thai cooking as a vegetable and a flavoring.

PEPPER (Prik-Thai)

Black, white, and green peppercorn types. Black is milder and more aromatic than white. Green peppercorns have a special taste all their own. Used in flavoring.

CHILLIS (Prik)

More than ten types of Chillis are used in Thai cooking. They vary in size and color, but all are spicy. The milder chillis used in the west are sometimes substituted, but rarely. Used for flavoring.

GARLIC (Gra-Tiem)

Thailand is literally overflowing with garlic plants. Whole cloves, smashed garlic, chopped garlic, and garlic oil are used in almost every Thai dish.

SHALLOTS (Horm-Lek)

Small red onions which are used in nearly every Thai dish. A special flavour, to be sure, and so special that even some Thais prefer to do without these in their food.

SESAME (Nga)

Identical to sesame seeds the world over. In Thai cooking sesame seeds are used for oil and for flavoring. The seeds are white with black shells.

MACE (Dorg Junn)

The orange outer covering of Nutmeg. Mace is used in making Musaman curry paste. The plant is native to Indonesia.

NUTMEG (Loog Junn)

A nut enclosed in a very hard brown or orange shell. The nut is crushed and used in making Musaman curry paste. (See Mace above).

LEMON GRASS (Ta-Krai)

This plant looks like coarse grass. The lower part of the stalk is used for flavoring mainly, but also as an ingredient in certain dishes -- the most famous is Tom Yum.

SPRING ONIONS (Tohn Horm)

The standard long-stemmed, small onion, green and white and used in Thai food as a garnish for soups, salads and vegetables.

BAY LEAF (Gra-wan)

Very similar to the Bay Leaf of the West, the Bay Leaf in Thailand is actually called Cassia; that is, it is not exactly the same but comes from the same tree. Used in curries.

CLOVES (Gaan Ploo)

Dried flower buds of an evergreen tree. Cloves are common to Western dishes, but in Thai cooking are used only for the Musaman curry paste. The leaves are also used with Betel Nut. Cloves are native to Indonesia.

CARDAMOM (Loog Gra-Wan)

Small off-white capsules from a plant native to India, which contain black seeds. The seeds give off a cool, refreshing aroma and are used as a garnish for Musaman curry.

CINNAMON (Ob Chuey)

From the bark of a tree, the type of cinnamon used in Thailand is of only one kind, that from the Cassia tree. It is used in meat dishes and curries.

PANDANUS LEAF (Toey)

Long narrow green leaves of the herbaceous plant. Used in Thai cooking as a flavoring and a coloring.

CUMIN (Yee-Raa)

Seeds that look like caraway and fennel, but taste quite different. Only cumin is used in Thai cooking, not the other two, and it is used in making curry pastes.

COMMON GINGER (Khing)

In Chinese shops, known as green ginger, roots are pickled or made into drinks. Young ginger is used for a condiment with chicken or beef dishes.

GALANGAL or SIAMESE GINGER (Khaa)

The roots are larger than those of the common ginger, and Siamese ginger is always used to make curry pastes used in Thai food.

GRA-SHAI

A type of ginger with no English name. Always added to fish curries, and sometimes used as a raw vegetable after peeling.

TUMERIC (Kha-Min)

Bright orange roots which are used for the coloring in yellow curries. White tumeric, a different type, is used as a raw vegetable and resembles ginger.

LIME (Ma-Nao)

The common citrus lime is native to China and Southeast Asia. The whole lime fruit is used in Thai food, mainly for desserts. The peel is used as a flavoring.

KAFFIR LIME (Ma-Grut)

A knobby dark green fruit the size of a large lime. The juice and peel are used in cooking as flavoring. Similar to lemon, lemon peel and lemon verbana.

MANDARIN ORANGE (Som Khiew Wahn)

A thin-skinned orange which remains green when ripe. Identical to the Mandarin Orange known in the West. The whole fruit is used for desserts and flavoring.

CITRON (Som Saa)

Round, dark green fruit with very strong aroma. The peel is often used in flavoring. If you can't find it, orange peel is the best substitute.

JASMINE (Mali)

Flower beds of the Jasmine plant, picked in the evening before they open, and used as a scent in drinking water, tea and desserts.

[Paleface]

Does anyone know why the farang or guava is sometimes called "buc seeda" in Issan?

[NaiGreg]

I think tamarind (ma-kahm) is great but I did read somewhere that it is actually a legume. Is that true?

[Pink Mist]

I think tamarind (ma-kahm) is great but I did read somewhere that it is actually a legume. Is that true?

Tamarinds grow on trees so I can't see them being classed as a Legume.

Bina Gaprow is also used with pork, one of my favourite dishes is "Gaprow Moo"

[meadish_sweetball]

Does anyone know why the farang or guava is sometimes called "buc seeda" in Issan?

That's because "baksiidaa" is the Lao, or Isaan word for what the Siamese Thai call "farang". Jokingly, Isaan people will sometimes refer to "farang" (Westerners) as "baksiidaa" too.

The syllable "bak-" in the beginning is a prefix for fruits, most likely related to the "ma-" in some Central Thai fruit and veggie names. I suspect that once upon a time, the original form of this word was used to say "fruit". Maybe somebody else has more thoughts or info on this.

Cf. Central Thai "ma-khuea-theet" (tomato), "ma-phraaw" (coconut), "ma-feuang" (do not know the English name), "ma-la-gaw" (papaya), "ma-muang" (mango) and so on...

Cheers,

Meadish (using Firefoxx, so I can't type proper Thai today I am afraid).

[sbk]

I think tamarind (ma-kahm) is great but I did read somewhere that it is actually a legume. Is that true?

Tamarinds grow on trees so I can't see them being classed as a Legume.

Bina Gaprow is also used with pork, one of my favourite dishes is "Gaprow Moo"

Actually they are not legumes but also fix nitrogen like legumes do, hence they are often referred to as leguminous trees (there are several, one is called Don Ke --has white or purple flowers and leaves similar to a tamarind tree). However, the correct term for these trees (I'll bet sa-taw is one too) is "nitrogen fixing trees".

Sorry, I like to garden

[bina]

nitrogen fixing trees are good and so is gardening especially when its in the plate afterwards

[snowleopard]

lo gum (southern word maybe?) don't know the english name of this one

Hi there SBK!

Is it the fruit with the red peel you're talking about?

If it's the one that is called ระกำ "ra-kahm" in Thai,then the English name is zalacca!

Is that the one you mean?

Cheers.

Snowleopard.

[stiab3]

The fruit I'm curious to find the name of is similar to tamarind. However, the fruits/pods aren't as long and they're black (velvety) on the outside. The inside is pale. The taste and texture of the fruits is similar to tamarind. The seed is also pale.

I don't know the thai name for it but would like to find out the english name.

I have a pic here http://www.babbnet.com/photo_860_highlights.htm

with them being sold. I don't know if the thai writing is the name of the fruit or what?

Ta,

s3

[the scouser]

Hi Stiab 3,

Sorry, I don't know the name of the fruit in English but according to the sign in your photo they are fresh, sweet, " look yee ". Hope that helps.

Scouse.

[sbk]

lo gum (southern word maybe?) don't know the english name of this one

Hi there SBK!

Is it the fruit with the red peel you're talking about?

If it's the one that is called ระกำ "ra-kahm" in Thai,then the English name is zalacca!

Is that the one you mean?

Cheers.

Snowleopard.

I just googled it and that is it! It has a prickly skin and is kind of sour/sweet. Firm pale flesh that is divided into two halves. There are two kinds, the sweeter kind (very nice) and the super sour kind (they usually soak it in a palm sugar water to 'pickle' it). The tree itself is really awful as it is really prickly, with huge long thorns on it.

here is a link if you would like to see it : Zalacca

[snowleopard]

The fruit I'm curious to find the name of is similar to tamarind. However, the fruits/pods aren't as long and they're black (velvety) on the outside. The inside is pale. The taste and texture of the fruits is similar to tamarind. The seed is also pale.

I don't know the thai name for it but would like to find out the english name.

I have a pic here http://www.babbnet.com/photo_860_highlights.htm

with them being sold. I don't know if the thai writing is the name of the fruit or what?

Ta,

s3

Hi there stiab3!

The fruit in question is called ลูกหยี "loohk yee" in Thai!

I don't know the English name for it,or even if there is one?

Cheers.

Snowleopard.

[Boon Mee]

Didn't see the fruit mentioned yet that new Farangs to LOS always get a kick out of - the "Fak" fruit. Can't remember the English translation for it but it's got a fair amount of seeds and only semi-sweet. Don't have Thai fonts on this machine but it might be spelled: "faw faa", "mai han aakaat", "sara u", "gaw gai".? Snowleopard?

[snowleopard]

Didn't see the fruit mentioned yet that new Farangs to LOS always get a kick out of  - the "Fak" fruit.  Can't remember the English translation for it but it's got a fair amount of seeds and only semi-sweet.  Don't have Thai fonts on this machine but it might be spelled:  "faw faa", "mai han aakaat", "sara u", "gaw gai".?  Snowleopard?

Hi!

It's spelled ฟัก "fahk" and I think the name in English would be gourd;but,sometimes the name squash is also being used.

I don't know which translation is best?Which one did you hear?

Maybe somebody can explain the difference?

There's another Thai name I've heard that is either that one or a similar fruit.

The name is ฟักเขียว "fahk kee-o"=green gourd.

The family this fruit belongs to would be pumpkin/melon.

One more fruit that probably belongs to the same family is แฟง "faeng".

Is that "pepo" in English?

Cheers.

Snowleopard

[Neeranam]

Hi folks

Does anyone know the English word for "ma-prang"?

I get very confused with some fruits - I call them by the Thai name adn think the English name for them is another fruit.

I used to think rambutan was a thai word, and "ngo" was different.

Longan, lamyai, lynchee still confuse me.

I should buy a book on fruit I guess.

[bina]

fak nam : the bottle neck type gourds and the plant climbs like crazy...

fak toon: pumpkin

teng mo watermelon

i bought a good book on fruit in thai; its a childrens colouring book; bought in udon. there are lots of books on fruits and veggies for small children, the names are in english and in thai, but since i cant read thai ill ask someone to translate for me and i can list them. the book is a beautiful colouring book with stickers of the fruit; and then the fruit outline drawn on on different pages, the child has to find the pic. and stick it on, then colour in the rest of the page.

what is 'water convulvus' in thai?

mangosteen

sugar apple

lancet fruit

[Paleface]

Water convulvus is "pak boong"

Another squash or pumpkin in English is "fahk tong", very easy to grow and delichious!

[Paleface]

How many of you have seen cashews growing?

I picked up some from the temple grounds and planted them. In 6 years the trees were 12 feet high and had fruit. The fruit looks just like a medium sized pear, red in color and on the bottom of each is 1 cashew!

I used to think cashews were expensive but now I think the price is quite resonable. It would require alot of effort to get a pound of them!

[drummer]

banana= กล้วย "kloo-ai" (please do not pronounce it incorrectly now I think you know why! )

I have some female american friends who repeatedly misordered a banana shake, and were wondering why the guy behind the counter started laughing so hard he could no longer stand...

[Neeranam]

banana= กล้วย "kloo-ai" (please do not pronounce it incorrectly now  I think you know why!  )

ผมไม่รู้ จริงๆ

[username2004]

Neeranam:

If pronounced incorrectly (with the K sound, instead of G, as in "gun"), the word will mean "a penis," in an extremely disapproving way.

[sbk]

How many of you have seen cashews growing?

I picked up some from the temple grounds and planted them. In 6 years the trees were 12 feet high and had fruit. The fruit looks just like a medium sized pear, red in color and on the bottom of each is 1 cashew!

I used to think cashews were expensive but now I think the price is quite resonable. It would require alot of effort to get a pound of them!

It gets worse, to get the actual nut out you have to burn the nuts, then the oil in the nut ignites and burns away that hard outer shell leaving a roasted nut inside. You have to watch out for the oil in the nut as it is quite flammable. You can't let the nut burn too long or you will end up with black crispy bits instead of nuts.

Cashew nut trees (met muang) are actually quite damaging to the soil, they suck the nutrients out and leave the soil quite barren. You don't want to grow any in good soil or near other fruit trees.

Jackfruit (Kanoon) are really beautiful trees with glossy leaves, just the fruit looks kind of weird hanging off the trunk like it does. They are enormous trees at full maturity.

Apparently there are two kinds of jackfruit, one being especially nice, not too rubbery.

Does anyone know the English word for "ma-prang"?

according to my Thai dictionary it is a marian plum.