Crunchy jelly to beat heat

But it is the sugar palm fruit that has come in demand apart from the humble tender coconut.  Sugar palm fruit (Borassus flabellifer - botanical name) or popularly known as Tale hannu in Kannada and Tateningu in Telugu, Tamil, this sweet jelly fruit is being sold everywhere in the city.

The outer part of the fruit is thin and has yellowish-brown skin. The fruit’s crown must be cut to enjoy the sweet jelly covered by a crucnchy kernel which looks like seed pockets.

‘Borassus flabellifer’ is a robust tree with a canopy of leaves and several dozen fronds. The large trunk resembles that of the coconut tree and is ringed with leaf scars. Young palmyra palms grow slowly in the beginning but then grow faster with age.

The fruits are grown largely in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Although it’s not grown here, the fruits have a huge demand as it is very good for health.

Ilayarajan and Ramachandran of Tamil Nadu sell the fruit during every summer near the Government PU College here. The fruit now costs Rs 10 which is slightly more since last year. “The yield has reduced this year. Besides, we have to incur the transport charges,” reasoned Ramachandran over price hike. However, it does not earn him much profit, he added.