Salak Palm (Salacca zalacca)

Family: Arecaceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (5/5)

Salak Palm, Salacca zalacca, is a short-stemmed palm native to Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. It has long erect leaves up to 6m long, with each leaf having 2m long petiole with spines and leaflets. The trunk is underground. The fruits, which occur in clusters at the base of the palm, are characterized by its reddish-brown scaly skin. It can be eaten raw when fully ripe or made into candies. Unripe fruits, on the other hand, are used in salads.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit, Nuts/Seeds

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring

Flavor & Culinary Uses

delicious blend of acids and sugars and an apple-like flavour The flesh is exceptionally firm and crisp for a tropical fruit. — Slightly crisp, with a delicious blend of acids and sugars and an apple-like flavour The flesh is exceptionally firm and crisp for a tropical fruit.; It is quite sweet when fully ripe, but the unripe fruit is sour and astringent due to the presence of a little tannic acid.; Considered to be one of the finest of palm fruits for eating raw.; In Indonesia the fruits are also candied ('manisan salak'), pickled ('asinan salak') and fresh unripe ones may be used in 'rujak', a spicy salad of unripe fruit.

Habitat & North American Range

Rich soils in moist, shaded forests, often forming impenetrable thickets when growing in swampy areas and along the sides of streams. (Zone 10)