I remember that as a little boy, my parents harvested plums in our garden every year and all my brothers loved them, be it fresh, pickled, in desserts, and later as a traditional plum eau de vie called Slivovitz. So imagine my surprise when I met a small grape (here in Singapore) with a flavor of plum.
Jamun is native to the Indian subcontinent, from where it spread to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia as well as former tropical British colonies.
Jamun is known under several different names all around the world such as Java plum, Malabar plum, Jambul, and Jambolan.
Jamun is an evergreen tropical tree with a flowering plant. The wood of the tree is water-resistant, the leaves smell like turpentine and the flowers are fragrant and small. This fruit ripens from April to July.
Jamun is traditionally used to prepare candies, jams, syrups, juices and desserts. Here is a recipe using the Jamun syrup.
Recipe-Jamun Kir Royal
20 ml of Jamun syrup*
Topped up with champagne
1. Build in a champagne glass, gently stir and enjoy.
*Juice the Jamun and use the ratio of 1:1 sugar to juice. Once you dissolve the sugar keep it refrigerated. The syrup should last for 2 weeks in the fridge.
