The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. II. Being the Second of the First VoyageCook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. II. Being the Second of the First Voyage
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
34, 35, 36. The Blimbing, or _Averrhoa Belimbi_; the Blimbing Besse, or
_Averrhoa Carambola_; and the Cherrema, or _Averrhoa acida_ of Linnæus,
are three species of one genus: and though they differ in shape, are
nearly of the same taste. The Blimbing Besse is the sweetest: the other
two are so austerely acid, that they cannot be used without dressing;
they make however excellent pickles and sour sauce.
37. The Salak, or _Calamus Rotang Zalacca_ of Linnæus. This is the fruit
of a prickly bush; it is about as big as a walnut, and covered with
scales, like those of a lizard: below the scales are two or three yellow
kernels, in flavour somewhat resembling a strawberry.
Besides these, the island of Java, and particularly the country round
Batavia, produces many kinds of fruit which were not in season during
our stay; we were also told that apples, strawberries, any many other
fruits from Europe, had been planted up in the mountains, and flourished
there in great luxuriance. We saw several fruits preserved in sugar,
that we did not see recent from the tree, one of which is called
_Kimkit_, and another _Boa Atap_; and here are several others which are
eaten only by the natives, particularly the _Kellor_, the _Guilindina_,
the _Moringa_, and the _Soccum_. The Soccum is of the same kind with the
bread-fruit in the South Sea islands, but so much inferior, that if it
had not been for the similitude in the outward appearance both of the
fruit and the tree, we should not have referred it to that class. These
and some others do not merit to be particularly mentioned.
The quantity of fruit that is consumed at Batavia is incredible; but
that which is publicly exposed to sale is generally over-ripe. A
stranger however may get good fruit in a street called Passar Pissang,
which lies north from the great church, and very near it. This street is
inhabited by none but Chinese fruit-sellers, who are supplied from the
gardens of gentlemen in the neighbourhood of the town, with such as is
fresh, and excellent in its kind; for which however they must be paid
more than four times the market price.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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