Quandong

Food · Fruit · Food, Typed Supps

A tart wild peach-like fruit, high in vitamin C and folate.

Stage by stage

Intake (Chewing begins): Chewing breaks down the tart flesh and releases its vitamins.
Stomach (Fruit structure broken down): Stomach acid continues breaking down the fruit’s cell walls.
Small intestine (Vitamin C & folate absorbed): Vitamin C and folate are absorbed directly across the intestinal wall.
Bloodstream & tissues (Used for collagen & cell division): Vitamin C supports collagen and immunity; folate supports new cell production.

Timing

No particular timing requirement — vitamin C and folate absorb well on an empty or full stomach.

Time to effect

Hours to weeks: Blood vitamin C responds within hours; folate status builds over weeks of regular intake.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Keto, Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

235 on the satiety index, where white bread is 100 — very high. Modelled from the Holt et al. (1995) measurements.

Environmental footprint

1.1 kg CO2e and 199 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Other fruit" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.

Cost band

Cheap — roughly £3 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 50.9
Protein: 2.5g
Carbohydrate: 8.1g
of which sugars: 8.1g
Fat: 0g
of which saturated: 0g
Fibre: 4.2g
Sodium: 116mg

Food vs. supplement

A 100g serve provides about a fifth to a third of daily vitamin C needs and a substantial amount of folate — a combination a plain vitamin C supplement doesn’t offer.

Kitchen tip

Quandong is traditionally stewed with a little sugar for jam or pie filling, since raw fruit is quite tart.

Common myth

“Quandong is an extreme superfruit, far higher in vitamin C than ordinary fruit.” In reality: Its vitamin C content is solid but comparable to an orange or kiwifruit — the genuinely standout nutrient is its folate content, unusually high for a fruit.