Wax Jambu
Food · Fruit · Food, Typed Supps
Bell-shaped, waxy-skinned and about ninety per cent water — crisp and refreshing rather than sweet.
Stage by stage
- Intake (Mouth): Biting ruptures large water-filled cells, releasing juice and giving the fruit its crunch.
- Transit (Stomach): With almost no fat or protein, gastric emptying is fast and the energy load is trivial.
- Absorption (Small intestine): The small sugar load, vitamin C and folate are absorbed quickly.
- Fermentation (Colon): Fibre passes on to the colon, where gut bacteria ferment part of it.
Time to effect
- Within an hour: The small sugar and vitamin C load is absorbed quickly, with no cumulative effect.
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, Keto, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.
Satiety
The satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings. At 26 kcal per 100 g that is 923 g of this, which is not a serving anyone eats — so the index has nothing to say about it.
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: 26
- Protein: 0.7g
- Carbohydrate: 4.5g
- of which sugars: 4.5g
- Fat: 0.2g
- of which saturated: 0g
- Fibre: 1.9g
- Sodium: 1mg
Food vs. supplement
There is no supplement angle. If vitamin C is the goal, this is a poor way to get it; the fruit's value is as a low-energy, high-water food, which no capsule replicates.
Kitchen tip
Eat it cold, whole, skin and all, and as soon after picking as possible. The crunch is the entire appeal and it fades within a few days. It does not cook well, going soft and losing what little flavour it has.
Common myth
"Rose apple is a high vitamin C tropical fruit." In reality: At around 8mg per 100g it is a minor source. Guava, citrus and even strawberries supply several times more. What the fruit actually offers is water, crunch and fibre at very low energy.
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