I guess the Monkey Orange is kind of difficult to find in any other countries outside the continent Africa but i think its a very funny fruit and it has become one of my favourites so i still want to share my recipe on my “Monkey Orange Juice” i made the other day. Hopefully i do have some followers in Africa as well and they might be able to try it out.
I plocked the fruits here on the farm in southern Zambia. I think they are carrying the best taste when they are turning yellow from green but still arent totaly yellow. The ones i found this time was a little bit too ripen according to my taste but the juice came out nice anyway.
The Monkey Orange is a sweet and sour fruit rich in Vitamin C, Iron and Zinc. The more ripen it gets the browner the flech turns inside of it and it becomes sweeter. I love the combination it has of sour AND sweet thats why i prefer it not too ripen. After plocking them you can start using them straight away. If you keep them in room temperature they ripen quite fast and might last in your kitchen for 3-7 days if its not to hot. If you want them to last longer put them in a cooler place or dig them down under a layer of sand.
The first thing you must do is to smash them to the ground or into a hard surface to crack the shell. Be careful cause there is fruitjuice inside of it. Try to “save” as much of that juice as you can.
After cracking the shell, take out the seeds with the fruit meat on, seperate them into a pot. While doing this try to squeeze out as much juice as you can out of them before you put them into the pot.
Boil them in a little bit of water for about 1-1,5 hour. Let the seeds and the water cool down. Keep the water in the pot while you are putting some of the seeds into a cloth. Squeeze out all the juice you can from the seeds until they anly have a little bit of fruitmeat left on them. Throw those seeds away and continue doing the same with the rest until you have got all the juice back in the pot.
Boil it again for about 30 min, together with (more water if you find it too thick or to sour), sugar and a little bit of fresh ginger and some fresh lemon juice. Taste it during the process so that the ginger doesnt become dominant. After finding “your” flavour take the pot of the stow, strain the juice and put it into glass bottles.
This is a cordial you will mix 50/50 with water before drinking it so when its done it has to be quite sweet and “strong” in flavour. A super nutritious drink for anytime of the day – ENJOY!
