"Langka"

Tulips

Having the orange flowers from my bouquet suddenly reminded me of the tropical fruit langka or jack fruit.

We had a langka tree in our home in Meycauayan, Bulacan, in the Philippines. Growing up, I remember seeing how the spiny and rough-textured exterior of the langka grew in its heaviness and enormity (from a youth's perspective). The aroma of the ripe langka was intoxicating.

I remember watching my grandfather take the fruit off the tree by cutting it with a machete. Then, with a cleaver or some really big sharp knife, he would whack and open the fruit. Depending on its level of ripeness, sticky sap would cling to my fingers as I helped him detach the fleshy "bulbs" or pods from the interior. After removing the seeds, we collected the pods in a large dish or container and served as snack or fruit dessert for the family. It was sweet, and just like the aroma, intoxicating. I remembered it having a playful texture and pleasant taste despite being fiberous with each bite.

It was VERY tempting to eat what I could after EACH removal of a pod seed. I don't remember if I ever overindulged at all but I always heard from grown-ups that aside from risking a stomach ache, langka was "nakakalasing" (inebriating) . I always preferred eating the raw pods, fresh from the cut ripe langka from the tree, than the preserves in a bottle that seem to only be available in specialty stores here in the States.

Orange-colored flowers, especially tulip bulbs, will always remind me of my Tatang and our shared langka moments.