KARONDA A SUMMER FRUIT WITH A LOT OF BENEFITS
Summer is already here, Indian summers are very painful and most places in India are not only humid but experience very high temperatures. It is always recommended to stay hydrated to overcome heat and eating fruits is one of the best ways. Summer fruits besides quenching thirst, provides an instant energy to reduce tiredness which is something most people experience in summer.
Most of the summer fruits we know and many of us prefer include mango, phalsa, watermelons and many more. But! Have you ever heard of karonda or probably a carvandah which is one of the most sunshine loving plants, Carissa carandas which usually grows in hilly areas. Its Berries ripen from green to beautiful pink to red. It has that tangy sweet flavor. Its beautiful fruits attract people passing by but children are always warned not to pluck the fruits. Guess why? Karonda has thorns all over and due to which it is used as protectant and border plant for many fields , but a drawback is that it cannot be picked easily from the plant.
Karonda fruits are healthy with a huge amount of vitamin C, and iron besides increasing blood levels. Karonda is also used in culinary purposes where the fruits are used in making pickles, jams and jellies. Karonda fruits are also used in making wine and alcoholic beverages.
Since the karonda fruits are almost regarded as niche products due to their less availability and the difficulty of picking the fruits there are some special after care tips for this fruits and discussed as below:
- The fruits should be dried in shade immediately after plucking from the plant.
- The fruits should be graded according to the size and packed neatly in cardboard boxes for efficient marketing.
- he fruits which are already ripened can be stored upto 3- 4 days and application of sulphur dioxide @ 2000 ppm will effectively help in storing the fruits for upto 6 months.
- The fruits which are ripened are mostly used in processing industries for making jams and jellies.
SO now you know what karonda is, so when you come across a street and find a karonda plant, I am sure you would recollect its uses but yes! As i said before you should be careful in plucking the fruits in order to avoid any grief.
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