Madan: The Thai Fruit Too Sour to Eat Raw

Madan — มะดัน (ma-dan) — Garcinia schomburgkiana.

This little green Garcinia fruit is so mouth-puckering that Thai cooks rarely bite it raw. Instead they slice it thin to sour a pot of gaeng som, or a plate of yam with pickled crab — the job tamarind or lime usually does. It is reported to carry vitamin A and calcium, and the young leaves get simmered in as a sour green. The parts on your plate are the small oblong fruit and those young leaves.

What madan really does, and does brilliantly, is sour a pot of gaeng som the way lime or tamarind would. It is far too tart to eat on its own, but perfect in the pot — and even the young leaves go in as a sour green.

Gaeng Som Madan — แกงส้มมะดัน (gaeng-som-ma-dan)
Madan Chuam — มะดันเชื่อม (ma-dan-chuam)

Food and nutrients

Rich in: Vitamin A, calcium

Research context

Compounds isolated from madan fruit blocked the starch-digesting enzyme alpha-glucosidase in an in-vitro test — Molecules, 2022

Sources

Source: Sim et al. (2022). alpha-Glucosidase Inhibitory and Antimicrobial Benzoylphloroglucinols from Garcinia schomburgkiana Fruits. Molecules. PMID 35458771, DOI:10.3390/molecules27082574. Further isolation of alpha-glucosidase inhibitors: RSC Advances (2023). PMID 38053690, DOI:10.1039/d3ra06760b.

Narration transcript

Opening

Madan — มะดัน, ma-dan. This little green Garcinia fruit is so mouth-puckering that Thai cooks rarely bite it raw. Instead they slice it thin to sour a pot of gaeng som, or a plate of yam with pickled crab — the job tamarind or lime usually does. The parts on your plate are the small oblong fruit and the young leaves, which simmer in as a sour green.

Gaeng Som Madan (แกงส้มมะดัน)

Thai cooks slice madan thin into gaeng som madan, a sour-and-spicy soup, where the fruit carries the sour in place of tamarind. Eat it with plain rice.

Madan Chuam (มะดันเชื่อม)

The fiercely sour fruit gets simmered in sugar syrup into madan chuam, a sweet-tart preserve eaten as a snack. Have it on its own or with tea.

Nutrition summary

As a souring fruit, madan carries only light nutrition — a small amount of vitamin C, and a trace of riboflavin.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A contributes to normal vision and helps maintain healthy skin and surface tissues.

Calcium

Calcium is needed to maintain normal bones and teeth, supports normal muscle and nerve function, and contributes to normal blood clotting.

Closing

What madan does, and does brilliantly, is sour a pot of gaeng som the way lime or tamarind would. It is far too tart to eat on its own, but perfect in the pot — and even the young leaves go in as a sour green. Follow Longevity Biome, and LIKE this video for regular updates.

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