Descripción del producto

Bael fruits may be cut in half, or the soft types broken open, and the pulp, dressed with palm sugar, eaten for breakfast, as is a common practice in Indonesia. The pulp is often processed as nectar or "squash" (diluted nectar). A popular drink (called "sherbet" in India) is made by beating the seeded pulp together with milk and sugar. A beverage is also made by combining bael fruit pulp with that of tamarind. These drinks are consumed perhaps less as food or refreshment than for their medicinal effects.

Mature but still unripe fruits are made into jam, with the addition of citric acid. The pulp is also converted into marmalade or sirup, likewise for both food and therapeutic use, the marmalade being eaten at breakfast by those convalescing from diarrhea and dysentery. A firm jelly is made from the pulp alone, or, better still, combined with guava to modify the astringent flavor. The pulp is also pickled.

Bael pulp is steeped in water, strained, preserved with **0 ppm S0₂, blended with *0% sugar, then dehydrated for *5 hrs at **0º F (*8.*9º C) and pulverized. The powder is enriched with *6 mg per **0 g ascorbic acid and can be stored for 3 months for use in making cold drinks ("squashes"). A confection, bael fruit toffee, is prepared by combining the pulp with sugar, glucose, skim milk powder and hydrogenated fat. Indian food technologists view the prospects for expanded bael fruit processing as highly promising.

The young leaves and shoots are eaten as a vegetable in Thailand and used to season food in Indonesia. They are said to reduce the appetite. An infusion of the flowers is a cooling drink.