goodmorningpapua.com – The Challenge of MasterChef Indonesia for ninth session continues. On Saturday (5/2/2022), the participants were challenged to process certain fruits in accord with their choice in the game of archery. Two MasterChef Indonesia participants, Joel and Dea, received matoa fruit which had to be processed in the second round. However, what is Matoa fruit?
Matoa or Pometia pinnata is a typical Papuan fruit. Apart from Papua, Matoa is also widely planted in lowland areas, such as Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and South China. There are two types of Matoa known in Papua, namely coconut Matoa and papeda Matoa.
These two types of Matoa have differences in their texture. Coconut Matoa flesh has a chewy texture, while papeda Matoa has a slightly soft and sticky texture.
According to the book “Matoa Fruit 4 Flavors” (2019) by Alexander Furay published by IPB Press Publisher, Matoa has a characteristic in the form of a mixed taste of various fruits.
The taste of matoa consists of a mixture of rambutan, longan, durian, and cempedak flavors. After harvesting, Matoa fruit is stored for 7-14 days so that the flesh of the fruit thickens. That’s why, the flesh of Matoa fruit is similar to thick jelly. The color is white and transparent and does not completely cover the seeds.
Matoa fruit flesh wrapped with thick shell is the most commonly consumed part of the fruit. However, the thickness of the Matoa shell thins over time. The thinning of the green to reddish fruit shell and the inner layer makes the fruit flesh slowly separate. This creates a gap between them and looks like they are not fused together. Matoa fruit can be consumed directly like most other fruits.
In addition, this small fruit can also be processed into dishes, such as pudding made by Joel MasterChef Indonesia. Not only the flesh, the shell of the ripe matoa fruit can be consumed through a boiling process that produces a dish in the form of tea.