We were headed to the Mactan airport from Cebu City and hit a traffic jam in Mandaue, forcing us to pass back roads and directly in front of the main public school in Mandaue, just as kids were flowing out by the hundreds. Since traffic slowed to a crawl, I watched the sidewalk vendors with increasing interest as I saw what kids were buying for merienda or snack. Instead of a whole green mango with bagoong from my schooldays, down to say half a mango 15 years ago, I noticed that now vendors were selling 1/4th of a mango on a stick which was then dipped into a container of bagoong. Others were selling slices of large guavas, sweets, etc. But suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted these tiny little fruit in small plastic bags and I was certain I had never tasted or featured them on marketmanila before. After jumping out of the car and buying several plastic bags for just 1 peso each, we continued on our way to the airport. This is bignay (Antidesma bunius), a common bush/tree/fruit in some provinces, but rarely seen in Manila or major city markets. It is one of two fruits from Doreen Fernandez’s great book “Fruits of the Philippines” that I had not tasted or tracked down. The last one is Aratiles. So I was thrilled with the find.
Bignay or Bugnay for Visayans, or Chinese laurel, is native to this part of the world and the fruit has an incredible tart to slightly sweetish taste, and a rather large pip relative to the size of the fruit. It was sour, astringent, shocking. I read that it is sometimes used in jams and I can so see how that might be brilliant. I could also see a bignay infused sauce on some really nice slabs of foie gras. I am not sure if the seeds are removed or strained out when bignay jam is made, but I will now have to hunt down the jam to taste it. A nice picture of bugnay over at Loney Kitchen. Hmmm, now where to find aratiles???
62 Responses
The buying power of PH Peso from a whole mango down to a quarter cut! I never have had the chance to see or taste bignay. Perhaps you can use them aside from jam to flavor vinegar to another depth – like raspberry or blueberry flavored vinegar to use in salad dressings or adobo for a twist. Learn them through your informative site.
I have tasted bignay only once in my life. I was in grade school. All I remember about this fruit is the tartness it has.
I had tons of aratiles though as a child. Me and my cousins would have a competition every afternoon during the summer on who could pick the biggest and the ripest aratiles for the day. We had aratiles trees in our backyard. Now I even wonder what drawn me to that fruit as a child. If you’ll ask me now if I would want some more aratiles, my answer will be ‘no, thank you’. Perhaps I had too much of it when I was small? Hmmm…
aratiles is very common in batangas when my mom was heavy with my youngest sister aratiles ang gustong gusto niyang kainin, we used to pick it for her, gusto ko lag yung manibalang ayoko yung hinog na they are so small and madaling malapirot or malamog. wala yata siyang season basta namumunga siya at gustong gusto siya ng mga ibon.
when i was much, much younger, we lived in batangas for a few years. my aunt/neighbor had a huge aratiles tree. we’d always be on the look out for the fruit. same with alilay, we didn’t like the ripe ones (red colored)–they were too soft and too sweet. we preferred the greenish-pink to pink colored fruit. we’d get a glass and collect them and divide them up (super) equally between ourselves.
i remember how it still tastes but if offered one now, i think like MRJP, i’d decline. wonder why? it’s a taste only kids like, maybe?
:) aratiles trees shouldn’t be hard to find. it’s making sure you will be able to try out the fruit before some kid strips the tree that’s the challenge
I cant believe you have not tasted aratiles MM. I have always thought aratiles was part of every Filipino’s childhood memories.
As I saw the pictures (with0out having read the title), I first thought they were Aratiles..
MarketMan, really? You have not tasted aratiles? I remember when I was about 4 years, there were several aratiles trees in our vicinity, and usually kids my age would climb these trees and it their fruit.. Now, those aratiles trees were gone.. They were taken for granted because they were very visible and people do not really know what to do with its fruits.. A lot of it would just fall on the ground and rot, thus they would be feasted by all sorts of insects and even maggots.. not very appetizing sight..
what?! you’ve never tasted aratiles? aren’t they pretty common?… i’d pick aratiles from the trees along the roads on the way from school before. heehee. hmmm, i should pass there again soon and check if they’re still there ;p
Aratiles is mansanitas in Cebuano, right?
aratiles — those are like peas right?! i remember we used to eat those when we were small and they said it has some medicinal effect. you could eat a bunch and the worms in your tummy would be dead or forced to evacuate. lol. we call it “pampurga”, our alternative medicine for combantrin and antiox ;)
We used to have aratiles in our house. There are a lot of beliefs about the aratiles trees too. They say that elements love living in the tree. That’s why when we were kids, we used to ask permission first before we got the fruits. Mind you, this was in Manila and not in the province, and yet we believed this myth(?). :)The aratiles fruit is in my top 15 favorite Philippine fruits. I think a lot of households used to have them in the backyard. Even both my maternal and paternal grandparents’ houses in Capiz and Iloilo, respectively had aratiles trees in the front or back gardens. :)
We call it mansanitas in Davao. I remember eating a lot of those when I was a kid. We had a tree near our house and the neighborhood kids would make that the “tambayan” every summer.
Really, MM? You have never tasted aratiles? They just sprout in any empty lot courtesy of maya droppings. Half of the fun is picking the biggest and reddest ones from the tree. I drop them in a bowl of ice cold water to wash out the dust and to chill them then suck the juices and tiny pips out. They are delicious!!! (For a similar taste, try the taro ice of Quickly. Sarap!)
I heard that bignay plant has many medicinal values. I know of many who makes tea from the bignay leaves while others uses the bark.
A couple of years back, I’ve seen somebody on TV claiming that drinking bignay tea increases ones libido. Could the bignay also be the herbal cure for erectile dysfunction? :)
Bignay and aratiles are common fruit trees, I can’t believe it took you years to find them. Compared to mabolo and other fruits you’ve featured, these two are common and almost has no commercial value and can’t be bought on fruit stalls. In the North, aratiles is also known as “Saresa or seresa”… very pretty to look, looks like colored pearls, and really sweet, too. The off-white seeds (which look like active yeast) burst in the mouth like poppyseeds. I think you can find aratiles if you ask a regular local kid…they know where the fruit trees are :)
There was a huge Aratiles, or Manzanitas, tree behind the laundry at Lola’s house and it can be found in just about every other yard in Cebu. Bignay makes a nice conserve, Lola cooked it plenty of sugar and it was added to fruitcake in lieu of cherries. I suggest you make it into a conserve and serve with roasted pork, or duck.
MM, you just made my day!!! I have been trying to remember the name of this fruit bec we had it at our backyard (unfortunately it got cut bec of a strong storm) and nobody seemed to remember the name too. Thanks for this post, it really brings such wonderful childhood memories =)
my dad’s farm had fruit trees such as makopa & aratiles. every weekend, seemed like the fruit was available all year, we kids pigged out on these. sadly they had to be cut down to make room for an extension. great memories have come alive again through this blog!
Our carpenter friend told me that we have a bignay tree in our garden. I’m still looking for it though :-)…wishing I’d get to see some of the fruits. Baka nauunahan lang ako ng mga ibon and some Mangyan Huckleberry Finns :-D. I also took for granted the aratiles tree. I thought they just sprout everywhere…but hereabouts they grow at a special location quite high in the mountain! I had my husband cut some branches for planting but they all went kaput. Does someone know how to plant these from scratch?
Yes, like sonny sj I was also told that bignay is like a viagra…sez our carpenter friend (he’s well versed with the local flora!)
Akala ko din aratiles which I never tried though I remember my friends getting off the school bus when it’d stop at a house with aratiles.
Aratiles in the city of Iloilo, seresa in some distant towns like where I grew up in.
When we were recovering from tigdas or measles our tiya my father’s younger sister would gather leaves of the the bugnay. She would boil them with our first bath water to cleanse the body of the disease.
I have purchased 2 cases of bignay wine from one of the vendors in Baguio last December as I’ve wanted to give away something really native for the holidays…the taste was ok, kind of sweet…not bad at all…my cousins made it an excuse for consuming alcohol at a very young age!
We have a bugnay tree in our front yard. It’s a favorite of migratory birds. I squeeze out the small ripe berries and strain it, mix in some kalamansi juice, add water, sugar, and ice for a nice refreshing drink!
Aratiles or alatires grows everywhere. They can be found almost anywhere. In our backyard in Mandaluyong and my uncle’s place in Guagua. Birds feast on their fruit so that it is propagated as it passes through the birds’ digestive system.
I didn’t know that Aratiles and kids were such a common thing in every part of our country.. Akala ko mga friends ko lang nun ang mahilig tumambay at umakyat sa aratiles tree.. ;P
sevilla wines used to market bignay wine; am not sure if it is still in the market. not that great, but i have tasted vinegar made from bignay and it was good.
manzanitas as aratiles? in pampanga and cavite , and i suspect for most of central luzon, manzanita is not aratiles. it is hard to believe that you,MM who know so much about food have never tasted what seems to be a part of any pinoy child’s growing up
Aratiles reminds me of my childhood during those lazy summer days…we too, would climb and pick as many, very red aratiles…masaya na kami nun. And nakakatuwa naman na pwede pala siyang juice!
My grandparents used to have bignay tree but nobody like bignay because it’s sour. There’s a forum about rare fruits where I am a member. Somebody wrote there that he tried to making wine out of bignay.
In my younger years my brother and I would climb aratiles to pick the fruits. Then, we will count how many we were able to pick and then, we divide them equally.
my neighboorhood friends and i used to climb aratiles trees. my friends preferred the uberly sweet red ones while i liked the “manibalang”.
as for bignay, i haven’t tasted it either. but i’ve heard there are small- and medium-scale enterprises that sell bignay wine and vinegar.
I chanced upon a small fruit stall offering aratiles at the Sunday Market at Lung Center sometime late 2005 or early 2006. I don’t know if the proprietors chose to join the move to the other side of the hospital property. I haven’t tried looking for them since. But I’ll do a little searching this coming Sunday. I’ll let you know if I find any aratiles.
My brother found it hilarious that I BOUGHT aratiles. He says aratiles were created to make one neighborly. HINIHINGI lang daw. The first aratiles I tasted were actually from our next door neighbor’s tree. They’re like little green “apple-lets” when underripe, and plump, rosy, juicy spheres when ripe. If I remember right, the underripe fruit has a gritty texture, probably like eating fine sand. The taste is a sweetness that could be found only in the cheap one-layer barquillos that the ambulant popcorn vendors at Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City used to offer. I’m sorry my associations are very narrow and personal, I can’t think of a closer description.
I loved aratiles. There used to be an aratiles tree in the backyard of my old pre-school. And part of the noontime ritual of waiting for our rides home was loudly encouraging Mr. Tinio, our tall, art teacher, to pick the fruits for us. We’d reach home with our faces all sticky and sweet-smelling and our pockets and pouches full of sandbox sand.
Thanks for triggering the memories, MM. Hope you experience some aratiles soon and belatedly complete your Pinoy childhood.
In Iloilo, they make bugnay into wine.
Isn’t aratiles the same as what we call cereza (literal translation) cherry. We used to have a tree in my grandmother’s house in Florida St (in front of DFA) more than 50 years ago.
Just like the fresh fruit, Bugnay jam still has a bit of that astringent taste you mentioned. I don’t like my jams super sweet so that’s fine with me. I’ve seen some Bignay wine sold in Sagada a couple of years back alongside their native Tapuy and blueberry wine. I’ll make sure to bring a jar for you next time I fly to Manila.
I miss this fruit also. It is rare to see a fruit like this.
I imagine producing potable wine from an unlikely source as bignay juice would be the equivalent of the alchemical quest for transmuting gold from base metal. if successful, I would even line it up there beside the wedding at Cana among the major miracles. But what do I know, they make dandelion wine here. Now a bignay-ade is something else, I suspect it would not be as flavorful as calamansi or santol-ade but not far from black currant, choke-cherry or saskatoon juice available in certain pockets of the Canadian West in summer.
We had bugnay in my lola’s front lawn in the province when I was young. I still remember the stains on my clothes from too much of this. I liked this fruit – especially the ripe ones and you can tell the taste by the number of ants crawling on a bunch, too. This is a rare find indeed, MM.
Yep you[re right “Sonia” manzanitas is not aratiles in Angeles City, “Saresa” in kapampangan. Nakakamiss talaga maging bata =lol=. We even made ice candy out of Aratiles and t’was good. I liked those greenish one compared to the red one.
Yun nga lang makalat ang dahon.=) Kawawalis mo lang pag medyo humangin.. there you are again you have to start all over again sa pag wawalis hehehe. But i was a bit disappointed kasi nag kamantsa ung favorite na pambahay ko nun. =) Ang likot kasi un nag aakyat sa puno hehehehe
I am not familiar with this fruit. Could that be compared to fresh “cranberries” here in the States? This October month (being close to Thanksgiving) is when cranberries are abundant, and my sister and I loves to buy them and prepare them like how we prepare the local blackberry in Quezon (forgot the name), putting in tupperware, add lots of salt, then shake till its kindda mushed. The tartness is intense.. sometimes we add patis. Yummy. My family loves sour things so it really goes well.
Wow, this is a first (and probably the last) for me! There’s actually something I’ve tasted that MM hasn’t?! ;-)
I haven’t had aratelis (everyone seems to spell it “aratiles” but I grew up saying it the other way) since I was little, and even then, only once or twice, when we went to a family friend’s house and they had a tree. I begged my mom to plant one at home, but she refused on the grounds that they supposedly attract ants and make a mess when the fruits fall. What another reader said is right — I’ve never seen them sold anywhere, so I haven’t been able to savor their sweetness for decades. But I still remember exactly how they taste.
I wonder why it is that aratelis can’t be bought anywhere, whether fresh or in juice form, or maybe preserved? I know that picking it off the neighbor’s tree gratis is more fun, but we’re not kids anymore. Sayang, it’s apparently EVERYWHERE (what with everyone saying it was an integral part of their childhood), but so underutilized.
Maybe you should make this your next mission, MM! Hunt down some aratelis, then make stuff out of it. (Juice, jam, tarts, marinade, sauce? I challenge your creativity, MM!) And if you can convince someone to supply our local market or grocery store with it, I think that would be groundbreaking! I, for one, would be eternally grateful. :-)
aratiles or alatires seems to grow everywhere!
ung simbahan samin meron puno ng alatires sa taas sa may kampana. baka dala ng ibon.
pag nangunguha kme ng bunga, nilalagay sa tabo na may tubig tapos dapat pantay ang pagkakahati-hati. shempre, nakakarami na ung mga umakyat kse sa puno pa lang kain na sila ng kain.
tpos ung mga sobrang hinog, pwede pambala sa saltik. wehhehe.
Aratiles is not a native Philippine Plant but from Mexico. https://www.digital-photo-forum.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/89608
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muntingia
The reality: most of your Favorite Fruits are not native to the Philippines i.e. avocado (abocado), cainito(caimito) , guayaba(bayabas) , guayabano(guyabano) , siringuela(siniguelas), Sapodilla/ Zapote (chico), Atemoya (atis), Ananas (piña or pineapple),Calabaza (kalabasa), Camote (kamote), Cantaloupe (melón), Cacao(cacao), Café (kapé), Maize (mais), Tomate (kamatis) etc.
Thank You, Mejico!
However, Mexican Mangos are Philippines’ very own Mango de Manila.
Salamat Pilipinas sa Mangá.
At first I could say I’ve never eaten Aratelis either but when I looked at the picture it is very familiar and i know I had eaten bazillions of them when I was small, only we called it mansanitas (Cebu). I bet you have eaten it too MM but knew them as mansanitas as sister says you had this tree in your backyard.
Bugnay on the other hand I can’t remember the taste.
Aratiles is something straight out of my childhood! They look like cherries and we used to pick the fruits from this small tree we had in a provincial farm my lolo owned back in the day. They’re like tiny morsels of sweet, succulent goodness! I could be overly romanticizing them, but I do remember that they were really, really good. Unfortunately, they cut the tree down when I was 9 or 10, and I’ve never had another aratiles since.
Coffee is of Arabic provenance though and since our contact with the muslim world predated Spanish Conquest by a long shot, it is not altogether far-fetched that it might have been also introduced to the Philippines at the same time as sugarcane.
very nice memories indeed. there used to be both aratiles (my leyteno mother used to call it “ratiles”) and bignay trees in our backyard and my friends and i would spend the whole morning or afternoon up on the trees, gorging on the fruits and talking…about what? geez, now i’m wracking my brain trying to recall what we talked about then. oh memories, indeed! and poor memory too. drat!
I grew up in the city, rarely going out to the provinces. Up to now, I live in the downtown area, Divisoria, but I’ve never seen these bignay/Chinese laurel. And I’ve never eaten aratiles.
I remember eating bugnay as a kid. the red ones were shaken with salt before being eaten to remove their tartness (much like how we ate duhat or lumboy as we called them in the province) the purple once however are ripe and may be eaten as is.
I munched on bugnay in Isabela while growing up. I pick out the dark purple/blackish fruits as they are the sweetest. The seeds add a crunch to the sweet tangy pulp of the fruit. We used to scare birds away from the fruiting trees as they were considered competition. Hehehehe. I’m quite surprised MM hasn’t tasted aratelis yet. Walk into any Manila suburb or park and you’re sure to find one, that I promise.
I can’t believe you have not tasted aratiles. You probably have but didn’t know what it was. It brings back memories, especially summer. I never could resist picking them everytime I see a tree.
Hubby Kulas gets so embarrased when we stop at a tree and I ask him to bend a branch so I can pick my share of these tiny red fruits. He got so irritated that he planted several of them near our house. Today, I get to share these with the kids (and other neighbors) around the block.
I wish I could send some to you but they easily get mushy. I bet you can find one near your place. Ask your crew, one of them will be able to tell you.
Picking aratelis was always a part of after-school playtime when I was a kid. Reading this post made me stop and remember those carefree and fun afternoons when your only worries in the world is what games to play and who will pick the aratelis from the trees. I remember bursting the ripe berries between my fingers! Sweet!
Ley says:
I have always thought aratiles was part of every Filipino’s childhood memories.
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Exactly what I thought when I was reading through MM’s entry. We had an aratiles tree in our house when I was still a wee kid but ahd to be cut down in 1990 because we had the whole house renovated and expanded.
I miss that tree, and yes, I miss my childhood, too.
I think you should add “marang” as one of the top 20 fruits.
Throw away the Calamansi because it is used mainly as a flavoring and not eaten outright (except occasionally). Marang
would be a cross between “guyabano and jackfruit”, sweet and
smells wonderful though rather strong but not stinky as in
durian. This fruit is available mainly in Southern Mindanao
but is now also grown in Los Banos. Try it, you will like it!
Nap, the Top 20 fruits were based on reader votes. Therefor, marang didn’t make it as it didn’t get enough mention or votes. While I agree you don’t eat kalamansi directly, it is a fruit and it is even more indigenous than most of the others mentioned, so I would keep it on the list for accuracy…
My mom once put ripe bignay in vinegar so it would impart that warm red color. She even put it in a fancy bottle. It didn’t add anything to the taste though. However, she realized that exposure to sunlight oxidized her lovely reddish vinegar and turned it dark brown.
I tried a ripe bignay on its own and it’s kind of on the sour side. But bignay tea, which I tried at a trade fair in Megamall… was soooo bitter one sip made me choke. That’s the one that’s supposed to aid the libido (the marketing materials mentioned something about getting the tea from either a male or a female tree)… Talk about medicinal! There’s wine too, but I’ve never tried it.
In the end, a bignay sprig makes a nice table ornament.
I am a vendor of fruit wines here in Swamp La Trinidad, Benguet. Thats just 6 kms from Baguio City proper. I suggest you buy the Benguet Tasty brand its kinda sweet and smooth. The Annies and Maureen for half dry and super dry bignay wine. Just look for me and I’ll give you a free taste of all quality fruit wines sold here. Or better yet contact me in my mobile # 09198629847.
We make bugnay jam from the fruits in our backyard and mountain. We have a few jars now, because the fruit is in season now. Please contact us if you want some.
Hi, wag magkamali: bugnay or bignay is not aratiles. Aratiles is mansanitas in Cebu. aratiles is sweet with hairy leaves. Bugnay or bignay is sour. its leaves are like the leaves of guayavano or jackfruit. We have big bignay tree in my hometown.
di pinapansin kasi maasim. we only make it into jam or jelly. aratiles is sweet and seedy parang lisa, yak!
memorable ang aratiles experience. part ng adolescent years. dun kami sa mga sanga ng aratiles. sarap ang pakiramdam kung kasama mo crush mo sa ibabaw ng puno ng aratiles. tapos, baon mo sandwich na palaman bignay jam at binigyan mo crush mo hmmm.
erleen, saya ng experience mo. palagi pinutakti ng mga bata ang aratiles trees sa baranggay namin. pati ibon masaya. Salamat pala sa mga ibon na masipag kumain ng aratiles kasi naging ipot yon tapos, tutubo, bagong aratiles tree na naman. yehey!
teka pala, bakit napapunta sa aratiles usapan natin? di ba bignay ang topic? siguro part ng childhood memories kasi ang aratiles. masakit na tuhod ko ngayon. he he he
I’m located in Arizona and need to find this fruit – ASAP. Any clues or ideas? California is my best bet?
At Lemery Batangas I was advised to take Bignay Tea from the bark or leaves of male Bignay Tree for my diabetes. Have been taking it for half a year already almost like my daily water until my friend emailed me that bark can be toxic. Doctors differ in their opinions and I can’t really have a solid basis. Hope someone can shed light on the matter. It somehow regulated my sugar levels but I discontinued because of its toxic alkaloids. help.
hi! We have a Bignay tree on our yard.
Its fruit darkens its color as it ripens…the darker the color, the sweeter…
It’s an excellent ingredient for Sinigang and as a fruit juice… Just this week we have harvested piles of it. We have extracted the juice and have it frozen in icebag so whenever we need it for cooking or as a fruit juice we can get it right away.
Well, according to research alkaloids are present on the bark of the said tree, the leaves are believed to be edible too, and the fruit is rich in Vitamin C.
Bignay is plentiful in my home province of Occidental Mindoro and perhaps in other parts of the country. It is found specifically at secondary growth forests and an important food of endemic birds.
It is sometimes cultivated by local folks who knew about their several economic uses: I have tried products from bignay fruits such as bignay juice, jam or sweets. I’ve heard the leaves are medicinal. Most interesting of all, in one of our chemistry activity, I used the fruit as an ingredient for making wine…and oh, it’s great!