Kokam

Garcinia indica, a tree of the Asian tropics which produces round, purple fruits the size of a small orange. These have a variety of uses, the best known being the production of ‘kokam butter’, extracted from the kernels, in SW India. The description of this by Watt (1889–96) is not enticing. ‘Kokam butter, as found in the bazaars of India, consists of egg-shaped or concavo-convex cakes of a dirty white or yellowish colour, friable, crystalline, and with a greasy feel like spermaceti.’ He adds, however, that the product, when fresh, has a smell which is ‘not unpleasant’, and melts in the mouth like butter, leaving a sensation of cold on the tongue.