Category: Articles

Dehydrated Torch Ginger (Bunga Kantan): The Journey

As with all flowers, the fresh Torch Ginger flowers doesn’t last long.  We did our research from how to make it readily available, last longer and easy to transport.  We also experimented with improving producing the fresh flowers.

From growing the plants perspective, our farm is located in an area ideal for growing it.  With good rainfall, and good environmental factors including daily temperature and humidity as well as sun exposure supported by organic fertilizers, it grows well at the farm.  When I bought the farm almost 15 years ago, it was like a jungle land and it already had the torch ginger plants growing in one area.  As the farm was developed, I retained these plants during careful land clearing, minimising the disturbance to the land contour and enhancing the natural features.  In the beginning, many flowers were just used for decoration as one really cannot consume that many flowers.  Getting it to market was really a challenge and at times, at a loss.

I began to experiment about 5 years ago in how to turn it into a viable marketable produce.  For Malaysians, this is a must-have ingredient when making laksa.  A laksa without torch ginger flower is just a dish of noodles in fish soup.  Many have told me that they cannot find it when abroad either in fresh or dehydrated form.  It is also used in making other Malaysian dishes and can also be consumed as a tea with purported therapeutic benefits.

I tried air-drying and sun-drying but the end product didn’t look attractive as it turned brown although it retain some of the aromatic flavor of the torch ginger flower.  The time it took to dry was also dependent on environmental factors.  If it was hot and dry days, it took less number of days.  If it rained, it took longer and sometimes resulted in spoilt torch ginger flowers.  Moreover, it was exposed to contaminants.

I then started looking into dehydrators, there are many dehydrator models available to choose from.  I checked the technical specs as well as ease of use and maintenance and did a quick cost/benefit analysis before choosing one that will suit my needs.  I started with a smaller capacity model and it worked well.

With the use of a dehydrator, you could see the improvements in the product quality.  The color was retained with minimal loss of intensity making it look attractive.  It was also to a certain extent an indication of oxidation and with higher oxidation, the color will fade more.  IT was also evenly dried.  This is an important factor as if it isn’t dried properly, it will get moldy with the passage of time in the packaging.  I also didn’t have to worry about exposure to contaminants..  It retained its aromatic flavors at a higher level than air or sun drying.    It also dramatically reduced the time it takes to dry which in turns prevents excess oxidation.

Two years ago, with the floods, the dehydrator was taken by the flood waters.  I replaced it with a bigger model – 9 trays from 5 trays – which allowed me to dry more at one time.  Once dehydrated, the weight of the torch ginger flowers is between 9-10% of its original weight.

Before deciding on the packaging, I experimented on the types focusing o the following crteria:

(1) Ease of packaging

(2) Ease of transport

(3) Ease of storage.

We ended up with the current packaging of using resealable packs that is lightweight and resealable.  To ensure standardization, we go by weight of the product which is 25 g of dehydrated torch ginger flowers per pack.  To accurately state the number of flowers per pack is difficult as the size of the flowers vary.  Moreover, our flowers are at least 2-3 times the size of what you find at the fresh market.

Being a “picky” person, we only use flowers grown at my farm for the product.  In this way, I can ensure that the flowers are grown organically, not exposed to chemical herbicides and harvested at the right time.  This meant that the quantity of dehydrated torch ginger flowers that I can produce is limited.  I often get comments that I should plant more so I can produce more.  It is not as simple as that.  I do not belief in mono-culture farming so my farm will always have different types of plants and trees.  The location of where we plant the torch ginger plants are also important as the soil type varies in different sections of my farm where some areas are more sandy than others, and some have more clay and then there are areas that have higher organic content.  After the 2021-2022 floods when the highest water level rose to about 1.5m from the ground, we have lost some plants and trees and some areas of the ground was dumped with between 0.5 to 1m of sand.  To a certain extent, it has made the ground flatter.  We allowed the land to rest for about 1 year before we started looking again at what plants we wanted to add or replace and where. Early this year, we planted more torch ginger plants and Alhamdulillah,  some have started to produce flowers.  We will see how much many more packs we can produce in the coming months.

I am happy to see that my dehydrated torch ginger flowers have been taken overseas:  Spain, USA, UK, Germany, Hong Kong, Qatar, Singapore, China, France and Czech Republic.  I only sell and ship within Malaysia.  We are testing selling it in the USA through Dusun Artisans.  If you are in USA, please contact Dusun Artisans or visit their FB at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063672027242&__tn__=%2Cd.

In shaa Allah, we will continue to grow and expand to deliver quality dehydrated torch ginger flowers.

Javanese Ginseng – Beauty with Benefits

Javanese Ginseng (Ginseng Jawa)  with its botanical name Talinum paniculatum.  I have grown this as an indoor plant although it flourishes when it gets sunlight exposure.  I have also planted it in a pot and placed it in my office by a window that receives afternoon sunlight.  In this setting, I water it once every couple of days.  I use a rich organic soil content with a good amount of peat mixed in the soil.  This helps to keep the soil moist but not soggy.  It also does well in full sun.  and is well suited to our tropical climate.  It is an easy to care for plant and doesn’t require daily
watering so if you forget to water it for a couple of days, it should be able to weather your forgetfulness. Just give it a good watering and ensure that the excess can drain out.

This plant produces small pink flowers which adds a burst of colour against its green leaves.  I control the plant growth by pruning it which in turns encourages it to “bush-out”.  All the leaves and stems that I prune is then turned into a vegetable dish – a great way to utilize it instead of wasting it by trashing it.  As the plant matures, the roots will develop tubers.  These tubers are morphologically similar to the Korean Ginseng and locally, it is used similar to Korean Ginseng but at a lower price.

Javanese Ginseng leaves may be used raw or cooked. The raw leaves contains oxalic acid similar to spinach hence when eaten raw, it should be eaten in small quantities.  The leaves contain calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc. It is also a source of powerful natural compounds such as Beta-sitosterol.It can be turned into a simple vegetable soup with garlic, salt and black pepper added to further add flavour.  You can also make a simple stir-fry dish and can be used as a spinach replacement. The leaves may also be added to smoothies. I like the taste of the leaves – it has a smooth, creamy flavour without any other strong flavours.  They pair well with ingredients like garlic and onion, and flavouring agents such as soy sauce and oyster sauce.  Similar to many other leafy vegetables, cooking it can increase the bio-availability of antioxidants and other nutrients.

All in all, this plant is easy to plant, has multiple uses and can be used as a decorative plant in your home or garden.

The Pains and Joys of Growing Soursop (Durian Belanda)

One of the more expensive local fruits we have is the Durian Belanda.  Both the fruit and the leaves have good nutritional and therapeutic values.  I have been growing the trees for about 7 years now and to date and currently we have 8 trees of various ages ranging from 3 years to 5 years.  Many have asked me many different questions hence this article covers my experience and each growers experience can be different.

Although it is a tree that can grow to over 8m in height, the growth can be controlled and it needs a space of a circumference of 2 m.  Giving the right conditions and care, it can produce many fruits.  Let’s start with the basics: the soil.  At the farm, we have different sections with different soil types ranging from high clay content to rocky and high sand content.  We have experimented planting them in various areas and find that it does best is soil that contains a significant amount of sand (around 30%) and does worst in high clay content soil.  It needs soil with good drainage with good content of organic matter to a depth of at least 1 m.  If you are living in a development area that was developed in the last 10 years, and you find that your tree keeps dying, check the soil.  Many of these development had used construction and other wastes as landfill.

This tree is well suited to our tropical climate with frequent rain with some dry periods.  In young trees, it will need to be watered.  Once a tree has established itself, it will no linger require manual watering.  The roots tend to spread out relatively neat the surface of the tree and the root doesn’t grow as deep as other trees of similar height and girth.  It does not like for its roots to be disturb hence for this reason, we refrain from planting any plants around the base and keep the grass and weeds controlled by cutting the down to surface level.  This serves a dual purpose: adding organic matter which as it decomposes adds nutrients to the soil and to keep the soil covered to help retain moisture.

Our farm is totally organic so we do not use any chemical pesticide, herbicide or fertilisers.  To this end, the environment of the farm is such that we plant many different types of plants and trees that encourages many varieties of insects, some of which are predators to insects that attack the leaves and fruits.  This helps to keep the trees relatively free of insect attacks.  Having a healthy tree also helps it fights these attacks and diseases.

To support the growth of the tree, we address the soil health as well as the plant health.  In order to ensure that we have the necessary
nutrients to support flowering and fruiting, we use goat and chicken manure fertilisers.  We also use diluted fish amino acids mixed with EM-1 on a quarterly basis.  The tree can flower year-long so keeping it well-fed is essential.  The bell-shaped buds are green in color with the point facing downwards.  There can appear singularly or in multiples.

As the bud develops, you will see it turn to a pale yellow flower with petals.

An interesting aspect of the soursop flower is that it blooms at night hence pollination occurs at night.  Once the outer petals are open (as in the picture), it will bloom that night.  At the farm, our environment encourages night insects as well as there is often night breezes which contribute to a good pollination rate.  We do not hand pollinate.The presence of wind and night insects is important to increase the success of pollination. The degree of success of the pollination will also affect the fruit size and shape.

Once the petals have fallen, you will see a stub-like with :needles” left.  Some have mistaken this as the dried-up flower and removed it.  At this stage, it is still unclear if pollination is successful so it is best to leave it.  Over the next few days or a week, you will see the beginnings of the fruit if pollination is successful,  It doesn’t look like the fruit yet but a brown mass of pins.

From this stage, it will take several weeks before you begin to see the fruit in a shape more familiar to the mature soursop.  You can see that the fruit will h

ave a nice shape and size when mature from the shape the fruit “bud” is as well as the number of “needles” present.  Even when it is flowering and fruiting, we continue to fertilise the ree in accordance with our schedule.  We also on a bi-annual basis, spread a handful of coarse salt around the circumference of the tree about 1 m away from the base of the trunk.  Apart from supplying additional minerals, it also serves as an “antibiotic” against harmful bacteria.  

In general, the fruit is heart-shaped or oval.  The fruit is ready to harvest when you see the needles are well-spaced apart and pointing horizontally an
d the skin of the fruit has smoothen out.  The fruit will feel firm.  At this stage, it will be sweet and sour with lots of juices.  This is, to me, the perfect time to harvest if you would like to eat it in slices.  I tend to just cut it into the slices, revealing the creamy-white flesh inside, without peeling and eat the flesh off, leaving the seeds and skin.  Once it has reached this stage, it will go soft within days but the intensity of the sweetness will increase and the flesh will still remain creamy-white.  However, it will then be suitable only for making blended drinks.

Often, when you buy at the market, the fruit will still be hard.  Do check that the fruit have the “needles” almost horizontal and widely spaced apart with smooth skin in between.  This will indicate that the fruit was mature enough when harvested.  Often, people will wait for their store-bought fruit to soften and when they cut it, they find that the flesh inside is brow/black indicating the fruit has rotted.  This could be due to the preservatives applied post-harvest to keep the fruit looking nice on the outside but it has started to rot on the inside,  Hence, by the time you feel the fruit has softened, it has rotted all the way through.

PS>> This will be one of the fruit trees that I will detail out from planting to harvesting to what you can do with it more in my book.  Not sure when I will complete it though 🙂

A humble leave herb: Curry leaves

Curry leaves are not a stranger to us.  When we cook curry, it is not considered complete until curry leaves are added to it.  To make fried chicken tastier, try adding a few curry leaves to to the frying oil so the aroma and taste gets infused into the chicken.  But did you know that the young shoots of the curry leaves can be eaten as ulam or added into salads?  You can also infuse edible oil with dehydrated curry leaves and have the aroma in taste in it which you can then use to create other dishes.

So, it that where the story ends?  Of course not!  There is more to the curry leaves.  It is rich in iron and folic acid hence a good choice for those who are anaemic.  It contains a powerful antioxidant, kaempferol, which when combined with vitamin A and C(which are both present in the leaves), protects the liver as well as improves its function, has anti-inflammatory properties which in turns provides many therapeutical benefits to the body.  Curry leaves affects the insulin activity in the body as well as alters the way the body absorbs fat in digestion helping with controlling sugar and fats in your body.  There are many other benefits so it would be a good item to add to your diet within your normal meals.

By dehydrating the leaves, we ensure maximum nutrients retention which makes it easy to store and have readily available as well as making it easy to transport.  We have turned it into a product within our dehydrated herbal range.  It is packed in a resealable pouch making it easy to transport as well as store.  Each pack is RM 15 and available via mail order.

This is definitely one herb that I will increase consumption of as it can be added to your meals in many ways from cooked dishes to raw salad as well as using it as a seasoning.  Another of nature’s bounty.