Lanzones, Fruit for the Gods

Lanzones is an edible fruit that is well loved in our country. This fruit, when completely ripe, has that sweet with a hint of sourness taste that Filipinos love. Laguna, Northern Mindanao, Butuan and Cagayan De Oro are the most known producers of lanzones in the country.

But the best known spot for the sweetest lanzones is at Camiguin. Tourists travel to the island just to get a taste of the famous Camiguin lanzones. The locals recognize this gift of good harvest and delicious lanzones by the annual celebration of the Lanzones Festival during the month of October.

Lanzones is a seasonal fruit in the Philippines, harvest months are March, April and October.

Did you know:

There is a Filipino folklore of how the name lanzones came about. The story goes:

There was once a town with bountiful trees with a round and paled colored fruit, but the people are afraid to eat them. They once saw a man who tried to eat one. He died as soon as the fruit touched his lips. This made the people even more afraid of even touching the fruit.

One day, drought came to town. Food was scarce and people are hungry.Then, as people were to lose hope, a mystical lady came in the town. She was singing and dancing on the streets. She got a fruit from the poisonous tree, pinched it and, before the town people can stop her, ate the deadly fruit.

To the amazement of the people, the lady did not die. She said that she pinched the fruit and took out the poison. She asked for the people to eat it, thus the end of the famine.

Based on the folklore, the word lanzones is derived from the Filipino word lason or poison.

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