What is Garcinia?

Garcinia quaesita, known as Goraka (Sinhala) and Kodukkaippuli (Tamil) is belongs to family Clusiaceae. It is a medium evergreen, shade-loving, relatively slow growing tree naturally found in the local tropical rainforests of Sri Lanka. The tree is small to medium sized with horizontal or drooping branches.

In Sri Lanka goraka has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes. Now goraka is becoming a popular spice in the world because of its potential as a dietary supplement for weight losses and appetite control.

garcinia is grown for its fruit in Southeast Asia and South Asia. It is cultivated in home gardens in the wet and intermediate zones. It has tremendous potential as a cash crop and foreign revenue from Goraka is expected to increase exponentially.

Its bark is blackish and rough with dark-yellow latex.The leaves are dark green, relatively thick and shiny. The leaves grow to be 5-13cm long and 2-8am broad. Goraka flowers are white blooms from February to April. The fruit is yellow, purple or reddishwith 7–13 very deep vertical grooves. The flesh of the fruit is mild to distinctly acidic.

Once fully ripe, fruits are collected, cut in half, deseeded and sun-dried for a day. The sun-dried fruit halves are smoked till black, and are rubbed with a mixture of salt and oil before transferring to earthenware pots and tightly sealed. These will stay fresh for years. Before use, the pieces are washed under running water to remove any dust accumulated from the drying and smoking process. It is then soaked for 10 minutes in water.

How to growing Garcinia?

Start the Garcinia cambogia tree in spring for warmth and sunshine. Prepare a heavy 20-gallon pot with drainage holes for long-term growing. These trees reach over 10 to 15 feet in height, even in pots.

Mix your own potting soil with 1 part garden or potting soil to 1 part organic compost. These trees hail from rainforests and require the rich, crumbly and moist foundation of that environment. Lay 2 inches of gravel in the bottom of the pot, then fill the pot two-thirds full of potting mixture.

Start the Garcinia cambogia tree in spring for warmth and sunshine.

Lay 2 inches of gravel in the bottom of the pot, then fill the pot two-thirds full of potting mixture.

Set the Garcinia cambogia tree's roots on the soil and pack more potting mixture over and around them. Plant the tree up to its crown and leave at least 3 inches of space between the soil surface and the top of the pot.

Put the tree in a site with full, bright sun and temperatures of 70 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. These trees prefer hot, humid weather. Water the tree with 3 to 4 inches of water every week and spray the tree with water at every watering to maintain good humidity.

Climate for growing Garcinia

It can be successfully grown in a wide range of soil in the wet and intermediate zones in Sri Lanka .Deep, well drained, slightly acidic, clay loam soil is best for goraka cultivation.Goraka needs well distributed rainfall. Short dry period (15 – 20 days) is importance for flower initiate. Shade is necessary during the first 2 – 3 years both in nursery and field establishment.

Garcinia Harvesting

Seed propagated plants take 7 – 9 years for fruiting, whereas grafted plants take 4 -5 years. Harvesteing is done by picking the ripe fruits.Fruits should be handled carefully to prevent damage, it will reduce the quality of the product. After harvesting, seeds are removed and rinds are separated and dried under sunlight until it turns dark black.

Uses of Garcinia

The Goraka fruits are too acidic to be eaten raw. They are valued for their sundried rind which is widely used in Sri Lankan and Indian cooking.

The ingredient is used in place of lime and tamarind in Indian sub continental cooking and is commonly known as Gambooge, Malabar Tamarind and Fish Tamarind. It is an essential ingredient in all the seafood loving kitchens in Sri Lanka. The dried fruit is used as a souring agent in South Indian and Sri Lankan famous fish curries and other seafood preparations. The dried Gorakarinds are used along with salt for washing seafood prior to cooking.

Goraka is known to destroy histamine in fish by 80%. Gorakais also used as a preservative. Goraka is a key ingredient in preparing “Fish abulthiyal” which has a shelf life of about 7 days in room temperature. Goraka also improves the hardiness of the fishpieces.