Friday, October 05, 2007

The Black Sapote Post


I've blogged about it before, and maybe even posted a picture or two, but this post is dedicated to one of my favourite fruits, the Black Sapote. Originally from Mexico, it grows really well in tropical North Queensland so it's a great market buy. Related to the persimmon, it is often called the Chocolate Pudding Fruit. When ripe, the flesh is soft and creamy with a mild flavour that is reminiscent of mellow chocolate.

Buy sapotes when they are green and hard, and then leave them on the counter until they get very soft and mushy. Then cut them open, pick out the seeds, and scoop the flesh from the skin.
The market people suggest making it into a milkshake or an ice cream. One former housemate from Mexico suggested mixing it with the juice of an orange, which sweetens up the flavour. You could very easily make a raw pie filling, pudding, or ice cream out of this gem of a fruit. My favourite way to eat it is plain: we usually cut it in half and scoop it from the skin straight into our mouths.
If you're ever in a tropical location and see black sapote (apparently they're grown in Florida, even), give it a try. In addition to being delicious and versatile, they are also low in fat and packed with vitamin C--about 4 times the amount found in oranges.

14 comments:

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

this looks really interesting. i am not the biggest fruit fan, but i would give this a try.

Anonymous said...

looks interesting!!

vko said...

Oh, that looks interesting. I love persimmons, so I would definitely give chocolately persimmons a try!

Anonymous said...

Just catching up on some of your past posts. That article was really interesting. Definitely food for thought. I'm always searching for good & cheap vegan sunscreen. I didn't know no ad was vegan. Awesome! I'll pick some of it up the next time I'm out.

I'm so intrigued by the black sapote fruit. I wish we had them here so I could try it. Too bad I can't convince Marty to take a tropical vacation just for the fruit.

Unknown said...

I have never even heard of it before! It sounds and looks delicious. I'm going to try and track some down. Thanks for sharing.

bazu said...

Oh my gosh- life has played a cruel joke on me. I'm such a huge fan of fruit- I wish I could live in the tropics, and get to enjoy stuff like this all the time! At least now that the cool weather is starting here, quinces, persimmons, and mandarins (3 of my favorites) are coming into season...

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

wow - black sapotes have GOT to be one of the most unique foods I've ever seen in my life, haha. interesting!

Pink Theory said...

I've never heard of this fruit before. Now I must have some :-)

Anna said...

Woah, what an amazing fruit! I've never seen anything like it. Would love to try...maybe if I ever visit North QLD.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Chocolate pudding fruit?! No way! That's it; I must get to a tropical location ASAP!

Anonymous said...

I have a 1 year old plant i a pot in Canberra. Ate its parent in Noosa last year. Hope to plant it out in warm spot at Bateman's Bay. Nick.

Anthony said...

Im heading back to Mexico City tomorrow and all I can think about is getting my hands on a black sapote again.

Beautiful Pictures!

Anthony (Rawmodel.com)

tubley said...

I just LOVE black Sapote. Emma dislikes them but I just can't get enough.

AMR said...

They are wonderful! I missed them very much. Such a refreshing taste.
Sandra and I bought them from the markets in Cairns.