Mamey Sapote Fruit
Mamey sapote is a type of plant that is still included in
the sapodilla family. His name is very popular because it is known to have
fruit that can weigh up to 2-3kg / fruit. Mainly eaten fresh by spooning out
the pulp, but also in processed forms such as milk shakes and smoothies, ice
cream, jams etc. Lava Sapote, Mamey
Colorado, Mamey Sapote, Mamee Apple, Mammee Sapote, Mamee Zapote, Marmalade
Plum, Marmalade Tree, Red Sapote, Sapote, True Sapote, Zapotillo are other
common names of Mamey Sapote.
The Mamey sapote is a medium to large-sized fruit with an
ovoid shape. It contains a large central pit, quite similar to an avocado. The
fruit's skin is almost bark-like with a sand paper texture and colour
protecting the fruit's flesh with its defensive shell. When ripe, the flesh is
a vibrant salmon colour, its texture soft and succulent with a melting quality.
The flavour of the Mamey sapote is delicate yet
distinctive, revealing notes of baking spices such as vanilla and nutmeg with
sub-acid undertones of pumpkin, banana, pear and apricot. Inside the large
central pit is the fruit's seed, which is compared to having the appearance and
flavour of almond, though it should not be eaten raw.
This fruit tree is a large and highly ornamental
evergreen tree that can reach a height of 10 to 15 meters at maturity. It is
mainly propagated by grafting, which ensures the new plant has the same
characteristics as the parent, especially its fruit, as it does not grow true
to seed. It is also considerably faster than growing trees by seed, producing
fruit in three to five years; trees grown from seed require 7 years of growth
before fruiting. In Florida, the fruit
is harvested from May to July with some cultivars available all year.
Mamey sapote is the common name given to the fruit, pouteria
sapota. In Cuba it is known simply as Mamey, which tends to confuse it with a
West Indian fruit, Mammea americana, which is also referred to as Mamey. There
are at least thirteen known varieties of the Pouteria sapota, only a few of
those varieties selected for their superior fruit qualities.
This fruit is ovoid to ellipsoid, 10 to 25 cm long and 8
to 12 cm wide, often bluntly pointed at the apex and with a persistent calyx at
the base. The skin is thick and woody with a russet brown, somewhat scurfy
surface about 1–2 mm thick. The pulp of mature fruits is salmon pink, orange,
red or reddish-brown in colour, soft and smooth to finely granular in texture,
usually low in fiber. The pulp has a sweet, almond-like, unique flavour and
sweet taste like a combination of pumpkin, chocolate and almond, avocado and
honey. Normally, the fruit contains a single, large, elliptical seed but it may
have up to four. The seed has a shiny, hard, dark brown surface with a light
brown scar (hilum) on the ventral side. Seeds may crack and sprout in over
mature fruits. Fruit weight ranges from
300gm to 3 kg.
The mamey sapote or sapote is (too) often mistaken with
the sapodilla because they have an orange flesh. It has nothing to do with
either the black sapote, nor the white sapote. It is a variety of sapote full.
The sapote has a strict division as sapodilla being sensitive to cold. The sapote tree has wide leaves resembling
those of guava.
Mamey’s texture is creamy and sweet. Eat it raw or blend
into milkshakes, smoothies, ice cream, and fruit bars. Fruit flavour is
reminiscent of almonds with the texture of an avocado. Mamey sapote is high in vitamins A and C as
well as in potassium. It is also an excellent source of dietary fiber.
Mamey has a creamy texture and a sweet pulp. Pick firm
fruit that is free of blemishes. When ripe the flesh should give slightly to a
gentle squeeze. You can also look near the fruit’s stem for a small cut. If the
flesh inside is an orange/red, it’s ripe. Expose the fruit to air at room
temperature until the fruit softens a bit and the inner flesh is no longer
green in colour. Once ripe the fruit can be stored up to a week in the
refrigerator.
Flowering and Pollination: The small white to
creamy-white sub-sessile flowers are hermaphrodite with 5 stamens, 5 staminodes
and a single inferior ovary. Inflorescences
are ramiflorous in fascicles of 5-6 in the axils of fallen leaves. Pollination
is achieved by honey bees and other insects. Cross pollination improves fruit set.
Cultivation: They should be planted where they will get
full sun. Young plants are tender and need to be protected from frost and wind.
When young, maintenance of adequate moisture is essential, and when mature, it
is important during flowering, fruit set and development. Complete and regular
fertilization with trace elements should be undertaken. The frequency of
application can be decreased as the plant matures, with the annual amounts
increasing commensurate with size. Mulching is helpful.
Some of its names in Latin American countries, such as
mamey colorado (Cuba), zapote colorado (Costa Rica) and zapote rojo (South
America), refer to the reddish colour of its flesh to distinguish it from the
unrelated but similar-looking Mammea americana, whose fruit is usually called
"yellow mamey".
The first step in utilizing the Mamey sapote is to remove
its rough peel. The skin is generally scored at its apex end and peeled in
strips. Ripe fruits can be eaten fresh. Mamey sapote is synonymous with Latin
cuisine as a winter fruit. It is traditionally used to make ice cream or
batidos, which are cold milkshakes made with milk, ice, Mamey, vanilla and
nutmeg. The Mamey sapote is also stewed and used for making wine. It can be
preserved and jammed, used in baked goods such as breads, pies, tarts and
cakes, and added raw to fresh salads. The flavour of the fruit is enhanced by
spices such as ginger, vanilla, nutmeg, honey and cloves. It is also used to
make chocolate drinks.
Similar to several other fruit trees, grafting is the
main technique used for propagating mamey sapote. Additionally, trees
propagated by grafting not only have a more rapid growth rate, but also bear
fruits sooner compared to those propagated from their seeds. They thrive best
in humid tropical or near tropical lowlands with warm temperatures and grow
well in well-drained soils, heavy clays to the limestone and infertile sandy
soils.
Seedling trees may take 7-8 years to bear fruit, grafted
plants 3-4. Mamey sapotes can be very prolific, with well-managed mature trees
producing 200-600 fruits. The harvesting season varies with cultivar and with
judicious selection fruit can be obtained for much of the year. As fruit take
16-20 months to mature from blossom, trees may simultaneously have flowers
together with young and more mature fruit on the tree at one time. Deciding
when to harvest fruit can be gauged by lightly scratching the surface – if the
underlying tissue has turned from green to orange-red then they can be picked.
They will ripen and soften in 3-7 days at room temperature. Mature fruits store
reasonably well at 10-13°C; lower temperatures cause chilling injury.
Fruit pulp is deep orange to salmon pink, smooth or
finely granular, aromatic and very sweet with 25-34% carbohydrates, enclosing
1-4 large black ellipsoid seeds with a marked light brown hilum. The edible
pulp represents about 70% of whole fruit weight. It is quite nutritious with
good Ca, Fe, Mg and vitamin C levels. Carotenoid content is similar to carrots
and higher than mango and pawpaw.
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