Babaco Fruit

Babaco Fruit  (Champagne fruit, mountain papaya )

        The babaco is a distinctive five-sided torpedo-shaped fruit. Related closely to the pawpaw.         Its smooth, thin skin is edible, and is yellow in colour when ripe. The babaco’s flesh is yellow to white in colour, and is sweetly flavoured with hints of pineapple, paw paw and strawberries. Its refreshing and slightly effervescent texture gives babaco its alternative name – champagne fruit.

    

          When sliced crosswise, the facets of this fruit gives a pentagonal outline which gives it the scientific name of Carica pentagona. The texture of this golden fruit is very light and refreshing. The babaco fruit is just like a papaw with a single, knobbly stem dividing into two or more branches at the top. It bears a few large, sparse flowers and lobed leaves which forms on the trunk and branches.

         Babaco is related to the papaya.  Babaco is native to the Andes of northwestern South America from Colombia south to central Chile. The fruit grows in bunches on the stem of the babaco tree. The skin is yellow and the fruit has juicy yellow flesh without seeds. The taste is fresh and sweet. The fruits are smaller than the papaya, broad pear-shaped, blunt and more aromatic than the papaya. 

      A very prolific, easy to grow and fruitfully rewarding subtropical small tree endemic to the mountains of Ecuador, South America. It produces large delicious fruits which are ripe for eating when they turn yellow.

     Babaco plants are self-fertile and very heavy croppers. The summer and autumn fruit are like a lemon flavoured melon - fragrant, juicy, sweetish with a touch of acidity. The fruit is best eaten fresh and slightly chilled. Great in fruit salads. Juicing the fruit produces an amazingly refreshing tropical drink. Fruit will keep in the chiller (not freezer) for 4/6 weeks. 

    Babaco fruits set parthenocarpically, as there are no seeds present in the fruit. The young fruits set and grow immediately after flowering, reaching a maximum expansion phase during October-November. At this point the fruits reach a length of about 12 inches long and 8 inches wide. They are distinctly five-sided, rounded at the stem end and pointed at the apex. The onset of maturity is recognized by the yellowing of the fruit, first in patches on the sides of the fruit and gradually extending over the total area of the fruit during the following weeks. Fruits ripen in progression from the lower fruits, usually the heaviest, to those higher up the trunk. The flesh of the babaco is very juicy, slightly acidic and low in sugar. The unique flavor has been described as having overtones of strawberry, pineapple and papaya. The smooth, thin skin is also edible. 

    Flowers will appear soon after the first spring growth & some should set fruit, which takes about a year to reach full size, & a further 8 - 10 weeks to ripen. Don't let the tree dry out during this time, or they will fall off.

    The flavour is light, acid, & slightly effervescent, hence it's other name 'champagne fruit'. The latex, like that of paw-paws, figs, & many other tropical plants, is quite corrosive when liquid, & should be wiped away or allowed to dry up, if the fruit is to be eaten raw. The riper the fruit, the less of a problem this is. (This latex is an excellent remedy for warts, & should be carefully applied to the wart several times a day until it is burned away.) The ripe fruit is rich in vitamin C. Like paw-paw, the green fruit can be used as a vegetable, though it needs to be well-cooked. It is at its best in curries, or made into chutney.

    The capacity of a matured babaco tree is nearly between 38 to 100 fruits per year.  Fruits are harvested only when they lose their green colour and turn yellow. Babacos require a very warm, humid climate and perfect drainage. They are not tolerant to strong winds and hot dry conditions.

     The babaco plant has an average life span of about eight years. This is not a long-lived tree, but is ornamental, easily propagated, on the right scale for a small garden.

Babaco fruits may get damaged easily, hence it should be handled very carefully.

 Nutrients in Babaco

      Babáco is best eaten raw. It contains three times the amount of papain as in papaya and is considered as an excellent source of vitamin A and C.  Human body needs vitamin C which mainly helps to heal wounds and also to maintain healthy gums.

 Babaco Fruit   Images

                                 


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