Mamey sapote

"Abricó" redirects here. This may also refer to the Apricot (Prunus armeniaca).

Mamey Sapote
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Asterids Order: Ericales Family: Sapotaceae Genus: Pouteria Species: P. sapota
Binomial name
Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) H. E. Moore & Stearn

The mamey sapote (Pouteria sapota) is a species of tree that is native to southern Mexico. Today, the tree is cultivated not only in Mexico, but also in Central America, the Caribbean, and South Florida for its fruit, which is commonly eaten in many Latin American countries. Mamey sapote is a large and highly ornamental evergreen tree that can reach a height of 15 to 45 meters (60 to 140 feet) at maturity. Like most fruit trees, it is mainly propagated by grafting, which ensures that the new plant has the same characteristics as the parent, especially its fruit. It is also considerably faster than growing trees by seed. The fruit is about 10 to 25 cm (4 to 10 inches) long and 8 to 12 cm (3 to 5 inches) wide and has orange flesh.

The fruit is eaten raw out of hand or made into milkshakes, smoothies, ice cream and fruit bars. The fruit's flavor is variously described as a combination of pumpkin, sweet potato, and maraschino cherries with the texture of an avocado. Some consider the fruit to be an aphrodisiac.^{[citation needed]}

The brown skin has a texture somewhere between sandpaper and the fuzz on a peach. The fruit's texture is creamy and sweet. To tell when a mamey sapote is ripe, peel off a fleck of the skin to see if it is pink underneath. The flesh should give slightly, as with a ripe kiwifruit.

The mamey sapote is related to other sapotes such as sapodilla (Manilkara zapota), abiu (P. caimito) and canistel (P. campechiana), but unrelated to the black sapote (Diospyros digyna) and white sapote (Casimiroa edulis). It should not be confused with the Mammee apple (Mammea americana).

References and links

• TradeWinds Fruit: Mamey Sapote
• New Crop Resource Online Program: Sapote

See also

• Sapodilla