6 Sapodilla

The evergreen tree, Sapodilla, and its unique fruit are natively found in southern Mexico, Central America, and some parts of the Caribbean. The edible fruit has a rusty brown surface and is spheroid to ovoid in shape. It has a sweet flavor, sometimes compared to the combined flavor of pears and brown sugar. Nonetheless, the tree has no commercial significance anywhere in the world.

The scientific name of the Sapodilla tree is Manilkara zapota and the fruits of the tree are eaten fresh where they grow natively. Even the milky latex produced by the trunk was once used as the chief source of chicle, so was important to the chewing-gum industry.

This part of the medium-sized and slow-growing tree was directly used as chewing gum by the Aztecs.

The fruit, which is also known as “chickoo” in some places, has two to five black shiny seeds that look like flattened beans inside it. The seeds are surrounded by the edible juicy and fleshy part of the fruit which is translucent and yellowish-brown in color.

Chickoo is only eaten when ripe. The immature or unripe fruit has tannin and milky latex that tastes unpleasant. (1, 2)

7 Mamey Sapote

This fruit was once native to Mexico and Central America. Pouteria sapota is the fruit tree that is cultivated throughout Central America, the Caribbean, and south Florida. The ovoid-shaped fruit of the tree tastes sweet like almonds, can be eaten raw, and is used directly in desserts and drinks. The seeds are also made use of to prepare bitter chocolate after milling.

The spherical fruit of sapote has a rusty brown peel and reddish-brown flesh inside that tastes musky sweet with a creamy consistency. Also, there is a shiny brown seed hidden in the fleshy, edible part.

The fruit is either eaten raw, dried or used in a variety of desserts like sherbets, ice creams, etc. Its slimy part inside the peel tastes bitter-sweet like an almond. Even the unripe fruit is also cooked as a vegetable.

The seeds are used in the preparation of multiple things like confections. They’re mixed with cornmeal, sugar, and cinnamon to make a perfect nutritional beverage called “pozol.”

Up to 60% of the kernels of the seeds produce an edible, white-colored, semi-solid, vaseline-like oil that can be consumed freshly after extraction and refining. The oil produced from the seed kernel of sapote is used as a skin ointment and hairdressing and is believed to control hair loss. (1, 2)

8 Guava

Guava is an evergreen shrub that natively grows in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Raw and freshly eaten guava fruit is enriched with vitamin A, B, and C, but they are also served in slices with sugar and cream as dessert.

The guava tree is cultivated in all parts of the world where the climate is tropical and subtropical. These are fast-growing trees and adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions easily. They can displace the natural vegetation, therefore, are sometimes considered as weeds in many countries.

The outer skin of its fruit is either yellow- or white-colored with its pulp inside which is white, pink, or yellow in color with several small, hard seeds. The guava fruit is processed into jams, jellies, and preserves and is commonly used in pastry fillings. Sometimes the musk part inside is pungent and its odor is absolutely putrid.

In the West Indies, guava paste, also known as “guava cheese,” is prepared by evaporating the pulp with sugar and then consumed as a sweetmeat.

The leaves of the tree are used in cooking in some Asian countries. They’re also used for other purposes like dyeing, tanning, and as a treatment for diarrhea. (1, 2)

9 Pomegranate

Introduced in Spanish America in the 16th century and into California by the Spaniards in 1769, the pomegranate is a fruit-bearing, deciduous shrub that originally belonged to the Mediterranean region. Its fruit is filled with juice and is used in baking, cooking, juice blends, meal garnishes, alcoholic beverages, and smoothies.  

The pomegranate tree or bush belongs to the family of Lythraceae. The juicy fruit is about the size of an orange and has a smooth, leathery skin cover colored in brownish yellow to red. There are small chambers inside the fruit that contain many tiny transparent arils that have juicy pulp, are reddish in color, and have angular, elongated seeds.

The small arils are eaten fresh but are also the source of grenadine syrup that is used in favoring and liquors. Also, we need to mention the tree’s medicinal qualities that have been recorded in many Greek, Hebrew, Buddhist, Islamic, and Christian mythologies and texts. Since 1500 BCE, it has been noted to be a treatment for tapeworm and other parasites.

There is good evidence that pomegranate can be an antidote for high blood pressure, increase athletic performance,  and can treat heart disease, diabetes, and many other conditions. It is used as folk medicine in many cultures.

The plant is native to Iran but is also cultivated in other Mediterranean countries, some parts of the U.S., Russia, Afghanistan, India, Japan, and China. (1, 2, 3)

10 Jujube

The seeds of the jujube tree are dried, boiled, baked, and then used to flavor tea and eaten fresh. Rich in vitamin C, the fruit is also called “Chinese dates” and is used to make small candies also called “jujubes.” However, jujube is the name of either of the two small species of spiny plants of the genus Ziziphus.

The trees are native to South and Central Asia and China, but some countries including Australia see them as invaders or weeds. In China, the tree has been cultivated for 4,000 years.  

The description of its fruit is that it is dark brown in color and round or oblong in shape resembling small plums. The pulp inside the brown cover is a little crisp and white in color, and it surrounds one large pointed seed.

Two species of jujube have some differences. The Indian, or cottony fruit, has leaves that are woolly beneath unlike common jujube fruit that has it smooth.

Both the fruits are small in size but are not so sweet. Jujubes grow or could be cultivated easily in a hot, dry climate, and the trees are quite resistant to several pests.

When the fruit is made into glaze fruits by boiling in honey and sugar syrup, they look similar to Persian dates. That is the origin of one of their alternate names, “Chinese dates.” (1, 2)