In the Bahamas, it is ready for harvest in May through July. Although it is sporadically cultivated in French Guiana, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Surinam, Guyana, and Northern Brazil. Mamey trees, Mammea Americana, is also sometimes called Sapote or Mammee, Mamey de Santo Domingo, Abricote, and Abricot d'Amerique. [22][23], This article is about the fruit also known as red mamey. Mamey can be eaten raw and can taste a little bit like a sweet potato. Surprisingly, the mamey tree is rarely planted and grown for cultivation, but is rather just planted for landscape purposes. Cuttings or graftings can be used as well. Additional uses of the mamey fruit include ice cream, sherbet, preserves, drinks, pies, tarts, and cakes. Not sure if your fruit is ready to be consumed? I really like it and I don’t even have to do anything to it, it’s so beautiful! This long-living evergreen tree is native to Southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. It possesses an abundance of white, gummy latex. Sapote, large evergreen tree of the sapodilla family and its edible fruit, native to Central America. The mamey fruit, also known as mamey sapote, or just sapote, is a round, brown fruit that is about 4-8 inches across. [13] The flesh should give slightly, as with an overripe avocado. The pulp of the unripe fruit is initially white, astringent, and irritating, but the maturation makes it brown and even black and it becomes sweet and juicy, though slightly mild in flavor. The skin is leathery and will usually ripen once off the tree. It is usually just found growing naturally along the sides of the roads in the Caribbean. If you've never heard of the mamey fruit, pouteria sapota, you're not alone! For example, in Barbados, the mamey fruit is ready for harvest in April. As mentioned above, if you’re interested in growing mamey trees, you need to live in a tropical climate for best results. You can also plant it in the ground or in a container. 10 Vegetable Garden Tips You Need to Know Right Now! Some of its names in Latin American countries, such as mamey colorado (Cuba),[2] 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" (Spanish: mamey amarillo).[3]. Check out this helpful video below, courtesy of Miami Fruit. If so, you need to live in a tropical or near tropical region in order for this tree to grow! [10][11][12] A mamey sapote is ripe when the flesh is vibrant salmon colored when a fleck of the skin is removed. But next time you head South, do ask the locals where you could get your hands on a mamey fruit or sapote – you won't regret trying this exotic fruit! For the yellow mamey, see, CULTIVATION OF MAMEY SAPOTE AND GREEN SAPOTE - The Rare Fruit Council of Australia, "Mamey Sapote - Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services", The Tropical Fruit Growers present - Mamey Sapote, "Mamey Sapote Exotic Tropical Fruit - Cape Tribulation", Mamey – A Tropical Miami Fruit That Should Become Mainstream - Forbes, Introducing the mamey | Alain Dubernard | Restaurant Business, Good Enough To Eat: Soft fruits: The names and tastes vary - seattlepi.com, Florida Crop/Pest Management Profile: Mamey Sapote and Sapodilla, MAMEY SAPOTE (Pouteria sapote) - fruitipedia, "Emerald Forest® Botanical Hair Care With Rainforest Sapayul Commits to More Natural Products With Introduction of Paraben Free Shampoos And Conditioners", "Organic Sapote Seed Oil (inci: Pouteria Sapota, Zapote, Mamey Sapote, Zapayul, Sapayul)". The tree will take about 6-10 years to bear fruit. Its dark and dense foliage is around 8 inches long and 4 inches wide. The mamey fruit is ready for harvest at different times, depending on where you live. To me personally, the mamey fruit tastes more like a sweet potato! Additionally, the mamey fruit does not travel well either, and that is the reason you probably won't see it in stores either! Thanks for this article btw!! Flowers of the mamey fruit can bloom during and after fruiting. Tree. This wonderful exotic fruit is filled with good vitamins and minerals! Mamey fruits are native to the areas of the Caribbean, Central America, Northern South America, and the West Indies. Mamey sapote is a large and highly ornamental evergreen tree that can reach a height of 15 to 45 meters (49 to 148 ft) at maturity. As long as the temperature doesn’t drop below freezing, the mamey will thrive in sand, heavy clay, and limestone. The leaves are clustered at the tips of flowering branches and irregularly alternate along non-fruiting limbs. 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. Looking to learn how to grow a mamey tree? When ripe, the fruits are left with the shell slightly “wrinkled”, of green-brown color, they look withered. The mamey tree can reach 60-70 feet, so before planting, make sure you have plenty of room! From 1 serving (which is half a fruit and about 113 grams), you'll get: So now that you know how to grow a mamey tree, it's time to plant! Black sapote fruits are also called chocolate pudding fruit due to their taste. The tree looks a lot like a magnolia tree and can reach up to 75 feet in height. It just needs lots of sunlight, well-drained soil, and regular watering. [9] The fruit's texture is creamy and soft, the flavor is a mix of sweet potato, pumpkin, honey, prune, peach, apricot, cantaloupe, cherry, and almond. "Cryptocapsinepoxide-Type Carotenoids from Red Mamey, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pouteria_sapota&oldid=982410957, Articles containing Spanish-language text, Taxonbars with automatically added basionyms, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 7 October 2020, at 23:49. [5] In Florida, the fruit is harvested from May to July with some cultivars available all year. The leaves are pointed at both ends, 4 to 12 inches in length and grow in clusters at the ends of branches. The mamey fruit cannot sustain cold temperatures and will die off quickly if exposed to cold. According to the USDA, mamey seeds were brought from the Bahamas to the United States, more specifically Southern Florida in 1919. We have a scaly type skin on the Mamey and a smooth skin on the Green Sapote. While the wind-resistant limbs and bark used as a gummy latex called “chicle,” the Chico Sapote’s fruit has a sweet flavor similar to malt or caramel, which has earned it the nickname “brown sugar.” The mamaey fruit is eaten by cutting it in half, scooping out the seed, and eating the flesh using a spoon. Trees are very beautify, evergreen and covered in oblong leaves that are tapered at both ends and coloured a wonderful glossy dark green. You can also add mamey to fruit salads, smoothies, milkshakes, and juices. In Florida, the fruit is harvested from May to July with some cultivars ava… The brown skin has a texture somewhat between sandpaper and the fuzz on a peach. Be sure to discard of the seed, or re-plant it to grow anther mamey tree! Sapote (from Nahuatl tzapotl) is a term for a soft, edible fruit. It can be used to produce marmalade and jelly. The seeds will take about two months to germinate. [19] Some beauty products use oil pressed from the seed,[20] otherwise known as sapayul oil. Seedling trees are typically 6-10 m tall while grafted trees are smaller, certain cultivars only grow to 4 m (13 ft).