Mamey Fruit: Nutritional Benefits and Serving Suggestions

Mamey (scientific name Pouteria sapota) is a species of edible tree-grown fruit found in Central America and Mexico. However, growers also cultivate the fruit in Cuba, South Florida, South America, and the Caribbean. This egg-shaped, large berry ranges from three to eight inches long and features rough, light-to-dark brown skin and vibrant orange flesh, which grows around one large interior seed (though it may contain up to four seeds).

Common names for mamey fruit include sapote, mamey sapote, red mamey, zapote rojo, zapote Colorado, and mamey Colorado.

The mamey sapote fruit carries many potential health benefits, including:

1. 1. High fiber content: Besides being an excellent source of carbohydrates (fifty-six grams per one-cup serving), mamey fruit contains nine grams of dietary fiber per one-cup serving. Fiber helps regulate the digestive system by softening the stool and increasing bowel movement frequency.
2. 2. Rich in carotenoids: The pigmented carotenoids that give mamey fruit its signature orange color contain antioxidant properties that may help prevent cell damage. The carotenoids found in mamey fruit include alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which may benefit eye health and combat body tissue deterioration.
3. 3. Rich in iron: Mamey fruit is high in iron, which may prevent the development of anemia—a condition that harms the body’s ability to produce red blood cells.
4. 4. Rich in nutrients: Mamey fruit contains several beneficial nutrients, including copper, magnesium, manganese, niacin, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E.

Perfectly ripe mamey fruit has skin that gives slightly when squeezed, similar to a ripe avocado. Unripe mamey fruit will feel rock hard, and overripe ones will feel mushy. When you cut into this ripe fruit, its flesh color will be either salmon-red or a sweet potato shade of orange.

Choose a mamey fruit with the stem nub still attached to delay spoiling. For the best taste and texture, only eat ripe mamey fruit.

Cut a mamey fruit open similar to how you would cut an avocado, slicing into it longways and gently running the knife around the pit until you have two halves. Discard the pit, use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, and prepare it in your chosen way.

Ripe mamey fruit has a creamy texture similar to avocado and a taste that subjective palates may describe as a combination between sweet potato, apricot, and pumpkin. You may also taste slight notes of cantaloupe, honey, cinnamon, peach, or cherry.

Here are a few common ways to enjoy mamey fruit:

1. 1. Raw and plain: Scoop mamey fruit from its outer shell with a spoon, slice it up, and enjoy it as a nutritious snack. Alternatively, serve it as part of a tropical fruit platter or in a salad.
2. 2. As a dessert: Mamey fruit ice cream, milkshakes, and smoothies are popular sweet treats throughout the Caribbean. In Mexico, mamey fruit is a common flavor for paletas, which are frozen fruit bars served on a stick like a popsicle.
3. 3. As a condiment: Stew overripe mamey fruit into marmalade, jam, or jelly to spread on toast for breakfast. Add a uniquely sweet flavor to roast pork loin with a mamey fruit sauce—simply cook the chopped fruit in a pan with oil, water, spices, and lime juice. After about ten minutes on the stove, purée all your ingredients in a blender until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.

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