1-27-14 - Don't Put That In Your Mouth!

Here in Florida we've had the opportunity to try some really strange new tropical fruits. One of my favorite parts of travel is getting to try local foods where they are freshest-at the source! Just outside the Everglades we stopped at an outdoor fruit market with a tin roof that loudly proclaimed “ROBERT IS HERE” in big letters. Apparently that is the name of the market, although I never got the story behind who exactly Robert is.


We wandered around happily taking in the sights and smells, tasting samples of local fruit and honey. We left with a bag full of strange new fruit to try. We even caught this little guy taking a nap and keeping the pecans warm for us.

The first was a Canestel. It was soft and yellow, shaped a little like a Hershey's kiss. The inside had an incredible velvety texture, somewhere between custard and cooked squash. The flavor was almost exactly like a sweet egg custard. It was incredibly delicious!

This one was just too strange to not try. I'm not sure what it was called, as I forgot to write it down. But how could you not try such an alien looking little fruit?? It was really good, and tasted a bit like Midori melon liqueur.

Next we tried Sapodilla, which is also known as “tree potato”. A very fitting name! The description said it tasted like “a pear with brown sugar.” Despite the nondescript exterior, the interior had a firm pear-like texture and golden-pink flesh. Unfortunately, it stunk to high heaven and tasted so bad that I spit it out after one bite.

We tried again with a Black Sapote. This was easily the strangest thing we have eaten! It's sometimes called “The chocolate pudding fruit”. The exterior looks exactly like a large, green tomato. As it ripens it turns black and wrinkly and begins to seep black juice. At this point most people would throw it out as rotten, but this is when it's at its most tasty! When you slice it open the inside has few large seeds, which you discard. It has a great creamy texture and tastes like very mild, sweet vanilla. It's awesome!

The last was the Mamey Sapote. This is a huge favorite of the Cuban population in Florida. They blend it with ice cream to make milkshakes. Again, I was not a big fan, but I'm glad we got to try it! It had a texture a bit like squash, and tasted like fruity caramel.