Encyclopedia Of Foods

Fruits 207SAPODILLAThe sapodilla is nearly round and about 2 to 4 inches in diameter. Its thin,brownish skin is easy to peel when the fruit is ripe. The translucent flesh hasa sweet flavor reminiscent of honey andapricots and a “melt in the mouth”texture. The center of the fruitcontains about 3 to 12 hard,shiny black seeds.Family SapotaceaeScientific name Manilkara zapotaCommon name sapodilla♥ High in vitamin C and fiberVarietiesThe extensive cultivation of the sapodillain India has resulted in numerous varieties.Brown Sugar produces fragrant, juicyfruits whose flesh is pale brown and richlysweet. The flesh of the Prolific variety islight pinkish tan, mildly fragrant, smoothtextured,and sweet. Russel bears largefruits that are rich and sweet, but it is nota prolific producer. A new selection,Tikal, yields fruits that have an excellentflavor but are smaller.Origin & botanical factsThe sapodilla plant is believed to haveoriginated in the Yucatán peninsula ofMexico, northern Belize, and northeastGuatemala. The plant was highly prizedby the Aztecs, who called the fruit“tzapotl,” from which the Spanish derivedthe name sapodilla. The plant is nowgrown in almost all the tropical and subtropicalregions of Africa, Asia, the EastIndies, and the Americas. The mainproducers are the Central American countries,Australia, India, Indonesia, and, inthe United States, California and Florida.Equally at home in humid and relativelydry environments, the sapodilla treeis a slow-growing evergreen that can reachup to 100 feet in height. The tree bearssmall, ball-shaped white flowers borneon slender stalks at the leaf bases. Aresinous sap called “chicle” was oncecollected from sapodilla tree trunks formaking chewing gum. This practice haslargely been replaced by the use of syntheticingredients. The mature sapodillatree can yield from 2,000 to 3,000 fruitsin a single year. Because the fruits areeasily perishable and fragile, they do notship well and therefore are relativelyunknown outside their areas of origin.UsesBecause the high tannin and latex contentsof unripe fruits make them astringent andunpalatable, sapodillas should be eatenonly when ripe. Unripe sapodilla fruitsshould be left to ripen at room temperatureand refrigerated after ripening. Thesapodilla is best eaten raw and chilled, bycutting in half and spooning the pulp outof the skin. It can be added to salads ordesserts such as ice cream and sorbet. InMalaysia, the fruit is stewed with limejuice or fried with ginger. In India, it iseaten as a dried fruit.Nutrient compositionSapodilla is high in vitamin C and indietary fiber.SERVINGSIZE:1 fruit, raw (170 g)Nutrient ContentEnergy (kilocalories) 141Water (%) 78Dietary fiber (grams) 9Fat (grams) 2Carbohydrate (grams) 34Protein (grams) 1Minerals (mg)Calcium 36Iron 1Zinc 0Manganese –Potassium 328Magnesium 20Phosphorus 20Vitamins (mg)Vitamin A10 REVitamin C 25Thiamin 0Riboflavin 0Niacin 0Vitamin B 6 0.1Folate24 μgVitamin E 0Note: A line (–) indicates that the nutrientvalue is not available.