MAMEY SPOTE - A Belize Sweet Custard Treat

MAMEY SPOTE
This is a very unusual fruit, and I get asked about it all the time.  They are seasonal, so something that I don't regularly stock.  But when they are in season, I always try to encourage my customers to try one.  They are unique to the Caribbean and especially Belize.

The Mamey Sapote (Pouteria sapota) is native to Central American lowlands and Mexico. The flesh is salmon or red colored and has a sweet taste with a texture imilar to custard.  Mamey Spote has a very distinctive flavor which blends well with milk, other fruits, and is especially tasty in smoothies. 

It takes from 13 to 24 months from flowering to fruit maturity.  This large, long fruit has coarse, brown, leathery skin and yields to a gentle squeeze when ripe. 

It grows well throughout the Caribbean islands and the lowlands of South America, Central America, and in the West Indies--including the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Cuba where it is planted as a dooryard fruit and cultivated commercially for the local market.

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