BLACK SAPOTE
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Diospyros digyna
FAMILY: Ebenaceae
The black sapote is native to Mexico and sometimes called chocolate pudding fruit or black persimmon. The tree is evergreen with attractive dark green foliage and new growth is a pale lime green for a little while. Fruit are generally round in shape and average about 10cm in diameter. They can contain from 1 to 5 seeds. If you intend planting a tree, I recommend that you obtain a known variety that does not contain any seeds. One such variety is "Bernecker".
The fruit contains 82% water and is very low in fat and very high in calcium, phosphorus and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). After the fruit has formed on the tree it continues to grow under a calyx. When it has reached a full size, the calyx will be touching the fruit. When the calyx has lifted up away from the fruit, it is mature. It can now be picked and left to soften. Never attempt to tree-ripen the fruit, because if you misjudge it and a ripe fruit falls to the ground it will splatter everywhere.
Once the fruit has softened, it should be used immediately, as if it is left one more day, it will be too soft to handle. If not intending to use the fruit immediately, the flesh can be scooped out of the skin and frozen or the fruit can be frozen whole. To remove the skin later, simple let it defrost a little, then remove the partly frozen skin with a vegie peeler.
The uses for this fruit are limited only by your imagination. Some examples to date have been: scones, pikelets, muffins, cakes, breads, biscuits, desserts, ice cream and drinks. A person told me once that their partner thought that black sapote looks like axle grease. After having tried it with a dash of rum and a generous scoop of ice cream they cannot get enough of it now.
My favourite ways to devour black sapote are to eat it fresh, direct from the skin, and to make a black sapote thick shake.
The black sapote is indeed a nice ornamental tree and a very versatile fruit.
DATE: July 1996
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