Egg fruit (botanically known as Puteria campechiana) is an unusual tropical fruit. Aztecs and Mayans widely cultivated a close relative of lucuma and mamey sapote, Egg Fruit for consumption and cultivation purposes.
The fruit of this fast-growing plant is sweet and juicy with a texture similar to hard-boiled egg yolk. A container culture option for further cultivation would make this fruitful choice even more desirable.
Characteristics
The egg fruit plant produces orange-yellow fruits with a pasty texture resembling hard-boiled egg yolk, hence its name. The fruit also boasts an appealing, mildly sweet, and subdued custard-like flavor reminiscent of yams, sweet potato, or cooked pumpkin and is frequently featured as an ingredient in tropical dessert recipes. Furthermore, its leaves and bark may also be used medicinally.
Egg Fruit Plants Are Frost Tolerant | Garden Design Blog Although not frost-tolerant, egg fruit plants still produce fruit even at temperatures as low as 32 deg. Preferring full sun and well-drained soil conditions, mature trees typically reach fruit-bearing age within three or four years and need ample space due to their broad spreading branches, making this choice suitable for extensive gardens due to both size and beauty as well as production of an abundance of fruit.
Its edible flesh can be enjoyed outright or used in various dishes and desserts, including pies, puddings, cakes, and milkshakes. Furthermore, the tree’s fruit can also be stuffed into mushroom caps, used as an ingredient in salads, or combined with other fruits to form vegan “eggnog.”
While egg fruit varies widely depending on its cultivar, most varieties share common traits. Some of the more popular cultivars include Trompo, Caiman, and Kew. Trompo has a delightful and creamy flavor, while Caiman boasts mild sweetness with a slight spice to compliment its rich fruit taste; also, its fruit is less starchy than its counterparts and features soft creamy textures that provide the ideal complement to its intensely rich taste.
Egg fruit plant fruits provide an excellent source of vitamins C, calcium, potassium, and phosphorous. Furthermore, they’re rich in carotenoids, which protect eyesight while giving skin its vibrant sheen and helping prevent heart disease risk. Moreover, iron found in its fruit helps with blood circulation while simultaneously increasing energy levels; Pouteria ramiflora root extracts also exhibit antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties.
Identification
Egg fruit (Canistel or Yellow Sapote), botanically classified as Puteria campechiana and also commonly referred to as Canistel or Yellow Sapote, is an unusual tropical to subtropical fruit with an irresistibly creamy texture resembling hard-boiled eggs. Botanically speaking, it belongs to the family of trees known as Sapota and Sapodilla trees and related.
Eggfruits are beloved yellow-orange fruits beloved for their unique texture that has earned them the name “Eggfruit.” Their consistency resembles that of hard-boiled egg yolk, with six large black seeds inside a flesh that emits a musky, squash-like aroma when mature and an easily puncturable skin that turns light orange when matured.
Canistel egg fruit is a fantastic fruit that adds a unique taste and texture to dairy recipes. With its velvety mousse-like texture, Canistel egg fruit pairs beautifully in desserts such as cheesecake and pumpkin pies; additionally, it can serve as an adequate replacement for winter squash or sweet potato in savory curries dishes.
The dense cake-like pulp is low in water content and high in soluble fiber content, naturally lowering calories while offering sweet flavors similar to banana, pineapple, and baked sweet potatoes.
Egg fruit can be found across the nation during harvest season in markets and grocery stores, sold whole or cut into slices in bags of individual pieces. Not only is egg fruit an enticing treat for its delicious snacking capabilities but its ripe state can also be turned into jams and marmalades as well as pancakes or flour shakes or used as the basis of custard!
This tropical fruit is packed with beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A to strengthen immune defenses and protect against eye diseases such as macular degeneration. Niacin is also abundant in these tropical fruits, which helps regulate blood pressure while providing essential minerals like calcium, potassium, and iron for good health.
This unusual plant can easily thrive in most tropical and subtropical climates. Requiring little care, it can even be grown in containers on patios or porches for convenience. Like other tropical fruits, the cocoa bean prefers warm temperatures with loose, well-drained soil that has slightly acidic pH levels – although, as with all fruit trees, it should be transplanted when its growth begins to slow.
Origins
Canistel (Pouteria campechiana) is a tropical evergreen plant with long fruits similar to hard-boiled egg yolk. As part of the Sapotaceae family, Canistel’s fruit is related to mamey sapote, lucuma, and abiu and is eaten raw for an enjoyable treat accompanied by salt, pepper, and lime for best results.
Canistel tree fruit can be used in both cooking and baking as well as beverage production. Packed with vitamins A, B, and C as well as calcium, iron, and phosphorus, canistel fruit is a nutritious treat that’s beloved in Florida, where people often enjoy snacking on it with salt, pepper, or even mayonnaise or made into jellies, jams or marmalades; also it can replace eggs when making pumpkin pies, cheesecakes, and other dessert items! Additionally, its eggfruit serves up healthful dessert ingredients when added into smoothies or milkshakes – perfect for snacking!
After enjoying it raw, canistel fruit can also be transformed into a spread similar to hummus using paprika and herbs or spices or added as an ingredient for baked goods like bread muffins and cakes. Furthermore, its egg-like flesh can replace eggs in various recipes like omelets and deviled eggs, or combined with vegetable oil, salt, and pepper, it can create vegan versions of hollandaise sauce!
Canistel has long been cultivated for centuries in southern Mexico and Central America but is now grown all around the world. Commonly referred to as jackfruit or coco jack, canistel plant cultivation can easily fit into backyard gardens as it requires minimal care and water requirements; perfect alongside mangoes, avocadoes, or papayas!
Cultivation
The Egg Fruit Plant (Pouteria campechiana) is an exotic tropical tree known for producing sweet custard-like fruits that make for delectable desserts or drinks, from pies and ice cream to milkshakes or salads and cocktails. Although tricky to cultivate initially, once established, it produces bountiful harvests of lush fruit as well as beautiful foliage.
This tree thrives best in tropical environments and can withstand short periods of frost. To thrive it requires well-drained soil with ample organic matter. Although generally low, it has proven itself highly adaptable in different conditions, including dry sandy loam soils as well as heavy clay ones; it is also tolerant to salinity and iron deficiency conditions in its environment.
Evergreen with dark green leaves up to 12 inches long clustered at the tips of branches, this tree takes 3-4 years before beginning to produce fruit, peaking during June-July in the Western Ghats and producing yellow to orange-colored fruits that become dull as they mature.
This fruit features a firm texture similar to that of hard-boiled egg yolk, while its taste resembles that of mango with its mild sweetness and musky aroma. Due to its high sugar content, however, it is best eaten fresh for optimal results.
Though its appearance may seem unusual, egg fruit is an increasingly popular ingredient in various global cuisines. It provides nutrients like niacin, fiber, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus – as well as being an incredible source of Vitamin A, which promotes human body growth and development while simultaneously increasing hemoglobin levels in the bloodstream to prevent anemia.
Egg fruit plants can be challenging to locate outside their native range. Most sales take place locally in small markets where they grow; they are rarely transported outside that limited area. Because egg fruit plants are less popular among Indian consumers than other tropical fruits, their demand remains relatively low.
