Try a Sapodilla!

This weeks find at the feria is Zapota or Sapodilla. The sapodilla has been a staple in latin and asian cuisine for hundreds of years. It’s sweet taste and pear like texture offer a unique treat for you to try as a fruit to eat out of hand, or to use in dessert dishes. Often said that the taste is like pears dipped into brown sugar

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Sapodillas are picked from the trees when they are mature, but not ripe. This means that the fruit has reached its full size and shape, but the starches inside the fruit have not yet converted to sugar. When those starches have changed into sugars, usually over a few days of sitting on the kitchen counter, the fruit will soften and emit a pleasant aroma.

Look for sapodillas that are free of soft spots, and are not misshaped. Next, check that the fruit is mature. To do this, gently scrape a tiny scratch on the sapodilla skin with your fingernail, noting the color of the flesh underneath. If that flesh is a deep green, then that fruit is NOT mature and will not ripen into a sweet fruit no matter how long you keep it on the counter. If the flesh color has a hint of yellow – even with some green, then that fruit is mature and will be able to ripen at home on the counter. Sapodillas are ripe when they are soft, like a peach, and have a lovely, sweet aroma.

Sapodillas are a perfect addition to any smoothie, offering a rich consistency. Or try this delicious pie recipe!

1 cup sugar

½ tsp salt

1 tsp ground cloves

3 eggs

1½ cup mashed ripe sapodilla

1 cup milk

1 cup yogurt

3 Tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla

1 unbaked 9″ deep-dish pie shell

Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix sugar, salt and cloves in small dish. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in sapodilla and sugar/clove mixture. Gradually stir in milk, yogurt, honey and vanilla. Pour into pie shell. Bake 15 minutes; turn temperature down to 350°F and bake 20 to 30 minutes more or until firm. Serve with whipped cream.