A New Fruit: Zapote

Zapote is spelled with a Z in The Dominican Republic but with an S in some other Spanish speaking countries. I'm not sure why.

I truly had no idea what to expect when I bought this one in the supermarket the other day.


The zapote has a brown peel similar in color to a kiwi fruit. The texture was reminiscent of a cantaloupe.


When I cut the fruit open, it was a beautiful surprise. The photos are much more vibrant in Picasa, but on here they are muted. The pinky orange was amazing. Orange is my favorite color, so I was immediately enamored. It reminded me of a Gauguin painting.


Ahhh, Gauguin...


There were two wonderful dark colored woodlike pits. I thought of a shiny horse chestnut when I sliced the fruit open.

About now, you may be asking yourself, "but what did the zapote taste like, Joel??" I'm getting there, be patient. For me, the look of this fruit was definitely better than the taste. I will describe what it tasted like to me before I write what it tastes like to others according to some online research (by me, surfing the web, not real research data about taste trends).

The taste was mild and not too sweet. It had some sort of melon flavor and a cherry flavor as well. The texture was smooth and soft in the mouth. Though it seemed like a tree fruit, I wondered if it was some sort of a melon or squash relative.

When I looked online, I found that the taste has been described as everything from caramel, chocolate, or pumpkin to a combination of sweet potato, avocado and honey! I guess no one can decide what it tastes like.

When I asked Wil if he liked zapote, he said, "not really. We don't eat them, we use them in juice and other stuff." And there you have it. Here in The D.R., zapotes are used as juice or flavoring in smoothies or ice cream. I will have to taste one of these items to see if I enjoy it more than in its natural fruit form.


And here it is, jugo de zapote(zapote juice)! It has a nice pink color.


The flavor is also good. It tastes more like watermelon in juice form. But the juice is a little thick or creamy and rich for me to drink very much. A half of the glass was plenty for me.