by Mary Heckrotte
Except in the West Indies, Central America, Mexico, and a few spots in Florida, the mamey apple is a stranger you probably haven’t met. Yet this tasty fruit, a West Indian native grown on huge Magnolia-like trees that offer fine backyard shade, is a familiar favorite in the typical tropical diet.
Unfortunately, the first time I tried a mamey apple, the fruit wasn’t quite ripe, and I found both the taste and texture most unpleasant. Years passed before I happened on luscious well-ripened chunks of mamey apple in a fruit salad. The juicy almond/peach/apricot flavor was nothing at all like the mouth-puckering acidic, chalky taste I remembered. And to think of all those sweet mamey apples I could have enjoyed over the years had I but paid attention to eating as the locals do!
The mamey apple is actually a berry. Most are three to eight inches long and weigh from one to six pounds. The outside is brown, scruffy, and woody-looking — not particularly elegant. But the smell of a ripe mamey apple is a mouth-watering copycat of fresh ripe apricots and the salmon-colored to reddish inside is as fiber-free, smooth, and firm-textured as a melon.
The most common types of mamey apple are Pouteria sapote, an ovoid mamey, and Mamey americana, an eliptoid mamey with a pronounced pointy end. They are close enough alike in texture and taste that for our purposes here we need not worry about the difference. Some of the other English names you may hear are just plain mamey or mammee, mamey sapote, Saint Domingo apricot, and South American apricot. In the Spanish-speaking areas, where Latinos insist the fruit is heavenly and incomparable and is often eaten directly out of hand, you’ll hear mamey de Santa Domingo, mamey amarillo, mamey de Cartagena, mamey colorado, mata serrano, zapote mamey, or zapote de Santa Domingo. In the French islands the locals will refer to the mamey fruit as abricot d’Amerique, abricot des Antilles, abricot pays, or abricot de Saint-Dominique. Most mameys contain a single, hard, shiny, brown seed but some may contain as many as four seeds. Some sources say these seeds can be milled to make a sort of bitter chocolate. The juice from the seeds is said to leave an indelible stain.
The season for mamey apples varies by country and by botanical variety. In Puerto Rico, for example, mameys are available from March to October and one tree may yield 300 to 400 fruits in a single year. In other areas, the mamey tree produces fruit twice a year in June and December. Some trees even have flowers, immature fruits, and mature fruits all at the same time. It takes from 13 to 24 months for the fruit to reach maturity. There are basically three stages: unripe, ripening, and well-ripened.
When the mamey apple is ripening, it is ready to pick from the tree. At this point, the skin turns a slightly lighter shade of brown. However, unless you are carefully watching the fruits, you’re not likely to notice this subtle change. Instead, the best way to judge ripeness is to scratch the underside of the mamey with your thumbnail to remove a bit of the skin. The flesh of unripe fruit is greenish and this mamey should not be removed from the tree. If you find these in the market, don’t buy them as they will not ripen further; the pulp will only turn dark brown and remain inedible.
On the tree or at market, you want to find ripening mameys which are heavy and hard with the flesh inside already a bright salmon, orange, or reddish color. To avoid damage that can cause uneven ripening or poor storage life, remove fruits from a tree by twisting or cutting them off rather than waiting for them to fall or knocking them down. You can store ripening fruits at room temperature for several days until they reach the well-ripened stage. At this point they will yield slightly to gentle pressure and their lovely tropical fruity smell has begun to permeate your boat. These fully-ripened fruits will then keep in your refrigerator (at about 55 degrees F) for an additional several days.
To prepare the mamey apple for use, score the skin vertically then peel off the strips. You’ll also need to scrape off the bitter whitish membrane, called the rag, that coats the flesh just under the skin. If you get even a little taste of this, it will puckers your mouth the way a taste of persimmons do. Slice the fruit from the seed and carefully remove any
additional rag left on the flesh from the seed. Sliced fruit will keep in the refrigerator for a day or two, covered with plastic wrap or stored in a closed container, and mamey apple puree can be frozen. Frozen puree is sometimes available at markets. There are 134 calories in two-thirds Cup of mamey apple and the fruit is chock full of potassium, Vitamins A and C, and is a good source of fiber.
Mamey apples are as versatile as any fruit can be and can often be substituted in recipes calling for apples, peaches, or apricots. They are most commonly used, alone or in combination with other fruits, in beverages such as milk shakes and smoothies, and in ice creams, jams, marmalades, and jellies. They are also a standard in mixed fruit salads. A popular way to prepare mamey apples in Jamaica is to soak the slices in wine and sugar prior to eating them. In the Bahamas, locals soak mamey apple slices in salt water “to take away the bitterness” before cooking them with sugar and water to make a jam. Elsewhere, adding a bit of lime juice serves the same purpose. Sliced mamey apples seasoned with a bit of cinnamon and ginger can be used in pies and tarts. Also, slightly less-than-ripe fruits contain high levels of pectin and so are useful when making jellies. In Brazil, mamey apples combined with a sap from the mamey trees are fermented to make a wine. In the Dominican Republic, a favorite is mamey apple sherbet, which is simply frozen uncooked mamey fruit blended with sugar. A delicious “mamey apple-ade” can be made by blending the juice from stewed mamey apples with sugar and lemon juice.
When cooking mamey, you’ll note that foam forms on top. Skim this foam off and discard it as it is usually bitter. Bitterness in foods is typically not only disliked but also distrusted. The practice of soaking the mamey apple in wine or saltwater possibly serves the purpose of eliminating any bitterness. Some folks say that it is best to eat only moderate amounts of mamey apple as it is well noted that for some persons mamey can cause discomfort in the digestive system.
Mamey also has medicinal value. For example, in Venezuela, powdered seeds are used to treat parasitic skin disease, while in Brazil the seeds are used as an anticonvulsant. In the French West Indies, mamey flowers are made into a digestive known as Creme de Creole. One Internet source also states that “an infusion of fresh or dry leaves (one handful in a pint of water) is given by the capful over a period of several days in cases of intermittent fever and it is claimed to have been effective where quinine has failed.”
Mamey apples are one more example of the Caribbean’s bounty of good things in life. But as with many of our cruising adventures, if we don’t know what to look for, this scruffy-looking fruit can be overlooked or even prove a bitter experience. And yet, here within an abundance of fruits and vegetables, mamey apples are treasured and the locals know why.
Mamey Apple Jam
3 large ripe mamey apples, peeled, sliced
1 quart water
sugar
lime juice
Place mamey apple slices in a large saucepan and add water. Over high heat bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer until fruit is tender. Skim off any foam. Pour mixture into a colander or other sieve, collecting juice in another saucepan underneath. Press mamey apple pulp through the colander or sieve. For each cup of collected liquid and pulp mixture, add one cup of sugar and a few drops of lemon juice. Return mixture in saucepan to high heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until mixture thickens to a jam-like consistency. To preserve, pour into hot sterilized glass jars and seal. Or place mixture into small lidded containers and store in the refrigerator.
Makes about 4 cups.
Mamey Apples in Syrup
2 1/2 Cups sugar
3 Cups water
Juice of 1 lemon
3 medium mamey apples, peeled, sliced
In a large saucepan, mix sugar, water, and lemon juice. Add mamey apple slices. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until fruit is tender. Skim off foam from top. Cool then chill overnight in refrigerator.
Serve chilled. Serves 4 to 6.
Mamey Apple Muffins
2 eggs
1 1/4 Cups sugar
2 Cups prepared mamey, pureed
1 1/2 Cup milk
1 1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 Cup pecans, chopped
1/4 Cup butter, softened
1/4 Cup brown sugar
In a medium-size bowl, beat eggs and sugar together. Stir in the mamey puree and milk. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Stir into the mamey apple mixture. Fill 24 greased mini muffin tins one-half full of batter. In a small bowl, mix together the pecans, butter, and brown sugar. Top each muffin with a teaspoon of pecan mixture. Bake muffins in preheated 350°F oven for about 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a rack then remove muffins from tins. Serve warm. Store remaining muffins in an airtight container.
Mamey Apple Ice Cream (even on a boat!)
1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup corn syrup
Pinch of salt
1 Cup milk
1 Cup pureed mamey apple
Juice of 1 lemon
2 eggs, beaten
1 Cup Nestlé’s canned cream (or other whipping cream)
In a medium saucepan, mix together the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and milk. Stir in the mamey apple puree and lemon juice. Then add the beaten eggs and mix well. Over medium heat bring the mixture to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Whip cream to stiff peaks then fold into cooled mamey apple mixture. Pour mixture into refrigerator trays and freeze. Stir mixture several times during the freezing process.
Makes 1 quart.
Mamey Apple Sherbet
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1 teaspoon gelatin
1 1/2 Cups mamey apple puree
1 Cup pineapple juice
Juice of 1 lemon
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
Dissolve sugar in three-fourths cup of water. Soak gelatin in 1/4 Cup of water. Dissolve gelatin in sugar water. Add mamey apple puree, pineapple juice and lemon juice. Pour into refrigerator tray and freeze to a slush. Pour into a mixing bowl and beat well. Add stiffly beaten egg whites. Return to refrigerator tray and freeze.
Makes 1 quart.
Mamey Apple Fruit Cup
1 Cup mamey apple slices
1/4 Cup seedless grapes, sliced in half
1/4 Cup toasted almonds, chopped
2 or 3 bananas, sliced
1 Cup orange sections
Combine all and chill well. Serve in a wine glass with a dollop of whipped topping for a refreshing dessert.
Serves 3 or 4.
Mamey Apple Milkshake
Put mamey apple slices in a blender and add an equal amount of milk. Sweeten to taste with sugar, honey, or corn syrup. Blend and serve over ice cubes.
Mamey Apple Pudding
2 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup water
3 mamey apples, sliced
9 eggs, beaten
2 small sponge cakes (5 x 3 x 1 1/2 inches, approximately), broken into 1-inch pieces
Rum to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon melted butter
Whipped topping
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar, water, and mamey apple slices to a boil. Continue to cook until the syrup spins a thread. Press this mixture through a sieve. Stir beaten eggs into mixture then add sponge cake pieces and beat until smooth. Add rum, vanilla, and melted butter. Pour into a greased mold and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Unmold and serve with whipped topping.
