Sapote - how to ripen and use

[heidih]

My neighbor just came over with what he considers his favorite fruit - sapote. They had fallen on their own but are hard. Any thougnts on ripening and uses?

[andiesenji]

Ripen them the same way as you would treat an avocado. They have seeds that are smaller than an avocado pit, sometimes just one but there can be more, shaped like extra-large almonds.

They are ripe when they give slightly, similar to a peach or nectarine. I peel them as the skin can be a bit bitter.

They are quite sweet and when fully ripe have a texture like custard.

When I lived in Reseda I had a good sized tree in my yard that produced a lot of fruit, with no attention at all.

Edited July 2, 2012 by andiesenji (log)

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Gee, and here I was expecting pictures of Mamey or Zapote Naranja (which are the usual sapotes in my part of the world). Yours look like white sapotes, which can be ripened exactly as Andie suggests. After that, I like sapote smoothies - cut the fruit in half, pick out the seeds (they're quite large) and scoop the flesh into the blender with a little vanilla yoghurt and milk. They've got very little fibre so you don't even have to do the extra step of liquifying with water and straining for pulp.

Of course, they're also great out of hand....