What’s In It For Me ...
So, apart from tasting gorgeous ... are sapodillas good for me? Well these little sugary fruits are on exactly good if you’re on a diet ... with over 100 calories in every 100 grams.
But for all that they are a natural source of energy ... an outstanding source of fibre, phosphorus and vitamin C ... are rich in protein and iron ... whilst being low in sodium, cholesterol and saturated fat ...
So, all I can say is, not everything that tastes good is bad for you!! Hoorah!!
What’s In A Name ...
When the same fruit is grown in different parts of the world you always find it’s known by lost of different names and the sapodilla is no exception ...
living in the Bahamas you’ll know this fruit as a ‘Sugardilly’ (I think this is the most descriptive name of all because of its’ sweet taste ...)
move to Brazil and you’ll be shopping for a ‘sapoti’ ...
hop over to Costa Rica where you can enjoy fresh ‘korob’ ...
take a swift trip to India and you’ll find little has changed with this fruit now known as a ‘tree potato'(very descriptive of its appearance this time!), ‘Sapota’ or ‘Chikoo’ ...
this is the same name for this gorgeous fruit in Bangladesh, Pakistan or South Asia ...
and as you continue to travel the world you’ll find the fruits called ‘ciku’ (Malaysia), ‘chicle’ (Mexico), ‘naseberry’ (West Indies), ‘rata-mi'or sapodilla (Sri Lanka), ‘sawu’ (Indonesia), ‘tsiko’ (Philippines) or ‘zapote’ in Cuba ...
In fact these are just a few of the common names for this little fruit the Chinese call the ‘fruit of life’ ...
I Had A Little Fruit Tree ...
Well, actually not so.o..o small, with the sapodilla trees growing as high as 40 metres tall ...
A very slow growing tree with a long life, the trees are evergreen, with glossy, dark green leaves of between 7-15cm in length.
The tree produces small, white bell-like flowers several times a year and bares fruit every two years.
A Bit Of A Chewy Tale ...
Although I’m enthusing of the fruit of the sapodilla tree in times past you would have also found these trees treasured for the ‘sap’ or ‘latex’, a white, gummy substance known as ‘chicle’.
Harvested from the bark of the tree by workers known as ‘chicleros’ who would cut zigzag lines into the trunk of the sapodilla tree to allow the white chicle to drip out and be collected into small bags.
This would then be boiled together with corn syrup, glycerin, sugar and flavoring.
After this mixture had been allowed to dry it was rolled out and cut into pieces of a sweet, chewy substance known as ‘chewing gum’ ... yes, the chicle formed the basis of chewing gum when it was originally made ...
Location, Location, Location ...
The sapodilla trees are native to Yucatan, northern Belize, northeastern Guatemala and other areas of southern Mexico. From these areas it was introduced into the Philippines during the Spanish colonization, throughout tropical America as well as southern parts of Florida and the West Indies ...
India is now one of the main producers of Sapodillas, whilst they are also grown for commercial purposes in Guatemala, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Venezuela and other Central American countries.
