How to Eat Black Sapote
The black sapote fruit is a special type of persimmon that’s also known as the “chocolate pudding fruit”. A nickname like that is a lot to live up to, and the black sapote delivers on that visual beautifully. The flavor of ripe black sapote fruit is a complex mix of sweet caramel, cocoa and persimmon with a scoopable, papaya-like flesh.
About the size and shape of a squat tomato, ripe sapote have a thin, inedible, olive green peel. The fruit inside starts out hard, astringent and inedible, but with time, matures into a fruit that is sweet and scoopable with a cocoa and caramel flavor. Typically seedless, black sapote fruits can sometimes have up to a dozen hard, inedible seeds inside that should be discarded before eating.
Black sapote fruits are Inedible when unripened. Fully mature black sapote fruit can be enjoyed raw or cooked in a variety of dishes. Black sapote is a creamy, caramel-chocolate flavored fruit that adds pudding-like texture to recipes for snacks, desserts, sauces and pastries. Ripe black sapote fruit shines in sweet dishes, but can be incorporated into savory dishes where its rich, sweet fruit can bring flavorful balance.
Black sapote must be fully ripe before eating. The more ripe and soft the black sapote fruit is, the more sweet and flavorful it will be. And it’s worth the wait! Not waiting for the fruit to ripen will result in flesh that’s still firm and astringent flavor.
How to prepare your black sapote will depend on the recipe you’re using. Here are the most common ways to prepare black sapote for just about any recipe.
It’s easy to slice a black sapote fruit for snacks and recipes. Here are some of the easiest, most common ways of how to slice a black sapote:
- Using a sharp knife, slice off the top ¼ inch of the fruit. Then, using a spoon, scoop the fruit out of the rind like a pudding cup.
- With a paring knife, score the black sapote around the circumference of the fruit. Then, pull the top half off to reveal any seeds in the center. Scoop the flesh out of the halves with a spoon.
- Slice the fruit in half from the top. From there, continue cutting into wedges.
When the heat is on, the sweet, chocolate pudding taste of black sapote adds rich flavor to all kinds of recipes. Here are some of the most popular methods of cooking black sapote:
- Baking: black sapote can be mashed and baked into cakes, breads, pies and pastries.
- Confection: Sweet, custardy black sapote is delicious in jams and candy making.
Sauces: Add black sapote fruit to sweet or savory sauces and salsas.
Here are some easy ways use black sapote in your drinks:
- Smoothies: If you’re wondering what to do with ripe black sapote, smoothies are a fantastic option. This is a fruit you should enjoy as close to cutting open as possible. We recommend freezing the black sapote first for best use in smoothies. To prepare your black sapote for smoothies, scoop the ripe fruit into a freezer safe container, discarding the peel and seeds.
- Cocktails: Mashed black sapote can be cooked into a syrup for cocktails, or blended into frozen or creamy beverages.
Black sapote fruits should be stored at room temperature until they ripen, as refrigeration can slow the ripening process and affect the flavor of the fruit. You’ll know your fruits are ripe when their skin is dark, olive green, and easily yields with gentle pressure from your thumb. The flesh inside will have a very soft and almost scoopable texture with a rich, chocolate brown color. Once fully ripened, black sapotes will stay fresh for up to another three days in the refrigerator.
Do you feel like a black sapote eating expert now? Show us your favorite ways to prepare and eat black sapote by tagging us in your culinary masterpieces on Instagram @Fruitstandcom!