It's Egg-Fruit Season In South Florida

Egg-fruit, a Central American delicacy, is a bright yellow, heart shaped fruit with a single seed. It has a slight vanilla flavor and custard like texture. Sounds wonderful doesn't it. The ripening process however is anything but wonderful.

Egg-Fruit in South Florida

I bought my first egg-fruit while touring Fruit And Spice Park in Homestead (south of Miami), Florida. The seller said I had to let the fruit get very mushy before eating it. I packed it along with several other fruit into the trunk of my car.

Two days later, I noticed a foul smell coming from my car. I searched and searched but could not find anything. I drove with all my windows down and the smell went away.

The next day, the smell was worse, similar to poopy diaper stink. Again I searched the car and found nothing, until I noticed something yellow wedged down one side of the trunk. It was the egg-fruit. I sniffed it but there was very little scent.

My neighbor grows many types of tropical fruit including egg-fruit. So I went to him for advice and asked if he thought it was possible the smell was coming from the egg-fruit. He said, "yes."

He said his wife did not let him ripen egg-fruit near the house because of the terrible smell. And added that neither of them liked the flavor, so they were always looking for people to give the fruit to. He asked if I liked egg-fruit and offered to give me some.

"I still need to try it," I said, and promised to return for some fruit if I did.

Custard like texture tasting slightly of vanilla

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the flavor did not match the smell. The golden colored flesh was very creamy with just a hint of vanilla.

Neighbor picking egg-fruit from his tree

I went back to my neighbor for more. He took me round back and plucked five large fruit from his tree. He said several of his friends blended the fruit into shakes.

All the egg-fruit ripened within four days of picking and this time the smell was a lot milder. I haven't made any shakes with the fruit because I like their flavor just as is.

Egg-fruit is related to Mamey Sapote and Lacuma.