Originating from Central America where it is known as zapote, Sapodilla comes in many names: locally it is known as Ciku or Sawo nilo. Spanish explorers who introduced this fruit to the Philippines called them chiko.
The English call it "tree potato", or "nasberry plum".
In some countries Sapodilla is cultivated for their gum or latex (e.g for making chewing gum in Mexico, Guatamala, Salvador and Northern Honduras).
The fruit is sweet tasting - often described as a mixture of brown sugar and root beer. It is loaded with vitamins too. Go here for a complete write-up on its nutrient value.
Over at The Farm I keep a close watch as it develops from flower to fruit:
Unlike the Durian which can grow to more than a hundred feet tall, Sapodilla's average height is only 10 feet, even lower with constant pruning.
Since there are so many ripe fruits I often share them with the birds:
19 comments:
Dear Grandpa
Another superb post! Informative, written from the heart and with such spell-binding pics too! Thanks for sharing!! Take care and may you continue to bless Mother Earth and those around you with the fruit of your labor.
Have a great weekend.
Best wishes
It looks delicious! I'd love to have a heated greenhouse to grow all these amazing tropical things.
I've never heard of this, but I can see why the English nicknamed it the tree potato, though it's a rather lackluster name. LOL
Beautiful photos of the birds enjoying them, as well.
~Faith
Mmm, sounds yummy. The bird looks like he appreciates your generosity!
What a colourful bird! Can`t i.d. it though I am afraid! Not the sort of thing you get in a back garden in England!
J
Follow me at HEDGELAND TALES
Oh Grandpa this fruit looks so exotic. Would love to taste it. A great post as always. Your photos are amazing.
Thank you for popping by in response to my 'disaster' post. I kept my head above water but am isolated in the CBD as am surrounded by water. It' s going down fast so perhaps businesses will open again on Monday or maybe I'm a bit hopeful!
BTW I have a Publication Party started on my blog. I'd love it if you could come by and read what authors have to say about getting published. Perhaps you could look at publishing a book about life on the farm. Two of the authors I'll be having in the next month have written memoirs (one of my favourite type of books.) Please come by. The champagne's free!
Denise :)
We have this tree at our Grandma's house and the fruits, when ripe, tastes so yum...
masterwordsmith, thank you! It is my pleasure to share the gifts of Mother Earth. I look forward to more humorous and inspirational posts from you... You too have a great weekend!
Faith, this is almost a shrub, so should be quite easy to grow. Yes, the English names don't sound so romantic, do they?
Su, they are tasty and refreshing because of the juice. We have many types of birds enjoying our various fruits, and help us with the pollination...
John, they are so many of them I can't i.d, as I'm not a birder(?). Hope to 'capture' them for future posts. This particular one was busy helping herself to the fruit so was quite easy to shoot. Furthermore the tree was not very tall.
L'Aussie, thanks Denise!
I'm glad you are safe and the situation is improving. I've been following it on ABC on our TV here, and it's so distressing;
I had a quick glance at the post already actually, but I don't normally comment on posts about writing per se. Your suggestion sounds tempting though, so will have another look - not in the least because of the champagne! :)
caterpillar, I'm glad you have that tree growing, many people would like that, I'm sure
I see birds like chewing gums too. maybe I should put real gum out for my birds (nah am just kidding) but your post has inspired a storyline for me Thanx
Joanna, chewing gum is made from a substance called 'chicle' found in Sapodilla's latex. (Now I realise how the brand "Chiclet" for chewing gum came about!)
Look forward to your post.
Nice to learn about this fruit! And such a pretty bird is lucky to enjoy it - I wish I knew which bird it was. :-)
Shelley, thanks for stopping by. It's ok, we can still enjoy her beauty without knowing her name...:))
I've never heard of that kind of fruit. It sounds very good! You have such pretty birds too!
small farm girl, thank you! Even in Asia it is not as common as some other tropical fruits. The Farm is home to many bird species
Wow it does look like a tree potato. naughty bird helping himself, but how beautiful is that orange chest!
kangaroobee, yes the colour of the skin would have you mistake it for a potato wouldn't it? It is an attractive colour, that chest
I enjoyed eating Ciku.. everyweek I go to NSK in Selayang and buy about 10 fruit at RM5.7 per kilogram.
I heard it is rich in calcium.. Thank you for your "Health benefits of sapodilla" link..
have a nice day
Wan, there's a lot of goodness in our local fruits. Eating them regularly will do you a lot of good. In fact one way to diet is, every time you feel hungry eat one or two fruits, instead of roti canai or something. You are welcome, and have a nice day!
This is the most delicious fruit I have ever tasted... even better than mangoes.
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