Has anyone here eaten a Mamey?

[kenny]

I just bought my first Mamey and am waiting for it to ripen.
It's a fruit, common in Cuba, that looks like a coconut.

http://www.jctropicals.us/products/mamey

 

[Dee*Jay]

I had this when I was in Havana. It looks like a coconut on the outside and I expected it to be flakey like cocount on the inside, but it isn't. I'll be interested to see what you think of it!

Where did you manage to find one of these BTW? I've never seen one before or since outside of Cuba.

 

[lulu]

I never even heard of a mamey.

 

[iLander]

I don't really care for Mamey Sapote, they grow around here, but bleach! Some people really love it though, so who knows?

Try a chocolate pudding plant fruit, that's a weird fruit and an odd tree. The fruit is black inside and mushy when ripe, and even the trees roots are black like licorice whips. Very odd.

If you want to explore more tropical fruits, try breadfruit and guavas. Some guavas are nasty with a weird aftertaste, but some types are quite delicious. I've never eaten breadfruit, but I've heard conflicting reports on the taste.

The only non-mainstream tropical fruit I ever tasted, then decided to grow, was a Barbados cherry. They are hugely popular in Japan, and have a mild tangy-sweet taste when fully ripe. 1,000 mg of vitamin C PER CHERRY, vitamin companies use them to extract natural Vitamin C for tablets.

Cocoplum also grows in my yard, but I don't recommend it, it has literally no taste at all. It's like eating cotton, because the plum is purple but the inside is bright white and completely tasteless.

 

[iLander]

Here's a thought; in your area there might be a tropical fruit society. They often have tree sales that also have fruit tastings. We have that here, but you have to go RIGHT when it opens, people literally run for the limited supply of goodies. Tasting fruit doesn't go quite as quick, but trees are gone within a half hour.

You might check google and see if you can find one of those, then get all your tastings done at once!

 

[Ximena]

I first tried it in the Antilles. Trees are beautiful, their flowers resemble giant magnolias. Fruit has a sugary taste to it. My husband thought they tasted like sweet- potato pie filling, I think they taste like vanilla ice cream with a bit of pumpkin mixed in.

 

[kenny]

Where did you manage to find one of these BTW? I've never seen one before or since outside of Cuba.

I do all my produce shopping at an independent supermarket that caters to people 'imported' from yonder of California.
The prices are unbelievably low.
Tomatos are often 25 cents a pound.
A 10-pound watermelon is a dollar.
A fresh bunch of cilantro is sometimes 18 cents.
I'm almost always the only white guy in the building.

The Mamey was $1.98 a pound, and had a label that it was grown in USA, likely southern Florida.

 

[Dee*Jay]

How will you know when it's ripe?

 

[iLander]

I had this when I was in Havana. It looks like a coconut on the outside and I expected it to be flakey like cocount on the inside, but it isn't. I'll be interested to see what you think of it!

Where did you manage to find one of these BTW? I've never seen one before or since outside of Cuba.

What were you doing in Cuba, DeeJay?

 

[Dee*Jay]

I had this when I was in Havana. It looks like a coconut on the outside and I expected it to be flakey like cocount on the inside, but it isn't. I'll be interested to see what you think of it!

Where did you manage to find one of these BTW? I've never seen one before or since outside of Cuba.

What were you doing in Cuba, DeeJay?

Drinkin' rum, smoking cigars, and eating mamey!

 

[kenny]

How will you know when it's ripe?

Quotes:

They are considered ripe when they yield slightly upon being squeezed.

Ripening

When your mamey arrives from one of our growers,or when you bring it home from the market,place the mamey in a warm area to ripen,like on the kitchen counter.

And let it sit.

And then let it sit some more.

Your mamey will be ready to eat when an impression remains after you press your finger on the fruit,and the fruit begins to wrinkle. You want the fruit to be so soft that it will be flat on the bottom from sitting on the counter! Now it is ready to eat!

At this point,all the starches inside have been converted into sugars and the mamey will have a creamy texture. With very large mameys,it is important to let the fruit get very soft as the pulp in the middle of the fruit will take longer to ripen.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Interesting Kenny!

Especially the part about it being soft enough to flatten on the bottom because that would generally mean to me that the fruit was OVER ripe, but of course the stuff in the middle with take longer. Hm. You learn something new every day!

 

[chrono]

I grew a small tree at home, growing up, and never knew its name in English until today. You can tell its ripeness by colour and a soft squeeze. If not fully ripe, it will be quite gritty, hard and bitter. Once ripe, will be sweet with a melt in your mouth texture. The taste is unique and I've not found any other fruit that comes close. Definitely not kiwi-like.

Upon reading that it is starchy, perhaps it isn't the same fruit I am thinking of...

ETA
Per Wiki, it looks like and sounds like the same fruit I've had in the past.