Eggfruit!
February 27, 2008
This eggfruit is so perfectly ripe it has split it’s skin.
One of the delights of living in the tropics is the proximity to all sorts of strange, exotic fruits. And one of the joys of this blog is to share these with you as they come into season. Some fruit year-round and others are strictly seasonal and must be enjoyed within their short period of existence for the year. One of my favorites is just ending it’s season and I realized that I needed to introduce you pronto and so, without further ado, behold: The Eggfruit!
Eggfruit season is upon us and as it is short, I am eating as many as I can. Although, that is proving surprisingly difficult because they are incredibly rich in – surprise! – oil, of all things, according to Edgar, the Phillipeno produce man. I couldn’t tell that because they do not seem oily as one normally experiences. I think one of the very best things about them is the strange, sweet, cooling sensation that happens along with the cake-like texture. God, they are sooo delicious! And rich, so instead of eating too many, which it turns out I am unable to do, they are crying out to be shared.
Therefore, look for the next post to chronicle amazing, individual eggfruit cheesecakes that I am making right now and plan on distributing among friends and most definitely Edgar, who will freak out! It is so much fun to drop delicious oddities on the unsuspecting public, haha!
Creamy texture, baby…yum!
They are odd in their likeness to both persimmons and jackfruits in that if they are not perfectly ripe, they have a radically unpleasant, latexy astringencey that sticks to everything forever, including your teeth! I’ve ruined toothbrushes trying to futilely brush the sticky coating off. These fruits really teach one the value of patience! Because when you do wait for them, you’ll find they’ve become an utter textural and flavorful delight!
The seeds are enormous and gorgeous!
I’ve planted several seeds so that I can give a few trees back to the earth, in gratitude for ‘teh yum’. Aside from my own backyard, I am scouting around for an appropriate gorilla location so that others can try these for free! It’s a beautiful tree with smallish, sturdy, dark green glossy leaves and smooth tree bark. They fruit at around 3 years so it’s not an intermidably long wait. Of course, that depends upon how PATIENT one is, heh…
Look for the next post to chronicle the making of eggfruit cheesecakes in detail!
The Living Kitchen 
August 28, 2010 at 4:48 pm
Can you please send me the recipe for the eggfruit cheesecake?
thanks
August 29, 2010 at 8:39 am
Hi Eric, it’s in the comments of the “Divinely Dangerous” post that follows this one. Good luck!
June 16, 2012 at 8:04 pm
can you suggest some preparations with egg fruit like
egg fruit shake, egg fruit pudding, egg fruit jam…
June 18, 2012 at 8:33 am
There’s a photo and recipe for eggfruit cheesecake in the comments of the next post called “Divinely Dangerous” as mentioned in the comment above. ; ) As for other preparations I suggest you just give all the ones you’ve listed a try? I prefer it in it’s wholefood form because it’s already so rich and flavorful, but you could try adding a little eggfruit to your smoothies made with other sweet fruits, like banana or papaya, with a squeeze of lemon or lime. A friend of mine does this and she loves them this way.
For eggfruit pudding you could give blending eggfruit and coconut milk or coconut kefir a try. I don’t think it keeps very well so I’m not sure how well a jam would work, it would be more like a fruit butter, but if you wanted to eat it in a jam/butter-like prep try simply making a mash of it and spreading it as you would jam.
May 29, 2013 at 6:58 pm
Does anyone know if these are available in the San Francisco / Santa Cruz California area? And when is “the season”?
May 31, 2013 at 10:59 pm
I would check the Latin markets and ask for “canistel”.