Guatemalan Caimito or Star Apple Fruit

I have never understood why most exotic tropical fruits bear the name apple modified by an adjective in English. Guatemalan caimito for instance, is related to zapote fruits and I would say it is a cousin of Mamey, Chico Zapote and Zapote. In fact, the first time I shared a photo of caimitos here I called them caimito zapote. The same for Jocote de marañón or cashew apple as they call it in English, which is related to plums.

Caimito, Chrysophyllum cainito, is a tropical tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is native to the Greater Antilles and the West Indies. It has spread to the lowlands of Central America and is now is grown throughout the tropics, including Southeast Asia according to the Wikipedia entry.

It has numerous common names including cainito, caimito, star apple, golden leaf tree, abiaba, pomme du lait, estrella, milk fruit and aguay. It is also known by the synonym Achras cainito. In Vietnam, it is called vú sữa (literally: breast-milk)… continue reading at Wikipedia.

© 2014 – 2020, Rudy Giron. All rights reserved.