Fruit from Moquilea tomentosa

I can barely finish a couple of these and I already feel satiated. At least for me, this is not the kind of fruit that I can eat a pound in the blink of an eye

  • pseudo@jlai.lu
    3·
    10 days ago

    I have never seen anything like this in my country. Does it taste like mango?

    • livligkinkajou@slrpnk.netOP
      4·
      10 days ago

      I honestly don’t know how to describe it, it seems to have quite a unique taste. It’s creamy, but drier and firmer than mango. I would also say it’s less sweet than most mangoes. It has a really soft flavor, that to me at least, is completely different from mango, more like a floral flavor to it

    • livligkinkajou@slrpnk.netOP
      3·
      10 days ago

      They are mildly sweet, it doesn’t feel oily at all, but it’s still creamy. The seed is oily and I’m almost certain it was used to make soaps in the past

      The trees around here are still small, maybe poor soil or stress from traffic? But they can get bigger and reach up to 20 m

      The outer skin is quite astringent if you eat it right after picking them up. It’s usually recommended to let them sit for a day or two so it gets rugged and the astringency disappears

      • Jim East@slrpnk.netEnglish
        2·
        10 days ago

        Very useful information, thank you! How big are the fruits? The seeds appear to make up most of the volume – is that consistently the case? How would you describe the flavour of the fruit when the astringency is gone? Are there any distinguishing features of the leaves or flowers (shape, fine hairs, etc)?

        • livligkinkajou@slrpnk.netOP
          1·
          8 days ago

          How big are the fruits?

          They are probably not under ideal conditions, so the fruits around here are around 7-8 cm long and 3-4 cm wide.

          The seeds appear to make up most of the volume – is that consistently the case?

          Yup, it’s almost all seed, the pulp is at most 0.5 cm layer around the seed. All fruits I’ve seen look like this

          How would you describe the flavour of the fruit when the astringency is gone?

          I’ll replicate another comment I made: I honestly don’t know how to describe it, it seems to have quite a unique taste. It’s creamy, but drier and firmer than mango. I would also say it’s less sweet than most mangoes. It has a really soft flavor, that to me at least, is completely different from mango, more like a floral flavor to it

          Are there any distinguishing features of the leaves or flowers (shape, fine hairs, etc)?

          The underside of the leaves has a velvety layer that if you rub your fingers on it, it comes out quite easily. The upperside is smooth, glossy and dark green

          I took another picture, but these leaves are younger, so they have a lighter green to them and they are smaller. The leaves usually have around 15 cm

          The flowers are raceme, with white or cream colors, see: