I have another new and exciting fruit to share with you this week! That would be the egg fruit, also known as Canistel and Yellow Sapote. It is not shaped like an egg, but rather, got that name from the internal texture once the fruit is ripened. It also has a similar color to a cooked egg yolk.
We tried the egg fruit twice: once before it was ripe and once when it was ripe. I did not do this for fun, just because I did not know better. This is why it is so important to know how to properly select and store produce (see my Grocery Guide for more!) because if your first exposure is bad, you normally won’t be likely to return! Luckily, I had two egg fruit to taste!
Table of Contents
What is an Egg Fruit?
Egg fruit is a fruit that is yellow-orange in color, has large seeds inside, has a peel-away skin once it is ripe, and is characterized based on the texture of the fruit once it is ripe. Egg fruit is climacteric, meaning that it does continue to ripen after harvest.
Egg Fruit Seeds
Egg fruits differ in the number of seeds, and even in my two samples, one had four seeds and the other had five. But, don’t worry, you won’t miss them and accidently eat one because they are really large and you can’t miss them! You also can’t miss them when you cut into the fruit, so you need to make sure to cut slowly and navigate accordingly because it isn’t as simple as one big seed in the middle to cut around.
How do I Know When an Egg Fruit is Ripe?
It should be soft. You do not want to eat this when it is not ripe, so I would wait until it gets really soft before cutting into it!
How Should I Eat an Egg Fruit?
Egg fruit can be eaten fresh (raw) or cooked. It has a really strong flavor, so for me, I think it tastes good, but it is not something that I would want to eat all at one time. As in, I would not sit down and eat a whole egg fruit at one time like I would an apple. It’s too much. For me, I think it would be best baked in to some sort of ‘bread’ or mixed in lightly with other produce, like sprinkled on top of a salad.
Ripe vs. Unripe Egg Fruit
Since I had such an interesting experience trying the ripe versus unripe egg fruit, I wanted to spend some time talking about the differences, because this was not like the difference between trying an unripe peach versus a ripe peach. The differences were far greater than that, in flavor, appearance, after taste, texture, etc.
Unripe Egg Fruit
Ripe Egg Fruit
- Ease of cutting – This was not easy to cut at all! It was comparable to trying to cut through an uncooked winter squash.
- Astringency – When trying this, it was so astringent upon the first bite that it was not worth a second bite. I would compare it to a super green banana, where you can barely get the peel off.
- Sap – When cutting into the flesh, there is some sort of sugar residue that makes the knife sticky (like with sweet potatoes). In this case, the knife was sticky, but my lips were also sticking together after taking a bite for quite a while!
- Texture – Firm, lacking moisture.
- Flavor – There was not much flavor and what little there was, it was not good.
- Ease of cutting – As the knife went through, the flesh kind of melted so it was not a solid cut, more of a mash!
- Astringency – The odd thing about this is that there was zero astringency. I thought the ripe version would be milder, but I could not taste any and had no lingering affects in my mouth.
- Sap – There was no sap or residue left on the knife, cutting board or my lips afterwards. It was really crazy the difference between the two on this one! Also, when looking at it, there was no liquid seeping out where the fruit was cut.
- Texture – Crumbly, messy.
- Flavor – Very sweet, with a strong/bold flavor.
Egg Fruit Review
You can see our full review in the video below!
Have you tried egg fruit yet?! I would love to hear how your experience compared! I would also like to send a big thank you to Specialty Produce for sending over the egg fruit to try!
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Canistel is my favorite fruit. It’s the fruit equivalent of cheese cake to me. I just wish it were more readily available and less expensive. I purchase exotic fruits from the Miami Fruit Company on occasion, but oh so expensive!
What a great analogy! When I did the review on the pink pineapple and thought how I would never buy it again based on the price, it really got me thinking about how we are so accustomed to paying quite a bit for a good piece of meat, but really hesitate when it comes to fresh produce, so I’m glad to hear that you indulge when you get the chance!
I’m currently eating egg fruit chia pudding which is great except I got a little of the skin in my mouth and it is HORRIBLE. Latex indeed. Phew.
A friend just brought me an eggfruit from his father’s garden & it was soft & fragrant already, so I ate it straightaway. It looked dry like breadfruit. At first taste it was a bit dry but then it began to melt in my mouth! And it was so sweet & salty at the same time with a lovely fragrance! So special! I love exotic fruits & vegetables! I’d definitely eat it again!