Mamoncillo
The seeds of this fruit are edible and can be roasted like sunflower seeds or chestnuts.
Description. Large, erect, mostly evergreen tree with gray bark, 25–35 m (80–115 ft) tall. Alternate, compound leaves with 4 opposite, elliptic leaets with pointed apices, 6–13 cm (2.4–5.2 in) long. Greenish-white, fragrant flowers, 5–9 mm (0.2–0.4 in) wide, are produced in terminal panicles. Male and female flowers are normally found on separate trees. Green fruits spherical with a thin, smooth skin and a yellowish, translucent, juicy pulp enclosing a large, hard seed. The taste ranges from sour to acid-sweet or sweet, depending on variety.
Origin and Distribution. The mamoncillo is native from Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean to northern South America. The tree is not strictly tropical and can withstand very light frosts. Food uses. The fruits, which are sold in bunches on street markets, are usually eaten out of hand. After the brittle skin is torn open, the aril is squeezed into the mouth and the juice sucked from the pulp. In Colombia, the peeled fruits are boiled and the resulting juice is chilled and served as a refreshing drink on hot days. In Mexico, the more acidic fruits are eaten with chilies, salt, and lime juice. The seeds are edible and can be roasted like sunflower seeds or chestnuts. Indigenous people of the Orinoco region of Venezuela boil and eat the seeds as a substitute for cassava.
Comments. The mamoncillo is a minor member of the Sapindaceae family, mainly because very little pulp surrounds a large seed and in most varieties the flesh adheres tightly to the seed. Other species have more pulp that is easily separated from the seed. The pulp produces a dark brown dye that was used in the West Indies by native Arawak people to dye clothing.'
