Canistel

What it is

A canistel can be round, oval or drawn out to a point, usually 7.5–12.5 cm (3–5 in) long. The green skin turns yellow to orange-yellow as it ripens. Beneath it, the flesh is firmer and mealier near the edge, softer toward the centre, around one to four glossy brown seeds.

Its sweetness sometimes comes with a musky scent. Bruce has large fruit with dry flesh; Ross has smaller fruit with moister flesh. Hard green canistel is gummy inside.

Where it comes from

Canistel comes from southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador. It grows across the Caribbean, including Cuba and the Bahamas, and reached the Philippines before 1924. Today it remains a small-scale fruit crop in Central America, the Philippines and Florida.

How it's eaten where it grows

Eggfruit nog is a rich milkshake: ripe canistel pulp blended with milk, sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. In Homestead, Florida, one cook made a well-known mock-pumpkin pie with mashed canistel. Some Floridians take it savoury, with salt, pepper and lime or lemon juice.

Mashed canistel also goes into coconut bread, spiced with cinnamon and cloves.

How it's grown

Canistel grows on an evergreen tree that needs a tropical or subtropical climate. A tree raised from seed starts fruiting in three to six years; growers graft selected trees to keep the fruit’s qualities. They clip mature fruit while it is still firm, because pulling it can tear the skin.

When and where you'll find it

Florida’s usual winter crop runs from November or December into February or March. Picked hard, the fruit travels: firm Florida canistel has been shipped to fruit sellers in New York City and Philadelphia.

Firm fruit softens at room temperature in three to ten days. Once ripe, it keeps for several days in the refrigerator’s vegetable drawer.