Desert date

What it is

Balanites aegyptiaca bears fruit up to 4 cm (1.6 in) long. The green skin turns brown or pale brown as it ripens, becoming a brittle coat around brownish pulp. Beneath that sticky layer sits the hard stone.

The pulp and kernel are used separately. People eat the pulp fresh or dried; reaching the kernel means cracking the stone, traditionally with another stone or a wooden block. The kernel supplies cooking oil.

Where it comes from

Desert date is native to Africa and the lands from Israel to the Arabian Peninsula. In Senegal it grows in the dry Cayor and Ferlo regions and is called sump in Wolof. It is also widespread around the Chad Basin, where trees bear fruit even in dry years.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Ghana the fruit goes into drinks and sweets; in Sudan it goes into soup. In northern Cameroon, peeled fruits are soaked and mashed, then the stones are removed. The juice is drunk plain or with tamarind, or boiled down into syrup.

In Kousseri, desert-date juice and pearl millet are pounded together and cooked into a thick porridge. This has also been a food for times of shortage.

How it's grown

The tree reaches about 10 m (33 ft), with many thorny branches. It usually starts fruiting at five to eight years, and crops increase as the tree grows older, up to about 25 years. Once past the seedling stage it needs sun. Deep sandy soil with steady access to water supports its strongest growth.

When and where you'll find it

In Nigeria, the main crop usually ripens in December and January, with occasional later fruit between March and July. In northern Cameroon, local markets sell whole fruits and boiled kernels, and oil makers buy the kernels there.

In Senegal, the EcoPaix range turns sump into jam, juice, syrup and sweets.