Mangaba

What it is

The fruit is round or oval, with greenish-yellow skin that can carry red patches. Inside is soft white pulp around 2–15 seeds. It is sweet, juicy and gently tart.

Two market terms describe how it was picked. De caída means ripe fruit that has dropped from the tree. De vez means fruit picked after the green stage but before it has fully ripened. These describe stages of the same fruit, rather than different varieties.

Where it comes from

Mangaba is native to Brazil and grows across the country’s central, northern, northeastern and southeastern regions. It belongs to landscapes as different as the Cerrado savannas, the dry Caatinga and the Atlantic Forest, and it is most plentiful on the coastal tablelands and lowlands of the Northeast, where almost all of Brazil’s crop comes from.

In Indiaroba, Sergipe, women gatherers known as catadoras belong to local associations. They sell the fruit to a federal food programme, and the town hospital serves it to patients as juice.

How it's eaten where it grows

Along Brazil’s northeastern coast, mangaba becomes suco de mangaba, a fruit drink, and sorvete de mangaba, ice cream. The pulp also goes into picolés, frozen fruit pops. More recently it has gone into sweets such as mousse and pudding, and into liqueurs.

Mousse de mangaba begins with ripe fruit blended with water and strained. The juice is mixed with condensed milk and cream, then plain gelatin helps it set in the refrigerator.

How it's grown

A tree grown from seed can reach 5–10 m (16–33 ft). Mangabeiras favour sandy ground and full sun, and do poorly in waterlogged soil. Their fragrant flowers are pollinated by insects. A planted tree starts bearing three to five years after planting. Fruit is gathered from the ground once it falls, or picked de vez straight from the tree.

When and where you'll find it

On Brazil’s northeastern coast, the main harvest usually runs until April. In Sergipe, the biggest producer, gatherers sell fresh mangaba from stalls in markets and open-air fairs. Traders carry it on to central markets, pulp factories, ice-cream shops and snack bars, mostly in Aracaju, Salvador, Recife and Maceió. The pulp can also be stored frozen, then made into juice, ice pops, ice cream, sweets and jelly.