Mobola plum

What it is

Parinari curatellifolia belongs to the coco plum family. The fruit is round or oval, reaching 5 cm (2 in) long and 3.5 cm (1.4 in) wide, with leathery skin around the flesh. Inside is a hard stone holding a single seed; the yellow pulp is the part eaten fresh.

Where it comes from

The tree is native across tropical Africa, from Senegal through Kenya to Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. In Zambia it grows widely in woodland, especially on sandy soils. There it goes by mupundu or mubula; in Zimbabwe, muhacha and muchakata are among its names.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Bondamakara, in Zimbabwe’s Mutoko district, Agnes Machona makes her children’s favourite snack, mahanya, by mashing very ripe hacha with less ripe fruit in a mortar. She spreads hacha syrup on bread and sweetens porridge with it in place of sugar.

For zvambwa, the fruit is mashed with water and strained through cloth. The liquid cooks down into a syrup. Finger millet flour is stirred into the hot syrup until it forms a stiff paste, then spread on a tray and cut into little cakes as it cools. Extra syrup can become their glaze.

How it's grown

Mobola plum grows on a spreading evergreen tree that can reach 20 m (66 ft), with a broad crown. Flowers and ripening fruit often share the same tree: a fruit takes nine to ten months to ripen after its flower is fertilised. The flowers also supply nectar and pollen for honey bees.

When and where you'll find it

In Zimbabwe, the harvest usually runs from October through January. The fruit is eaten fresh or dried. In Mutoko, ripe fallen fruit is gathered for syrup and cakes, and one cook sells her zvambwa both to people in her community and to travellers at the nearby Mozambican border.