Yellow mombin

What it is

Yellow mombin is Spondias mombin, in the cashew family. The oval fruit is about 3–4 cm (1¼–1½ in) long, with thin, tough skin and juicy yellow or orange flesh only 3–6 mm thick around a large stone with a fibrous coat. The flesh is scant and clings to the stone.

Flavour varies a great deal from region to region: some fruit is sweet and pleasant, but it is often very sour, a little musky, sometimes with a hint of turpentine.

Where it comes from

Yellow mombin comes from the tropical Americas. It is native and common in moist lowland forests from southern Mexico to Peru and Brazil, and in many of the West Indies. It is widely grown and has gone wild in tropical Africa, and is grown on a small scale in India and Indonesia. Brazil’s cajá and the Amazonian taperebá are names for this same fruit.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Brazil, pudim de tapioca com calda de cajá pairs a chilled pudding of tapioca, milk, coconut and condensed milk with a tart fruit topping. The sauce cooks frozen cajá pulp with water and sugar, thickened with a little corn starch.

Taperebá also makes ice cream: pulp from a home garden on Marajó Island becomes sorvete de taperebá when blended with cream and sugar. In Mexico, green yellow mombins take a savoury turn, pickled in vinegar and eaten like olives with salt and chili.

How it's grown

Yellow mombin is a strictly tropical tree that grows quickly in full sun; in Brazil it can reach 25 m (80 ft). It is usually started from large cuttings, which root quickly, so it is often planted as a living fence as well as for fruit. In Brazil, a tree starts bearing in its third year after planting, and one tree can give up to 1,000 kg of fruit. The fruit is gathered by hand from the ground.

When and where you'll find it

In Brazil’s Paraíba state, cajá is usually harvested in May and June. In southeastern Bahia, the usual window runs from February to May.

Frozen cajá pulp, sold in packs, carries the fruit beyond the harvest. Brazilians turn the juicy pulp into juices, ice cream, jellies, compotes, liqueurs and desserts.