Canistel Fruit

Canistel fruit comes from the canistel tree, an evergreen tree that grows as far north as Mexico and as far south as Brazil. Canistel fruit is often referred to colloquially as “eggfruit.” When ripe, it is said to have a texture similar to that of a thoroughly cooked egg yolk. The meat of the fruit is sweet and edible raw.

The exterior of a canistel fruit is a glossy skin that, upon ripening, varies in yellow and orange tones. Canistel fruit is soft, rather than crisp, and it is not particularly juicy. Inside of the fruit are a few large glossy black or dark brown seeds. Some have likened canistel fruits to persimmons.

Although canistel fruits are not readily available in most markets in North America, they are available in Florida. The flesh of canistel fruits are sometimes incorporated into desserts, such as ice creams and puddings, buy Floridian chefs. They fruit is also enjoyed when tossed with mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and a citrus juice such as lemon or lime. This recipe can be enjoyed either raw or lightly baked.

Canistel milkshakes are also enjoyed in Florida. These milkshakes are sometimes referred to as “eggfruit nog.” In fact, some people have actually replaced pumpkin filling with canistel pulp in pumpkin pie recipes. Such pies are purported to be quite delicious. In places where the fruit is plentiful, they are also incorporates into muffins, pancakes, and even spreads for toast.

Like most fruits, canistel fruits are rich in a number of vitamins and nutrients. They are particularly rich in carotene and niacin. They also have a good amount of ascorbic acid. Although they are not particularly common in most of North America, many food scientists and nutritionists feel that they are a very healthy food, and should be incorporated into the diet if possible.

One of the reasons that canistel fruits are not readily available in North America is that it is difficult to grow them here. Canistel fruits cannot tolerate cold temperatures. Although they can grow in some parts of Florida, they have never been able to flourish in California. Because they have not become widely popular, they are not imported for distribution throughout markets in the northern states. If you are interested in sampling a canistel, you may have to take a trip to Florida, Mexico, or South America. (www.wisegeek.com)

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Do Calabash Gourds Grow On Trees?

The popular, painted calabash gourds of the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America come from a native tropical American tree that belongs to the Bignonia Family (Bignoniaceae), along with catalpa and jacaranda trees. There are two species of Calabash trees that grow wild in Mexico, Central and South America, Crescentia alata and C. cujete. The latter species is easy to identify because it has simple leaves and its gourd-like fruits are much larger, up to 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter. The unusual flowers of both species develop from buds that literally grow out of the main trunk and limbs, a condition termed cauliflory. Like many other large-flowered cauliflorous species, calabash trees are commonly pollinated by small bats of the genera Glossophaga and Artibeus. According to Daniel Janzen (Costa Rican Natural History, 1983), the pollen is in the dorsal (upper) side of the flower and is placed on the head and shoulders of the bat. After pollination the spectacular calabash fruits begin to develop along the trunk and limbs. A crop of 100 or more of these large, green, gourd-like spheres may adorn the tree for up to seven months, before turning yellow-green and eventually falling to the ground. As in coconut palms, it is probably not a good idea to sleep under a calabash tree, at least when it bears mature fruits high above you in the dropping stage.

Although calabash gourds can be large, they are not the largest tree-bearing fruit. Another unrelated cauliflorous tree called jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophylla) bears the world's most massive tree-bearing fruits from its trunk and lower branches. Native to the Indo-Malaysian region, the jackfruit is grown throughout the tropics for its pulpy, edible fruits which may reach nearly 3 feet (1 m) in length and weigh up to 75 pounds (34 kg). Jackfruit and its close relative, breadfruit (A. altilis), belong to the diverse Mulberry Family (Moraceae). You have probably heard of the story of Captain Bligh, who tried to bring a load of breadfruit cuttings from Tahiti to the Caribbean in 1789 aboard the H.M.S. Bounty. Enchanted with the Tahitian way of life, his crew mutinied on the voyage.

Dried calabash gourds are painted in bright colors and are fashioned into all sorts of decorative and useful objects, including shakers, bowls and containers. On the lovely Caribbean island of Dominica, Carib Indians carve elaborate designs into the woody gourds during the "softer" green stage. When dry, the woody gourds are permanently etched with beautiful designs of native animals.

On the lovely Caribbean island of Dominica, Carib Indians carve elaborate designs into the woody calabash gourds during the "softer" green stage. When the gourds dry, the image of a native animal (in this photo a native parrot) is permanently etched into the exocarp of the gourd.

Because calabash gourds are so large and hard-shelled, no native New Word herbivores can crack them open, and the rotting gourds litter the ground beneath old calabash trees. It is well documented that horses can break open the hard shell with their mouth and eat the sweet pulpy mass inside, dispersing the seeds in their dung. In Africa, large woody pods of other species are quickly devoured by large herbivores. According to D.H. Janzen and P.S. Martin (Science Vol. 215, 1982), large grazing mammals, including extinct pleistocene elephants called gomphotheres, may have once eaten the huge gourds and dispersed the seeds in lowland forests.

The bat-pollinated flowers and large, gourd-like fruits of the calabash tree (Crescentia cujete) literally grow out of the trunk of this striking tropical tree. (http://waynesword.palomar.edu)

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