Today I planted a sapodilla aka chico sapote that I sprouted from a seed that came from Starseed Ranch up in Hawi. We picked a really ripe fruit off the tree and it was one of the best chico fruit that I tried. The fruit start off solid like a rock, but when it’s ready they soften up and become very juicy. The flesh has a semi grainy texture like a pear or a kiwi and it has a light brown sugar flavor, but this particular one had a lot of cinnamon and spicy flavors that reminded me of Christmas season.
Sapodilla is originally from Central America but was brought to the Philippines by the Spaniards and from there it spread throughout Asia. From the bark of the tree you can extract a latex substance called chicle. Until the 1950s chicle was the main ingredient to make chewing gum.
Originally posted on 2021-08-23, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.