Today I planted a safou tree, Dacryodes edulis that I got from Ken. It produces a fascinating fruit that is similar to avocado although the seed is usually large and there is very little pulp around the seeds. Safou is from West Africa and has been cultivated since ancient times. In Cameroon it is a tree planted in every backyard.
I’ve never tried it before but the fruit is usually blanched in hot water or charred over a fire or in a pan which softens the fruit. The green pulp has a buttery texture and the flavor is savory with a lemon like aroma. Due to its high fat content (48%) and buttery texture it is usually added to potatoes, corn and plantains and served as a main dish. There is a diverse range of ethnicities living in West Africa and all of them use safou in their cuisines. I read that the flavors in safou can be very complex and it can widely vary from tree to tree. Much like avocado, each person has their preferred tree.
The only reason why this fruit hasn’t quite made it out of West Africa is due to its short shelf life of 1 to 5 days. Plus there is not much of a fresh fruit exporting infrastructure set up there as well.
In order to have safou fruits I may need to plant a few more of these in the future to achieve cross pollination. We’ll see how this one grows first and then I will decide if I have room for more.
Originally posted on 2021-12-23, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.