Lúcuma
Encyclopedia
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
native to the Peru's Andean
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
region. Lucuma has been found on ceramics at burial sites of the indigenous people of coastal Peru. The Moche
Moche
'The Moche civilization flourished in northern Peru from about 100 AD to 800 AD, during the Regional Development Epoch. While this issue is the subject of some debate, many scholars contend that the Moche were not politically organized as a monolithic empire or state...
people had a fascination with agriculture and often chose to represent fruits and vegetables, including lucuma, in their art.
The fruit was first seen and reported by Europeans in the Chinchasuyu region of the Inca Empire
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
in 1531. It is sometimes known as lucmo. It is also called "eggfruit" in English, a common name also given to the closely related canistel
Canistel
The canistel is an evergreen tree native to southern Mexico and Central America. It is cultivated in other countries, such as Brazil, Taiwan, and Vietnam for its fruit....
(Pouteria campechina). The name "eggfruit" refers to the fruits' dry flesh, which is similar in texture to a hard-boiled egg yolk. The lucuma has particularly dry flesh which possesses a unique flavor of maple and sweet potato. It is a very nutritious fruit, having high levels of carotene
Carotene
The term carotene is used for several related unsaturated hydrocarbon substances having the formula C40Hx, which are synthesized by plants but cannot be made by animals. Carotene is an orange photosynthetic pigment important for photosynthesis. Carotenes are all coloured to the human eye...
, vitamin B3, and other B vitamins. The round or ovoid fruits are green, with a bright yellow flesh that is often fibrous. It grows at temperate elevations, between 1,000-2,400 metres. Temperatures of its elevated native range make the species technically subtropical, even though its native region is strictly tropical. It has been grown successfully in subtropical foothills of California. Attempts at growing lucuma in Florida's climate typically fail. In addition to Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, the fruit is grown also to a limited extent in Bolivia and Costa Rica. It grows well in most tropical regions, but is not widely favored. The fruit is also available in large quantities in Lao People's Democratic Republic and in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
Within its own genus there are multiple species considered to have a superior flavor, such as the Mamey
Mamey sapote
The mamey sapote is a species of tree native to southern Mexico. Today, the tree is cultivated not only in Mexico, but also in Central America, the Caribbean, and South Florida for its fruit, which is commonly eaten in many Latin American countries...
(Pouteria sapota), Abiu
Abiu
Pouteria caimito, the abiu, is a tropical fruit tree originated in the Amazonian region of South America. It will grow an average of high, and can grow as high as under good conditions. Its fruit’s shape varies from round to oval with a point. When ripe, it has smooth bright yellow skin and will...
(P. caimito), Canistel
Canistel
The canistel is an evergreen tree native to southern Mexico and Central America. It is cultivated in other countries, such as Brazil, Taiwan, and Vietnam for its fruit....
(P. campechina), Green Sapote (P. viridis).
It has recently become popular as a dried powder flavoring, and production of fruits dried for export is increasing on a large scale. Lúcuma is a popular flavoring for ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
in its native range, and in Chile and Peru even exceeds the demand for strawberry
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
, chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
, and vanilla
Vanilla
Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...
.
Taxonomy
Formerly known at Lucuma obovata, it is now considered a member of the genus Pouteria, and given the name Pouteria lucuma. It is not the species Pouteria obovataPouteria obovata
Pouteria obovata is a tree in the Sapotaceae family. Confusingly, this is not the same plant that was formerly known by the same scientific name, the Andean Pouteria lucuma. The common name in Australia is the Northern Yellow Boxwood...
.