Facts About Zapote
Zapote or marmalade plum is a type of tropical fruit with the size of an orange or grapefruit. The exterior surface of the fruit is in brown, just like potato and the interior is pulp in white which has sticky latex known as saponin in unripe fruits. The taste of the zapote is well-liked by most people. The pulp of the zapote is delightfully sweet with grainy or smooth texture. It has 3-10 black smooth, shiny seeds that are "bean" shaped and contained in the middle of the fruit.
Zapote Varieties
- Zapote Blanco -- This fruit features sweet, creamy pulp that is wonderful for shakes and salads. The fruit appears in the summer and is often sold when it is still hard as it is vulnerable to virus attack when ripens.
- Mamey Sapote -- The fruit is large in size and fairly sweet. The flesh is salmon-colored, and carries a sweet, berry-like taste. Mamey Sapote is ideal for eating with hand, or for preparing smoothies or fruit salads.
- White Sapote -- The fruit is also called custard apple or cochitzapotl in Nahuatl. It is an Ellipsoid, about 5-10 cm across, having a thin skin that turns to yellow from green when ripen. The pulp is edible, with tastes resembling banana to peach.
Health Benefits of Eating Zapote
- Zapote is an excellent source of nutrients such as potassium, iron, copper, niacin, folate and pantothenic acid that are important for health living because they involve in different metabolic processes in our body as cofactors to the enzymes.
- In addition to the nutrient health benefits, zapote has great quantities of antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin A and C. Vitamin A is important for eyesight and for keeping healthy skin and mucus membranes. Frequent consumption of organic fruits that are abundant with vitamin A protect our body from oral cavity and lung cancers. Vitamin C is useful for our body to combat contagious disease and it behaves like a scavenger for damaging free radicals.
- Zapote fruit has a great volume of dietary fiber, rendering it a superb bulk laxative. The dietary fiber content helps relieve constipation and shields the mucus membrane of the intestinal tract from cancer causing toxic compounds by strongly binding to them.
- The zapote is full of antioxidant poly-phenolic compound, which is antibacterial, antiviral and anti-parasitic. In addition, it contains many medicinal properties including hemostatic, anti-hemorrhoidal and anti-diarrheal remedies.
- An extract of the crushed Zapote seeds is utilized in Yucatan to be a soporific and sedative.
- The paste from the seeds is put on stings and bites by venomous creatures.
Zapote Calories and Nutritional Value
| Nutritional Value of 100 g Zapote |
|
| Calories |
110 |
| Total Fat |
0.5 g |
| Cholesterol |
0 mg |
| Potassium |
230 mg |
| Total Carbohydrate |
28 g |
| Dietary Fiber |
2 g |
| Protein |
1.0 g |
How to Choose and Buy Zapote?
- Ripe black zapote must have smooth deep green to dark brown skin, and has a raised crown on top of the fruit. Meanwhile, white zapote is usually in green to golden, having a smooth skin.
How to Store Zapote?
- Store zapote at room temperature until eventually they are a little tender to the touch. At this time they ought to be consumed immediately, or put in the fridge for approximately 2-3 days.
|