The skin is tough.
It has juicy, soft pulp in it, but there isn’t a lot of it: a large stone in the middle of the fruit doesn’t leave room for much else. The fruits are a favourite of fruit-fly larvae and are often riddled with them.
The taste ranges from sweet with some tartness, to quite sour. Some don’t consider the flavour anything to write home about.
The tree grows up to 30 feet (9 to 20 metres) tall. It is a tropical tree and will not tolerate any frost. It blossoms with pale yellow flowers.
It can grow from seed or cuttings, but needs 5 years of growth before it starts to bear fruit.
The fruit grows in clusters on the tree. When ripe, it just falls off.
Cooking Tips
Yellow Mombin can be pressed for juice, and sweetened, or pickled in vinegar.
History Notes
Yellow Mombin is native to Central and South America. It is naturalized in some parts of Africa.