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Chrysophyllum cainito

Tree

HomeTreeChrysophyllum cainito

Humid woodlands at low to medium elevations.

Family: Sapotaceae
Height: 25 m / 83 ft
Sun
Light, Medium and Heavy Soil
Moist

Plant Rating

Edible Uses: 4 of 5
Medicinal Uses: 2 of 5
Other Uses: 2 of 5

Native Habitat

Star Apple, Caimito Chrysophyllum cainito native habitat is Humid woodlands at low to medium elevations.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or made into preserves. A sweet flavour. The pleasantly acidic flesh is high in carbohydrate and is eaten fresh. The fruit is about 10cm in diameter. The fruit is not good unless allowed to remain on the tree until fully ripe; if picked when immature it is astringent and contains a sticky, white latex. The skin needs to be removed since biting into it leaves a horrible stickiness in the mouth. When opening a star apple fruit, one should not allow any of the bitter latex of the skin to contact the edible fresh. The ripe fruit, preferably chilled, is cut in half and the flesh spooned out, leaving the seed cells and core. A better way of serving the fruit is to cut around the middle completely through the rind and then, holding the fruit stem-end down, twisting the top gently back and forth. As this is done, the flesh will be felt to free itself from the downward half of the rind, and the latter will pull away, taking with it the greater part of the core. An emulsion of the slightly bitter seed kernels is used to make imitation milk-of-almonds or nougat and other confections.

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