Egg fruit or canistel (ม่อนไข่)
I would pass by these «ugly mangoes», if my Filipino friend hadn’t pointed to these fruit. Egg fruit is a rare fruit for both Thailand and the Philippines. It was brought to this region in the beginning of 20th century. God knows why the second name is canistel (Latin name is Pouteria campechiana), but in Russian it is called only like this. If you like to plant seeds, you should plant seeds of egg fruit as soon as you have removed them from the fruit.
Taste of egg fruit
Canistel has unusual taste – if you taste it with closed eyes, you won’t believe that this is a plant. Egg fruit tastes like custard – sweet with no sour taste. Egg fruit’s pulp is dense and floury, not crispy and not juicy; consistence reminds egg yolk of hard-boiled egg (that’s why egg fruit). Next to seeds the pulp is more like paste. Canistel is nourishing and contains a lot of vitamin A.
How to choose, transport and store
Ripe canistel is of yellow colour. But you may buy the one that is slightly green (it is very hard) – to make it ripe you should put egg fruit on a table and leave it for 3-10 days (it will become softer). You should watch, as it should not become too soft. Ripe egg fruit should be stored in a fridge.
I have kept my egg fruit 2 weeks on a table, it became more yellow. The first picture shows my fruit on the day I have bought – it’s a little bit green (unripe) next to peduncle. The egg fruit was ~20 cm. long.
How to eat egg fruit
Cut egg fruit with knife: skin and seeds are inedible.
Season of egg fruit and where to buy it
I have bought my egg fruit in November in Bangkok at Samyan market that is ~1 km. away from Hua Lamphong railway station (GPS: 13°44’13.2″N 100°31’28.1″E (13.736985, 100.524463)). Only one seller had egg fruit for sale. That’s why there’s no guarantee that you will find it there at the same time. Try to show Thai name of canistel and its picture to fruit sellers, probably they will tell you, where you can find it.