4 ways to eat mamey - possibly the most delicious fruit you've never heard of

What is a mamey and what do you do with it?

What is a mamey?  It could possibly be the most delicious fruit you've never heard of.

What does a mamey look like? What does it taste like? What do you do with it?

4 Ways To Eat Mamey - Image Shows An Oval-Shaped Fruit Cut In Half To Show Bright

If you've spent any time in Mexico you might have come across a mamey fruit, or mamey sapote, as it is also known.  

It doesn't look like much from the outside - dry earth-brown with the texture of elephant skin, oval shaped, a bit bigger than a mango.

What Is Mamey Fruit And 4 Ways To Eat It - Image Shows Mamey Fruit With Grey-Brown Skin

Cut it open and you may get a surprise, though. Inside, the flesh is a deep coral colour, soft and creamy in texture, with a large shiny dark brown stone in the middle.

4 Ways To Eat Mamey - Image Shows Mamey Fruit Cut Open

Try it; take a spoon and scoop out a little of the flesh. It's like eating a pudding.  Already sweet and creamy, it doesn't need any sugar adding. Wikipedia describes the flavour of the fruit as "a mix of sweet potato, pumpkin, honey, prune, peach, apricot, cantaloupe, cherry, and almond." If you can imagine that! You have to taste it for yourself.

Mamey sapote, as it is apparently called in English (I had no idea of the English name and had to look it up), is a fruit native to Mexico, Cuba and Central America, also found in Florida. 

In Mexico it grows in the wild in the states of Veracruz, Tabasco and Chiapas and in mesoamerican times was called the "tetzontzapotl".

It has some great nutritional properties; high in antioxidants as well as iron, phosphorous, and vitamins A, C, E and B6.

How do you eat mamey?

As it is

You can simply cut it open, scoop out the flesh and eat it as it is.  It is a ready-made dessert.

Mamey smoothie

4 Ways To Eat Mamey - Image Shows Coral-Coloured Mamey Smoothie on Dark Blue Tile Background

It is even better, however, if you make it into a smoothie - the milk adds an extra creaminess that really compliments the natural flavour of the mamey.

All you need is mamey and milk (any type of milk; I usually use cows milk but I've also tried it with almond milk and it works deliciously).  You can add a whole other dimension of taste by sprinkling ground cinnamon on top.

You can vary the quantities depending on how thick or runny you prefer the smoothie to be.  For one normal sized glass, about a quarter of a mamey will make quite a thick smoothie.

Mamey ice cream

4 Ways To Eat Mamey - Image Shows Mamey Ice Cream

Mamey is not an uncommon ice cream flavour in Mexico.  I came across this recipe using Greek yoghurt, which makes a relatively healthy ice cream.  I haven't made it yet, mostly because I don't have a hand mixer and I'm not sure how well it would work without one, but it sounds so simple.

1 small pot of Greek yoghurt
1/4 mamey
2 tsp sugar or sweetener
1/4 tsp vanilla

Blend all the ingredients together, freeze, blend with a hand mixer and freeze again.  Repeat the blending and freezing a couple more times and your ice cream is ready.

Mamey mousse

I've tasted mamey mousse and it is so good.  I haven't tried making it myself, but found this recipe to try out someday.

2 mameys
1 cup whipping cream
100g cream cheese
40g sugar

1. Whip the cream to form peaks.

2. Blend the mamey, cream cheese and sugar.

3. Mix half the cream with the mamey and cheese mixture; fold in gently to keep the consistency.

4. Add the rest of the cream.

5. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Have you ever heard of mamey or come across one before?  Would you like to try it?

I hope you get the chance to taste a mamey and maybe try out some of the recipes - let me know if you do in the comments below.

4 Ways To Eat Mamey - A Delicious And Nutritious Mexican Fruit

If you're interested in finding out more about Mexican food, take a look at some of my other posts:
How to make Aguas Frescas - 7 refreshing Mexican drinks

Breakfast on the go - a brief guide to Mexican street food

I'd love it if you could share or pin this post!


  1. I love trying new recipes, so will be giving these a go soon #kcacols@_karendenbid199@gmail is


  3. As you say, I've never heard of Mamey. It sounds delicious though. #KCACOLS

  4. That looks delicious. I think i would like it just as it comes. #KCACOLS

  5. This looks and sounds wonderful. I wonder why it hasn't become popular yet? #KCACOLS

  6. I have never heard of this and now I really want to try it. Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next

  7. Yep, never heard of it. But I also thought sugar plums were figs until this week, so it's not much of an indication! Sound delicious! #KCACOLS

  8. I love ice cream, but mamey ice cream is the most disgusting thing.