Fruit of the Week: Cacao

Name: Cacao

Brand: no brand

Place of Purchase: not purchased

Country/Region of Origin: Peru

Price in Iowa: free for me

Description: A large orange pod, with white interior flesh surrounding purple seeds.

Flavor: Like watermelon, but tart.

Aroma: Flowery and fresh.

Texture/Mouth-feel: Slimy, at first, but then creamy.

Notes: One of my friends went on a mission trip to Peru and brought me back a cacao pod. I'm not sure if she brought it for me because she knew about my blog, or just because she just thought I liked chocolate. But, I got it anyway and now I can share it with all of you. The pulp is a rare treat for the farmers that harvest the plant for cocoa powder. The fermentation of the flesh around the cocoa bean gives chocolate most of its flavor. That and there isn't much flesh clinging to the seeds. So, the local farmers will pop a few seeds into their mouth. The flavor is like watermelon or mangosteen, but with a tart zing of a finish. There is a bit of a membranous film around each seed, but the flesh underneath is creamy like durian.

It was a nice experience, but nothing beats chocolate.