The Hidden Fruit of Lucuma
I grew up in Peru eating a type of fruit called lucuma and watching the lucumo trees, but I never really appreciated how special they were until I moved to the USA. There is no lucuma here, so you can imagine my surprise when, after more than a decade, I saw lucuma powder being mentioned in a cookbook as an ingredient for a morning shake. It is also reported it as a source of potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous. It was advertised as a super food for its richness in antioxidants and fiber as in many other fruits. The actual fruit and some of its products still have not arrived to the USA, but this is one step closer.
Lucuma has been used in Peru for centuries. The Pre-Inca Moche culture in Peru has some pottery representing the lucuma fruit. After 500 years it is just now being discovered or imported to other parts of the world. Lucuma, with its official name been Poueria Lucuma, is a native fruit from Peru, Chile, and Ecuador. The Lucumo is how we refer to the tree in Peru, which can live up to 60 years. This tree is native to Andean valleys, growing well in the irrigated river terraces of Peru’s Sechura Desert. The Lucumo tree can reach 15 meters high; the wood is of light color.
The Lucuma fruit is round in shape, with a very shiny thin dark green skin. It has a very distinct flavor and color. It´s flavor has been compared to maple syrup, and I will say it is similar to it thanks to its sweetness. The fruit’s flesh is of a rich orange-like color similar to a pumpkin. Sometimes the fruit could be overly sweet making it a bit difficult to consume as my uncle would do. I remember my uncle loved to eat the fruit by peeling it, removing the large shiny brown seed, and eating just like that, fresh from the tree. But to most people lucuma is a very dry and fibrous fruit, hard to eat by itself. Therefore it is commonly used in prepared dishes, particularly in desserts. This is the main reason why in Peru we found different uses for lucuma. The most popular way to prepare is jam or marmalade. Later they have been making desserts with lucuma mouse. Lucuma ice cream has been around since I was a child and it is definitely one of the most popular ice creams in Peru. High end restaurants in Lima and Cusco offer a wide variety of lucuma desserts. A favorite of us is Chocolate cake with lucuma meringue, sprinkled with shaved chocolate, but as a Peruvian I can eat lucuma desserts in any way.
Peru offers the most exportation to countries in Europe and Japan. In the USA we can find lucuma powder ideal for smoothies, cookies, ice cream, meringue, and on anything else you would like to add some exotic flavor as this unique Peruvian fruit. It is available on amazon.com, but it can be expensive, so it´s best to make it last. I encourage you to give it a try after all lucuma is gaining recognition worldwide and there are good reasons why.
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