Mamey: what it is, taste, benefits and how to eat it

What is it?

The mamey is one of the noblest and best-loved tropical fruits of Mexican cooking: an oval fruit fifteen to twenty-five centimetres long, with rough, light-brown skin and dense, creamy inner pulp of a tone between orange, salmon pink and intense red according to the variety. It contains a large, shiny dark-brown central seed, known as pixtle or pepa, which also has traditional uses in cooking. The pulp is slightly fibrous, incredibly sweet and aromatic, with a distinctive flavour combining notes of cooked pumpkin, almond, peach and sweet potato. It is one of the most versatile fruits of the Mexican tropics: it is eaten fresh, with a spoon, in ice creams (mamey ice cream is one of the most popular in Mexico), sorbets, lollies, antes (traditional desserts of fruit cooked with syrup and sponge cake), milk shakes, jams, preserves and, more recently, in tarts and fine-dining desserts. Its main season runs from March to July.

Origin and history

The mamey is native to Mesoamerica, particularly southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, where its cultivation and consumption are documented from pre-Hispanic times. The name mamey comes from the Antillean Taíno, the language the Spanish brought from the Caribbean; the Nahua knew it as tetzontzapotl, meaning tezontle zapote, in reference to the reddish colour of the pulp similar to the volcanic stone of the Mexican highlands. Francisco Hernández, in his 16th-century Natural History of New Spain, amply documents the mamey and other zapotes, attributing dietary and medicinal properties to them. Friar Bernardino de Sahagún in the Florentine Codex also mentions this fruit among the most valued of the warm regions of New Spain. The domestication of the mamey is placed in southern Mesoamerica at least 2,000 years ago, according to archaeological evidence from Yucatán and Chiapas. After the Conquest, it spread through the Caribbean, Central America and parts of South America, and more recently to Florida, where it is grown commercially. CONABIO documents its natural distribution and the ecological importance of the tree, which can reach twenty metres tall and live a century. In Mexico, the main producing regions are Veracruz, Chiapas, Yucatán, Guerrero, Tabasco and Oaxaca.

Characteristic ingredients

The mamey is botanically Pouteria sapota, family Sapotaceae, not to be confused with the yellow mamey or mamey of Santo Domingo (Mammea americana), which is a different Caribbean species. The tree is evergreen and may take between five and ten years to bear fruit. The fruit ripens on the tree but is harvested green and left to ripen at room temperature; it is ready to eat when the skin yields slightly under gentle pressure. It is opened by cutting it lengthwise with a knife, removing the central seed (pixtle) and separating the pulp from the fibrous skin. The pulp is high in fibre, vitamin A (carotenoids that give it the orange-red colour), vitamin C, iron, magnesium and antioxidants. The seed or pixtle is edible once toasted and ground: in southern Mexico and Guatemala it is used to prepare tejate, a pre-Hispanic Oaxacan drink that also includes maize, cacao and rosita de cacao flower. The oil of the pixtle (mamey oil) is traditionally used as a hair cosmetic, especially to strengthen the hair and give it shine. In contemporary Mexican cooking, the pulp is used in artisanal ice creams (Helados Sultana, Roxy and many others), lollies, sorbets, antes (a convent dessert with sponge cake soaked in mamey syrup), milk shakes with sugar, jams, mousse, loaf cakes and signature tarts.

Cultural significance

The mamey is part of Mexico's biocultural heritage and an emblem of the country's tropical fruit richness. It is an essential ingredient of Oaxacan tejate, a pre-Hispanic drink considered cultural heritage of Oaxaca, declared one of the components of Traditional Mexican Cuisine inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. Regional fairs such as the Mamey Fair in Alpoyeca (Guerrero) celebrate this fruit each year with competitions, gastronomy and cultural events. The cultivation of the mamey sustains small rural producers in Veracruz, Chiapas, Yucatán, Guerrero, Tabasco and Oaxaca, contributing to food security and farmer income in tropical areas. SADER highlights the export potential of the mamey, especially to the United States where the Mexican and Central American diaspora maintains a constant demand. In contemporary Mexican cooking, chefs such as Enrique Olvera, Daniela Soto-Innes and Elena Reygadas have integrated the mamey into fine-dining menus, positioning it as one of the most internationally recognisable Mexican ingredients. Pixtle oil, moreover, has found a new market in the artisanal cosmetic and hair-product industry, keeping alive a tradition of ancestral use.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between mamey and zapote?

The mamey (Pouteria sapota) is a type of zapote, specifically known as zapote mamey or zapote colorado for its reddish pulp. Under the generic name zapote in Mexico several different species are included: black sapote (Diospyros nigra), white sapote (Casimiroa edulis), zapote prieto, chicozapote (Manilkara zapota) and mamey. All are tropical fruits but with different flavours and uses.

What does mamey taste like?

The pulp is dense and creamy, with a deeply sweet and aromatic flavour combining notes of cooked pumpkin, sweet potato, almond and ripe peach. The texture is rich, similar to a natural mousse, slightly fibrous in some specimens. The aroma is intense and characteristic, easy to recognise. The redder-pulped varieties tend to be sweeter and more intense, while the orange ones are slightly milder.

How is mamey served?

It is served fresh, halved with a spoon to eat the pulp directly. It is also prepared in shakes with milk, sugar and ice (mamey shake), in artisanal ice creams and lollies very popular in Mexico, in churned sorbets, in antes (a dessert with sponge cake soaked in mamey syrup), jams and mousse. The toasted and ground seed is incorporated into Oaxacan tejate and into the traditional cosmetic oil.

Where does mamey come from?

It is native to Mesoamerica, particularly southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, where its cultivation is documented from pre-Hispanic times. The name comes from the Antillean Taíno brought by the Spanish from the Caribbean. Today it is grown in tropical regions of Mexico such as Veracruz, Chiapas, Yucatán, Guerrero, Tabasco and Oaxaca, as well as in other parts of Central America, the Caribbean and Florida.