Mamey: Mexican tropical fruit, history and culinary uses

What is it?

Mamey is one of the most prized and beloved tropical fruits of Mexican cuisine: an oval fruit fifteen to twenty-five centimetres long, with rough, light-brown skin and a dense, creamy inner flesh that ranges from orange and salmon pink to deep red depending on the variety. It contains a large, shiny dark-brown central seed, known as pixtle or pepa, which also has traditional culinary uses. The flesh is slightly fibrous, incredibly sweet and aromatic, with a distinctive flavour that combines 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, by the spoonful, in ice creams (mamey ice cream is one of the most popular in Mexico), sorbets, lollies, antes (traditional desserts of fruit cooked in syrup with sponge cake), milkshakes, jams, preserves and, more recently, in tarts and haute-cuisine desserts. Its main season runs from March to July.

Origin and history

Mamey is native to Mesoamerica, particularly southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, where its cultivation and consumption have been documented since pre-Hispanic times. The name mamey comes from Antillean Taino, the language the Spaniards brought from the Caribbean; the Nahuas knew it as tetzontzapotl, meaning tezontle zapote, in reference to the reddish colour of the flesh, similar to the volcanic stone of the Mexican highlands. Francisco Hernandez, in his Natural History of New Spain in the 16th century, extensively documented mamey and other zapotes, attributing food and medicinal properties to them. Fray Bernardino de Sahagun in the Florentine Codex also mentions this fruit among the most appreciated of the warm regions of New Spain. The domestication of mamey is placed in southern Mesoamerica at least 2,000 years ago, according to archaeological evidence from Yucatan 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 in height and live a century. In Mexico, the main producing regions are Veracruz, Chiapas, Yucatan, Guerrero, Tabasco and Oaxaca.

Characteristic ingredients

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 can 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 lengthwise with a knife, removing the central seed (pixtle) and separating the flesh from the fibrous skin. The flesh has a high content of fibre, vitamin A (carotenoids that give it its 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. Pixtle oil (mamey oil) is traditionally used as a cosmetic hair product, especially to strengthen the hair and give it shine. In contemporary Mexican cuisine, the flesh 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), milkshakes with milk and sugar, jams, mousse, sponge cakes and signature tarts.

Cultural significance

Mamey is part of Mexico's biocultural heritage and an emblem of the country's tropical fruit wealth. It is an essential ingredient of Oaxacan tejate, a pre-Hispanic drink considered cultural heritage of Oaxaca, and 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 every year with competitions, gastronomy and cultural events. The cultivation of mamey supports small rural producers in Veracruz, Chiapas, Yucatan, Guerrero, Tabasco and Oaxaca, contributing to food security and rural income in tropical zones. SADER (gob.mx) highlights the export potential of mamey, especially to the United States where the Mexican and Central American diaspora maintains a constant demand. In contemporary Mexican cuisine, chefs such as Enrique Olvera, Daniela Soto-Innes and Elena Reygadas have integrated mamey into haute-cuisine menus, positioning it as one of the most internationally recognisable Mexican ingredients. Pixtle oil has also found a new market in artisanal cosmetics and hair-care products, keeping an ancient tradition of use alive.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between mamey and zapote?

Mamey (Pouteria sapota) is a type of zapote, specifically known as zapote mamey or red zapote because of its reddish flesh. Under the generic name zapote in Mexico, several different species are included: zapote negro (Diospyros nigra), zapote blanco (Casimiroa edulis), zapote prieto, chicozapote (Manilkara zapota) and mamey. All are tropical fruits but with distinct flavours and uses.

What does mamey taste like?

The flesh is dense and creamy, with a deeply sweet and aromatic flavour that combines notes of cooked pumpkin, sweet potato, almond and ripe peach. The texture is unctuous, similar to a natural mousse, slightly fibrous in some specimens. The aroma is intense and characteristic, easy to recognise. Varieties with the reddest flesh tend to be sweeter and more intense, while the orange ones are slightly milder.

How is mamey served?

It is served fresh, cut in half and eaten with a spoon straight from the skin. It is also prepared in milkshakes with milk, sugar and ice (mamey licuado), in highly popular artisanal ice creams and lollies 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 added to Oaxacan tejate and to traditional cosmetic oil.

Where is mamey originally from?

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