Small, sour orange fruit?

October 5, 2014 3:49 PM

Can someone identify this fruit? It was brought back from Belize. It's about the size of a large olive. There's a large white pit inside, and the flesh is sour. The flesh is soft and smooth all over (the one pictured is a bit bruised). Googling has suggested some variety of kumquat? But the inside looks different. Thanks all!
posted by cozenedindigo to Food & Drink (18 answers total)

It looks like a kind of palm fruit to me.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:55 PM on October 5, 2014

I vote for a loquat, though their pips are usually brown rather than white. Still, it looks like one and the description of taste is about right too.
posted by Athanassiel at 3:58 PM on October 5, 2014

Definitely not a kumquat; those don't have pits and typically have a citrus-like rind, though they're often eaten whole.
posted by dorque at 4:02 PM on October 5, 2014

Looks like a loquat to me, too.
posted by snorkmaiden at 4:07 PM on October 5, 2014

And looks like sometimes loquats have white pips. And they definitely grow in Belize. So there's that.
posted by Athanassiel at 5:01 PM on October 5, 2014

Is it an Achacha? (YUM.)
posted by jrobin276 at 5:53 PM on October 5, 2014

I think it's a palm fruit, too. There are some growing in the atrium at my office. I'll snag one if I can and try to compare it to your photo.
posted by Hermione Granger at 6:02 PM on October 5, 2014

Looks to me like a smooshed craboo, or Belizean cherry. In Southern Belize I had them soaked in rum. There are a bunch of other names for them - a quick google search turns up "nance" as the most common name.
posted by le_salvo at 6:52 PM on October 5, 2014

It looks like a ripe jocote to me.
posted by Lingasol at 7:17 PM on October 5, 2014

It looks like a jocote to me too. We call them seriguela in Brazil.
posted by TheGoodBlood at 7:51 PM on October 5, 2014

June plum/ambarella? Here's a google image search. It's related to the jocote (and not actually a plum).
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 12:41 AM on October 6, 2014

A persimmon?
posted by dhull100 at 5:21 AM on October 6, 2014

I agree, it looks like a loquat. They're very common here in Central Texas, so it wouldn't surprise me to see them in Belize, but I've always found the fruit to be sweet. And the pit isn't white.
posted by adamrice at 7:34 AM on October 6, 2014

Not a kumquat, not a loquat, very likely a palm fruit.
posted by fivesavagepalms at 8:31 AM on October 6, 2014

Another vote for jocote.
posted by poffin boffin at 8:31 AM on October 6, 2014

Here's an image of the jocote's pit so you can compare: seriguela + pit.
posted by TheGoodBlood at 8:59 AM on October 6, 2014

It would be rare for a loquat to have a single, large pit. Most likely not a loquat.
posted by univac at 9:44 AM on October 6, 2014

Response by poster: Here's an image of the jocote's pit so you can compare: seriguela + pit.

That's pretty much exactly what this fruit's pit looks like, so I'm going to say it's a jocote. Thanks everyone!
posted by cozenedindigo at 10:25 AM on October 6, 2014