Mocambo / Pataxte (Theobroma bicolor)... When do I eat it?

[Caesar]

My Mocambo tree set fruit for the first time at my Grandmother's house, and I've been waiting for it to ripen. I got some pics of the tree and its fruit over time:




Then a few days ago, I saw a branch had snapped under the weight of one of the fruits. My mother found them on the ground today and brought 'em home.



As can be seen in the pics, one is way too small, but even the bigger one seems under-sized. ¿Will they ripen properly, or will I have to wait more for my first taste? ¿Are the seeds likely to be viable? ¿When should I crack them open? There's no fruity smell, the skin just smells like raw green pigeon peas.

[Luisport]

Congratulations my friend! This is a awsome achivement even if this fruit don't get matured. 

[Finca La Isla]

Are there more fruits on the tree?
Pataxte fruits fall on their own when they are ready.  At that point the fruit is yellow and could still wait a couple of days to ripen more.  They should smell and the shell needs to be cracked open.
I don’t think anyone can say whether the fruit in the photos could be any good or the seeds be viable.
Suerte,
Peter

[Caesar]

Congratulations my friend! This is a awsome achivement even if this fruit don't get matured. 

Thank you Luis! I've been waiting a long time for this fruit... Would've had a shorter wait if I had stuck it kn the ground soon after arrival. Oh well, you go with what you can. 

Are there more fruits on the tree?
Pataxte fruits fall on their own when they are ready.  At that point the fruit is yellow and could still wait a couple of days to ripen more.  They should smell and the shell needs to be cracked open.
I don’t think anyone can say whether the fruit in the photos could be any good or the seeds be viable.
Suerte,
Peter

Thanks for the info. There's at least two more on the tree. I guess I'll wait for these two to turn yellow and smell. If they look like they're about to go bad instead, I'll crack 'em open then. Hopefully the tree will be able to handle the weight of the other two fruits.

[Finca La Isla]

It’s unfortunate that the branch broke but, like I said, the fruits will drop naturally when ready.  That is the case with cupuasu as well but in the case of cacao you have to pick the fruit when it’s ripe.  The pulp is tasty, we think, and the seeds will germinate readily if you plant them right away.  Don’t let them dry out.  The dried seeds can be eaten as nuts but once dry can’t germinate.
Saludos

[pineislander]

Wow, that is a beautiful tree, very architectural! I have a few young ones here in Florida, only 2 feet tall but have some hope they might look so good some day.

[Budtropicals]

If anyone is selling some i'd love to buy. 

These things are very beautiful.

[New_Jungle]

Congrats! A couple questions, how old is your tree and do you only have one? Reason I ask is because I have one on my property but was wondering if I should put a couple more. Thanks!

Kyle

[HIfarm]

Congrats! A couple questions, how old is your tree and do you only have one? Reason I ask is because I have one on my property but was wondering if I should put a couple more. Thanks!

Kyle

It would probably be prudent to try the fruit before you plant more.  The smell of the fruit can be pretty assertive so it is not for everyone.  I've got a couple; it was probably about 5 years to bear in the Hilo area.

[New_Jungle]

Congrats! A couple questions, how old is your tree and do you only have one? Reason I ask is because I have one on my property but was wondering if I should put a couple more. Thanks!

Kyle

It would probably be prudent to try the fruit before you plant more.  The smell of the fruit can be pretty assertive so it is not for everyone.  I've got a couple; it was probably about 5 years to bear in the Hilo area.

Thanks for the info and I’ll keep that in mind! Luckily it’s toward the back of the property. Would you say the fruit is similar in flavor to cupuacu? I’ve got a few of those and love them!

[Finca La Isla]

I actually prefer it to cupuasu eaten directly from the fruit.  The dried seeds are good as a nut.
Pataxte is self fertile, you only need one.
Peter

[fruitlovers]

Congrats! Agree with everything Peter said. If the big one starts turning yellow, then it is ripening. Even if it doesn't probably seeds will be ok to germinate. In tropical climate the pods drop and if not gathered will start volunteer plants all around the mother trees. BTW to open it's easiest to crack them against a cement slab. They are very difficult to cut, but are brittle and crack open pretty easily.

[Budtropicals]

I would also like to know how old this tree is.

[Caesar]

Apologies for the delay, it's been a couple of weeks since I opened the pods at the first sign of mold. Neither was ready. The little one had an almost vegetal taste to the pulp, and seeds that burst as liquid if you tried to open them. The bigger one had mild, flavorless pulp and jelly seeds. Both (especially the bigger one) had a strong soursop-like aroma with a potent and disagreeable chemical finish. I'm hoping the pulp of a fully-matured fruit will taste much better than what I had, and better than the aroma would indicate. I also hope that mature seeds have a proper, nut-like consistency and taste. There's still two big fruits left on the tree, so I still have a chance to taste it, and maybe get viable seeds.




⁂

Wow, that is a beautiful tree, very architectural! I have a few young ones here in Florida, only 2 feet tall but have some hope they might look so good some day.

It was a fast grower, so I think you won't have to wait long to get some nice-looking trees out of them.

If anyone is selling some i'd love to buy. 

These things are very beautiful.

Oscar was selling when last I checked, a couple of weeks ago. His website's currently closed, but it'll reopen on the 13th. Link: http://www.fruitlovers.com/seedlistUSA.html

Congrats! A couple questions, how old is your tree and do you only have one? Reason I ask is because I have one on my property but was wondering if I should put a couple more. Thanks!

Kyle

I only have one, and am not aware of anyone else having this species in my town. I'm a bit fuzzy on the age, maybe around 6 or 7 years? It spent just under half that time strangled in a 3 gallon pot, with its tip dying off and then re-sprouting at one point (plus a long tap-root that went through the bottom, requiring mounting the pot on some cinder blocks to prevent damage).

Congrats! A couple questions, how old is your tree and do you only have one? Reason I ask is because I have one on my property but was wondering if I should put a couple more. Thanks!

Kyle

It would probably be prudent to try the fruit before you plant more.  The smell of the fruit can be pretty assertive so it is not for everyone.  I've got a couple; it was probably about 5 years to bear in the Hilo area.

Assertive is putting it mildly. The soursop notes were fine, but the chemical smell was stinking up the kitchen after a while, so I promptly threw the fruit into the compost pile (not just 'cause of the smell, but 'cause it wasn't mature nor edible anyway). I didn't detect anything in the pulp's flavor that reminded me of the smell.

Congrats! Agree with everything Peter said. If the big one starts turning yellow, then it is ripening. Even if it doesn't probably seeds will be ok to germinate. In tropical climate the pods drop and if not gathered will start volunteer plants all around the mother trees. BTW to open it's easiest to crack them against a cement slab. They are very difficult to cut, but are brittle and crack open pretty easily.

Can't wait for the last fruits to drop. Volunteers probably won't be an issue, I'm a nut fiend! Either I plant 'em elsewhere, or I'll eat every last seed.

I actually managed to stick a big ol' kitchen knife into the pod's point and run the blade through the seams. ¿Do they get harder as the mature?

[fruitlovers]

Sounds like your pods didn't ripen properly. They usually fall on their own at right time, a bit greenish, and then start yellowing up after falling. The pods are extremely hard when properly ripened. Best is to ccack them against the edge of a cement slab. Crack them along the equator. You can also use a machete to crack along that same line.

[Caesar]

Hello.

Since my last post in this thread, I've had several more fruit fall from the tree, fully ripened. And my verdict... Highly disappointed.

I tried them almost fresh off the tree as well as several ripening days later, and that chemical smell I mentioned earlier finally made itself potent in the flavor. For my particular palate (and those of my family), it was noxious and foul. Less intense in the fresh fruit vs the extra ripened fruit, I nonetheless found it intolerable to eat, and unpleasant to smell regardless of ripening time. What's worse... I didn't even get to taste the nuts. I couldn't figure out how to get the pulp off without using my teeth (and I really didn't want to use my teeth). I tried boiling and rubbing by hand or by strainer, and it was nearly impossible for even a couple of seeds, let alone several fruit's worth. And the seeds in these first fruits were thinner than expected, so I'm not sure I would've gotten a particularly good yield.

I'm a bit heartbroken over it... This tree was supposed to tide me over until I got some Macadamias up and growing. Am I alone in having an unpleasant experience with this tree? I've tasted Durian (frozen, I might add), and strange though it was, it didn't leave the bad impression that Mocambo did.

[Mike T]

This type of disappointment happens quite a bit and people often aren't straight with whether a fruit is good to eat out of hand. Very few comment that they are pleasantly surprised at how good their Theobroma fruit really are. Many Eugenia and several Jabs are like this.

[xmario]

Never tasted Mocambo, i have a few seedlings in pots, but now you made me wonder if should even bother, although I know taste is very subjective...and what's tasty for me may not be for others..
I had fresh Cupuassu on the other hand and it is pretty fantastic(for my taste buds)! Also have these seedlings and will pursue 100%.
As a reference on funky fruits I do like Durian, Araza Boi and not so much Noni

[Finca La Isla]

The pulp can be cut off pataxte and cupuasu with scissors.  The seeds can be further cleaned by rubbing with sand.  However, to dry so that you can aprovechar the seeds as nuts they don’t have to be so clean.  The fruit pulp will mostly dry away and you will need to peel the skin off of the seed anyway once it is dry.
Peter