Genip
Guadeloupe offers a wide range of plants and fruits, as the island is spread with a typical tropical vegetation. It’s a paradise for the many fruit trees, which grow wild all over the islands and grant us with impressive fruits.
One example of it is the Melicoccus bijugatus known as genip, akee or Spanish lime. It’s a typical fruit from Central America. The tree belongs to the soapberry family (Sapindacea). It needs warm temperatures and loads of water to product the fruits. The genip is one of the sweetest tropical fruits, although the flavour is rather tart. It could be compared with the lychee, although the genip skin is green and smooth. The skin is thin and tight but rigid, and you’ll normally crack it with your teeth. You’ll find inside the salmon-pink pulp of the fruit which sticks to its dark seed.
The best way to eat it is by putting the inside part of the fruit in your mouth and sucking the pulp. When there is no more pulp, just throw the seed out of your mouth, like an olive.
The best season to find genips in the local markets of the archipielago is from June till August. Do not loose the opportunity to have a taste of it!
Chocolatito on December 21st 2007 in tropical fruit
