Pitomba

Talisia esculenta · Tropical fruit

40 pairings

The pitomba is a small, round Brazilian fruit from Talisia esculenta, a tree in the soapberry family (Sapindaceae) — a close relative of the lychee, longan and rambutan. Beneath a thin, leathery orange-brown rind lies a translucent whitish pulp, juicy and sweet-tart, clinging tightly to a single large seed.

Picking a good onedrag

UnderripeOverripe

Turned and firmJuicy gelatinous aril, sweet with a clean acid lift, close to a small lychee. Crack the rind and suck the pulp off; the big seed is spat out, never chewed.Buy this one

RindTurned right through — yellow-brown to orange-brown, thin and taut

SqueezeFirm with the faintest give, and the rind cracks open cleanly

SmellSweet-tart and lychee-like at the split rind, resin behind it

Reading a just ripe one. Move the slider and the rest of this page — nutrition, pairings — re-scores with it.

Preparing