My Favorite Fruits in Madagascar

Ampalibe (Jackfruit)- This is probably the funniest looking fruit in Madagasascar. It is spiky, bright green and very large, but there is no particular uniformity to its shape. When you cut it open, the smell hits you like a barn door in the face: sweet yet somewhat pungent, like it’s already rotting. Ampalibe is very, very sticky and there are many yellow pods of fruit that surround white, lima bean-shaped seeds. I think the fruit is delicious if you get a good one; sugary, juicy with a hint of banana flavor. It’s addicting, but can give you a stomach-ache if you over-indulge. The tree is tall and grand, with wide, round, dark green and orange leaves. When it fruits, it looks like it has huge tumors all over it, because of the large irregular shape of the fruit. The trees are all over the place here, lining the side of the road and adding to the dense, lushness of the forest. Always in season.

Manga (Mango)- The mango tree makes up a majority of the forest here, along with jackfruit and breadfruit trees. Their huge trunks and massive branches make for good shade and climbing. Need I say anything about the fruit? It’s wonderful; juicy sweet, fragrant, and a beautiful, orange color inside. There are several different varieties here and they are all delicious. They fruit twice a year too! You can also make good salads by grating the unripe mangoes when they are still green.

Mapaza (Papaya)- They are always in season and I even have a tree in my back yard (although there seem to be more papayas around now than there were before). There are two varieties: one that’s got smaller, elongated fruit and another with larger, tear-dropped or round-shaped fruit. The ones picked fresh off the tree from my back yard are ridiculously sweet and juicy. They are even better if you squeeze a little fresh lime on them. The flesh is soft and orange and there are black, round, tiny seeds that run down the center. The outside is green when unripe and turns yellowish when it ripens.

Mananasy (Pineapple)- a very cool looking plant. I had never seen the plant before (just the fruit) until I came to Madagascar. It’s very spicky and the fruit pops out of the top of the plant. Apparently you can plant a pineapple by cutting off the spiky green top of the fruit and sticking it in the ground. I haven’t tried it yet, though. I have three growing in my back yard, they are magenta colored and small right now, so still not ready for harvest yet. They are in season right now, though, and the pineapple here is amazingly sweet; sweeter than any pineapple I have ever had in the states. When I get a good one, it’s probably my favorite fruit here. You have to be careful about eating too much though, because it’s highly acidic and can give you sores on your tongue and heartburn. I think they are in season about twice or three times a year.

Avacado (Gavo be or Zavoka)- Avacado season (April/May) is amazing. They have a giant, darker skinned variety and a smaller, lighter green variety here. The inside is sweet, creamy and light green in color. Both varieties are delicious and make good guacamole, although there’s no cilantro here. By the time my cilantro in my garden was ready to harvest avocado season was already over.

Saoñambo (Breadfruit)- The saoñambo tree is the most spectacular tree in this region of Madagascar. It is one of the tallest in the forest here, with lush, giant, shiny green leaves that fan out and big, bright green, round balls hanging from every branch like Christmas decorations. The fruit can be eaten ripe or unripe, but needs to be cooked like any other starch. It grows wild here and is all over the place. People should use it as a staple food more than they do…they are too hooked on rice here. My favorite way to eat the fruit is when it is still firm and unripe. You can cut it up and fry it like french fries, and it almost tastes better than potatoes, because it stays a little soft and moist inside. People here make these really delicious fried bread-like balls out of them too, with salt, pepper, onions and garlic inside (really good with spicy cucumber salad.) When it’s soft and ripe, it’s surprisingly sweet. You can make a sweet porridge out of it by boiling it and mashing it up, although I’m not a huge fan.

Sakoaña (???)- Don’t think there’s an English word for this fruit. I have never seen it before coming to Madagascar. You can eat it when it is still green, but I think it tastes best when it’s ripe and orange-brownish in color. It tastes like crossed between a mango and a peach or nectarine, but you can’t eat the peel. It’s one of the juiciest fruits I have ever tasted. The pit is really funny looking, with spiky fibers sticking out of it. The only bummer is that they easily get worms or bugs in them, they are very messy to eat and the fibers get stuck in your teeth. But I guess most of the fruits and vegetables here get buggy very easily since there’s no pesticide use. It’s in season around the same time as avocadoes. The tree is huge; one of the tallest in the forest.

Konokono- (“Coeur de boeuf” in French, custard apple or cherimoya in English??) A small, round, pinkish, soft fruit shaped like a heart, which is probably why it’s called beef heart in French. The flesh inside is whitish, soft, custardy and sweet with little black seeds. It’s like eating a creamy, rich desert. Not sure if there is an English equivalent or if they have this fruit in South America or something. They were in season in October.

Voazato- (custard apple or cherimoya??) Like Konokono, but a little bigger and the skin is thicker and yellowish in color with dull spikes or eyes on the outside. The name in Malagasy literally means “100 seeds.” Suffice it to say, there are a lot of big, black seeds inside. The flesh is a little more firm and juicy than konokono, but still very custard-like and sweet. Both Konokono and voazato are best eaten with a spoon. It’s in season around late May, June, July.

Voanio (Coconut)- I love the unripe ones that have a lot of sweet water to drink and a little bit of soft flesh inside. They are really delicious, especially on a hot day. The ripe ones are also great to cook with. Vary aharo voanio (coconut rice), bonbon coco (coconut candies) and añantoto aharo voanio (pounded cassava leaves with coconut milk) are my favorites. The coconut milk is also good cooked with beans. They are hard to open though, especially if the outer husk is still attached. It’s a lot of work to grate the coconut by hand, too.

Polmosy (Grapefruit or pomello?)- Basically a large grapefruit. It has a thick, yellow rind and pinkish fruit inside. You can get juicy ones, but they are usually a little dry for a citrus. I like them, though. They’re tangy and sweet and have lots of vitamin C.