Caballero B. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Food Science, Food Technology and Nutrition. Ten-Volume Set

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to environmental stresses and are usually shed before

fruit containing normal seeds. The average weight is

16–35 g and flesh recovery 50–70%.

0018 Longan fruit are small (about 1.5–3.0 cm in diam-

eter), globose to round, sometimes with distinctive

shoulders. The fruit skin is thin and leathery, and

changes from green–yellow to yellow–brown with

advancing maturity. The tubercles are typically flat-

tened or indistinct. The aril (flesh) is translucent

white to off-white in color, sometimes with a pinkish

tinge (after processing), and ranges in texture from

juicy to very crisp and in flavor from bland to sweet

and aromatic, but seldom acidic.

0019 Seeds are glossy red brown, dark brown to black,

small, round to ovoid, and easily separated from the

flesh. Most fruit are full-seeded, although some culti-

vars have up to 20–30% small seeded fruit. Average

weight is 12 to 22 g and flesh recovery 60–75%. Fruit

size and flesh recovery are related, small fruit nor-

mally having a lower flesh recovery.

0020 Rambutan fruit are ovoid or ellipsoid, 3.0–8.0 cm

long and 2.5–5.0 cm wide. The fruit has a very

attractive appearance with the skin changing from

green to various shades of pink, red or yellow during

ripening. The skin has hair-like growths or protuber-

ances (spinterns) up to 2 cm in length, densely clus-

tered over the surface. The spinterns vary in color, but

are usually red with green tips and are responsible for

the common name of the fruit, which is based on the

Malay word ‘rambut,’ meaning hair. The flesh or aril

is white or rose-tinted, translucent and juicy, and

acid, subacid, or sweet, depending on the cultivar.

0021 The seeds are 2.5–3.5 cm long and 1.0–1.5 cm wide

and somewhat flattened. The aril may or may not peel

cleanly from the seed. In ‘clingstone’ cultivars, the aril

usually detaches together with somewhat objection-

able seed testa. The fruit weight is 20–60 g, and flesh

recovery is 30–68%.

0022 Fruit of pulasan are ovoid in shape and 5.0–7.5 cm

long and resemble those of rambutan in general ap-

pearance. However, the pericarp is thicker, usually

dull red, with shorter spines. The aril normally clings

to the testa. The flavor and quality of the aril are

invariably good, and often sweeter and preferred to

that of rambutan.

Chemical Composition and Uses of Fruit

0023The composition of lychee, longan, and rambutan is

shown in Table 1.

0024Lychees can be eaten directly off the tree or cool-

stored, dried, or quick-frozen. Thawed fruit can be

used in the same way as freshly picked fruit with only

a slight loss of color and flavor. The fruit can be

peeled, pitted, and canned in sugar syrup. Fresh or

processed fruit can be used alone or with other fruits

in tropical fruit salads.

0025There are substantial canning industries in China,

Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Thailand. Canned

lychees are not as acceptable as canned longans. This

is possibly because the major cultivar that is canned

in South-east Asia, Haak Yip, develops an off-flavor

with heat sterilization. Fruit of other cultivars are

usually acceptable, although the full flavor is lost.

0026A large proportion of the crop was traditionally

dried in China and Vietnam, and often given as pre-

sents. Dried lychees are known as ‘lychee nuts,’ and

during drying, the pericarp or outer skin becomes

brown and brittle, but retains its shape. The aril or

flesh that shrivels around the seed is very pleasant,

similar in flavor and texture to a dried date.

0027Lychees are sometimes fermented for Chinese

medicine or used to make wine, jelly, sherbet, yogurt,

icecream, and sweets.

0028Longans can be eaten fresh, dried, or quick frozen.

Thawed fruit are quite satisfactory. The fruit can be

peeled, pitted, and canned. The juice of most cultivars

is sufficiently sweet for processing without adding

sugar. Canned fruit are very acceptable and taste

much better than canned lychees. Taiwan and

Thailand have substantial canning industries. Differ-

ent cultivars are preferred for canning or drying;

others are eaten fresh. Sweet fruit are best used for

drying, but those lower in sugar are preferred

for canning. Flavor and sweetness are normally

related.

0029Rambutans and pulasans are normally grown for

fresh fruit, although a canning industry for rambu-

tans exists in Thailand and Malaysia. Asians gener-

ally prefer rambutan cultivars with crisp, nonjuicy

fruit, and the testa clinging to the aril is not generally

tbl0001 Table 1 Composition of lychee, longan, and rambutan fruit (data expressed on a fresh-weight basis

)

Species Protein Fat Carbohydrate Fiber Ca P Fe Vitamins (mg kg

1

)

(g kg

1

)(mgkg

1

)

Niacin C

Lychee 9 1 131 1 70 410 13 1.1 0.4 3 1670

Longan 10 5 252 4 20 60 3 0.4 0.7 6 80

Rambutan 9 1 145 11 30 60 18 0.4 0.5 6 310

Source: Anonymous (1987) Fruits in Thailand. Bangkok: Department of Agricultural Extension, Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, with permission.

2788 FRUITS OF TROPICAL CLIMATES/Fruits of the Sapindaceae

regarded as objectionable. Europeans prefer sweet

stringless fruit without objectionable testa.

Harvesting and Storage

0030 Immature lychees may sweeten a little once har-

vested, but do not develop a full flavor. Maturity is

judged by a particular shape, skin color, skin texture,

and flavor of each cultivar. A maturity index based on

a brix/acid ratio of 35 has been developed in Austra-

lia. Most fruit can be picked from a tree within 1 week

and from a single cultivar in an orchard within 3

weeks. Fruit in local Asian markets are normally

sold in clusters within 1–3 days after harvest in

baskets weighing about 20–25 kg without any post-

harvest treatment.

0031 In Australia and South Africa, lychees are detached

prior to sale, and a machine for destalking lychees has

been developed in Australia. Fruit lose their bright red

skin color and turn brown unless moisture loss is

controlled within a few days after harvest. Browning

is faster under low-humidity conditions. Efforts to

maintain humidity tend to cause postharvest rots to

develop. Fruit in Australia are generally packed in

2.5-kg plastic bags, with small holes to reduce

condensation. Fruit may be air-cooled or hydrocooled

to 5–10



C. Fruit dry out once the bags are opened in

the retail outlets. Punnet packs with plastic PVC over-

wraps allow lychees to be displayed without excess

browning and are preferred by many retailers. The

film retains sufficient humidity to inhibit browning

without condensation clouding the pack. However,

fruit are susceptible to rots, especially at higher tem-

peratures. Research is currently investigating the

application of pre- and postharvest chemicals, along

with packaging and cooling to reduce the rots.

0032 Lychees shipped to Europe from South Africa and

Madagascar and, more recently, Israel are normally

treated with sulfur to prevent browning. The fruit are

placed in a closed container, and 50–150 g of sulfur

per cubic meter of air are burnt in the enclosed space

for 20–30 min. Alternatively, SO

gas can be pumped

into the container. The sulfur dioxide bleaches the

fruit to a pinkish cream color. Immediately after

, fruit are bright yellow and progressively recover

color. Fruit are then often dipped in acid. These treat-

ments have been shown to extend storage life dramat-

ically, inhibit browning and limit the need for

specialized packaging and handling. However, there

is evidence of sulfur residues and pulp tainting.

Treated fruit also never match the bright red appear-

ance at harvest. Recent research in Israel has looked

at replacing the sulfur treatment with a cooling/

heating cycle, followed by an acid dip. This treatment

retains the red skin color. However, eating quality is

related to water loss and disease development. Waxes

have also been developed in the USA to reduce water

loss and fix the red skin pigments. Further research is

required in this area.

0033Longans do not ripen off the tree. They may

sweeten a little, but do not develop a full flavor. Ma-

turity is judged by the particular shape, skin color, and

flavor of each cultivar. Sending immature fruit to

market to gain high early prices damages the reputa-

tion of the grower and the longan in the market place.

0034Most fruit can be picked from a tree in one harvest

and from a single cultivar in an orchard within

2 weeks. Consequently, to spread the picking work-

load, it is essential to plant a range of cultivars in any

one orchard. Fruit are harvested by removing the

whole cluster plus one or two leaves. Fruit are clipped

from the panicles, sorted for size, insect damage, and

skin blemishes, and placed in bulk trays.

0035Disease appears to be the main factor limiting

longan storage. With adequate disease control, fruit

maintain an acceptable eating quality for 5 weeks

at 10



C and 90% relative humidity, although sig-

nificant browning of the skin occurs. In the absence

of good disease control, storage at 7.5



C is rec-

ommended, but for periods not exceeding about

3 weeks. At lower temperatures, there is a rapid loss

of eating quality, principally associated with the

presence of off-flavors, whereas above 10



C, fruit

succumb to postharvest diseases.

0036Unlike lychees, longan fruit do not separate from

the fruit stalk easily without the loss of some skin. This

could hasten breakdown of the fruit after harvest.

Longan fruit, consequently, do not look as attractive

as lychees in punnets. Longans marketed attached to

the fruit stalk in bunches of about 15–20 fruit have

attracted superior prices compared with loose fruit in

Australia. A machine for destalking fruit is available in

Australia and has a possible use for longan.

0037In China and Thailand, most fruit are marketed in

branches on the fruit stalks in 22–25 kg bamboo

baskets and consumed within 3 days without any

postharvest treatment. A proportion of the crop is

sometimes stored on ice to give a few extra days

of shelf-life, but there is generally no precooling or

refrigeration. Fruit for sale in Malaysia and Singapore

from Thailand are precooled with cold water (hydro-

cooling) to remove field heat. The fruit usually re-

quires additional top icing to provide further cooling

during transportation. This precooling substantially

reduces losses due to rots. Fruit exported to Hong

Kong are packed with the fruit stalk intact. However,

the larger growers consider that average quality is

unimpaired when all the raceme stalks are removed.

0038The Thai industry fumigates longans going to

Singapore in SO

to control browning and disease.

FRUITS OF TROPICAL CLIMATES/Fruits of the Sapindaceae 2789

Sulfur removes blemishes and turns the fruit bright

yellow. There is some concern by consumers in Singa-

pore and Hong Kong on SO

residues. The optimum

concentration is a compromise between the rate

which is effective in maintaining fruit appearance and

the rate which causes tainting of the pulp. The long-

term use of sulfur in these crops is under a cloud.

Research is continuing in Thailand.

0039 The price of fruit in Thailand depends on the

season, cultivar, and fruit quality. Average prices are

about A$1.00–1.50 per kilogram, with a range of

A$0.50–3.00 per kilogram. The greatest demand is

for fruit with a weight of more than 18 g.

0040 As for lychee and longan, fruit maturity in rambu-

tan and pulasan is determined by the color of the skin

and aril taste, which vary with cultivar. The whole

panicle is normally harvested. In order to harvest all

the fruit at correct maturity, it may be necessary to

pick trees at 3- to 4-day intervals over a period of 2–6

weeks. The fruit are reasonably hardy, but should be

handled carefully to avoid bruising and crushing. In

Malaysia and Indonesia, fruit are presented for sale

in bunches on panicles, whereas in the Philippines,

Indonesia, and Australia, fruit are detached prior to

sale. Care should be taken not to rupture the skin

when destalking fruit.

0041 Fresh fruit are very attractive and eye-catching.

However, ordinarily, the fruit must be consigned to

local markets within 3–4 days before browning and

decay set in. Removal of the panicle stems hastens

deterioration. Moisture loss and browning of the

spinterns can be reduced by storage at low tempera-

tures and high relative humidities (95%). Red culti-

vars can be successfully stored for 14 days at 7.5



and yellow cultivars for 11 days at 12.5



C. Damage

in yellow fruit is much more obvious than in red fruit.

Sealed bags are more effective than perforated bags in

reducing water loss, but rots and off-flavors may

develop. In Australia, fruit are packed in 2.5-kg

boxes lined with polyethylene cling wrap or perfor-

ated plastic film. Combined with cool storage, fruit

may store for a week or more. As with the other

members of the Sapindaceae, postharvest handling

and storage currently limit domestic and export

marketing.

See also: Canning: Quality Changes During Canning;

Drying: Drying Using Natural Radiation; Fumigants;

Storage Stability: Parameters Affecting Storage Stability

Further Reading

Bose TK and Mitra SK (eds) (1989) Fruits: Tropical and

Subtropical. Calcutta: Naya Prokash.

Groff GW (1921) The Lychee and Lungan. New York:

Orange Judd Company.

Menzel CM (2002) The lychee crop in Asia and the Pacific.

Food and Agricultural Organization of the United

Nations, Bangkok, Thailand.

Menzel CM and McConchie CA (1998) Lychee and longan.

In: Hyde KW (ed.) The New Rural Industries, pp.

288–295. Canberra: Rural Industries Research and De-

velopment Corporation.

Menzel CM and Simpson DR (1990) Performance and

improvement of lychee cultivars: a review. Plant Var-

ieties Journal 44: 107–215.

Menzel CM, Watson BJ and Simpson DR (1989) Longans –

a place in Queensland’s horticulture. Queensland

Agricultural Journal 115: 251–265.

Morton JF (1987) Fruits of Warm Climates. Winterville,

NC: Creative Resources Systems Incorporated.

Page PE (ed.) (1984) Tropical Tree Fruits For Australia.

Brisbane: Queensland Department of Primary Indus-

tries.

Tindall HD, Menini UG and Hodder AJ (1994) Rambutan

Cultivation. Food and Agricultural Organization of the

United Nations Plant Production and Protection Paper.

No. 121.

Verheij EWM and Coronel RE (1991) Plant Resources of

South-east Asia No. 2 Edible Fruits and Nuts. Wagenin-

gen, The Netherlands: Pudoc.

Yeap CK (1987) The Sapindaceous fruits and nuts. Year-

book of the Western Australia Nut and Tree Crops

Association 12: 16–33.

Zhang Z, Yuan P, Wang B, Qui Y and Li J (1997) Litchi

Pictorial Narration of Cultivation. Guangdong, People’s

Republic of China: Pomology Research Institute,

Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Fruits of the Sapotaceae

S N Vaghani, Gujarat Agricultural University, Navsari,

India

Background

0001Sapotaceae is one of the latex-yielding families,

known for the production of Gutta percha, chicle

(chewing) gum, timber, edible flowers, fruits, and oil

seeds. Some species of Achras, Chrysophyllum, and

Mimusops are also cultivated for their edible fruits.

The family is included in the order Ebenales, series

Heteromerae, subclass Gamopetalae, class Dicotyl-

edon, of division Angiospermae. It is composed of

about 50 genera and 1100 species, distributed in the

tropical world by habitat. The plants are trees or

sometimes shrubs, and the fruit is an indehiscent,

one- to eight-seeded berry (sometimes a drupe). The

seeds possess crustaceous, shining testas, and are oily

and exalbuminous with large, fleshy cotyledons, or

2790 FRUITS OF TROPICAL CLIMATES/Fruits of the Sapotaceae

albuminous with flat cotyledons. The family contains

very few species that are grown for their edible fruits.

However, among these species sapota (Manilkara

zapota L. van Royen) is the most outstanding edible

fruit, and is mainly used for table purposes. The

physiology of this fruit is complicated, and very little

research work has been performed on its handling,

storage, nutrition, and processing.

Manilkara zapota

L. van Royen (

Achras

zapota

L.)

0002 Vernacular names are sapota, sapota plum, sapodilla,

zapotle, chico zapote, chiku, dilly, naseberry, nispero,

and chicle tree. Sapota is an evergreen tree, native to

tropical America, especially southern Mexico and

Central America. In the moist tropics of the world,

the trees are often cultivated for their edible fruits.

Sapodillas are a favorite desert fruit of tropical Amer-

ica and other warm areas. They are full of translucent

yellowish pulp and are delicious. The latex is also

tapped from the bark for chicle gum, the base for

chewing gum.

Type and Commercial Importance

0003 The fruit of sapota is a fleshy berry. The fully ripe

fruit is delicious and sweet, and is chiefly used fresh.

In ripe fruit, the skin can also be eaten with the flesh.

A small proportion of produce is utilized in various

preparations. The fruit imparts a characteristic, pleas-

ant flavor to milk, and is therefore freely utilized in

many milk-based products, such as icecream or milk-

shakes. Chiku halwa, a famous milk-based Indian

sweet, is prepared by concentrating sweetened milk

to a paste-like consistency, and then adding shreds

of sapota fruit previously simmered in ghee. After

thorough mixing, the mass is cooked to a thick con-

sistency so as to retain its form. Shrikhand, another

milk-based Indian sweet made from curd after

draining, is also dressed with cubes of ripe sapota

fruit. In coastal areas of India, the fruit slices are

soaked in butter for a night and eaten in the morning.

It is said to be an excellent prophylactic against bili-

ousness and febrile attacks. In the West Indies, the

seeds are known to be aperient and diuretic. The

coagulated resinous latex derived from the bark

known as chicle is used to make chewing gum.

Great forests are cultivated in South America, and

tapping the sap of wild trees is quite a cottage

industry.

Morphology and Anatomy of the Fruits

0004 The fruit is a fleshy berry, that looks like and is the

size of a brown tennis ball, varying in shape from

globose to conical to oval, and in size from 5 to

8 cm in length, 3.5 to 7.0 cm in diameter and 75 to

150 g in weight. The skin (rind) is thin, rusty brown,

and somewhat ‘scurfy,’ giving the fruit a striking

resemblance to an Irish potato. The flesh is yellow-

ish-brown or red, translucent and soft; it crumbles

with a sandy or granular texture. The seeds are endo-

spermic, and vary in number from zero to 12 (or

many) depending on the season. Each seed weighs

0.6–1.0 g, and is hard, black and shining, obovate or

flattened, about 1.5–2.0 cm long and embedded in

pulp around the central axis; the seeds separate easily

from the pulp.

Chemical and Nutritional Composition

0005The principal chemical constituents of the sapota

fruit are carbohydrates and tannins. The proximate

composition of nutrients in a ripe fruit is presented in

Table 1. The major constituent of the fruit is carbo-

hydrate (21%), of which free sugars take a major

share: glucose (41%), fructose (38%), galactose

(5.4%), maltose (0.5%), lactose (0.1%), and oligo-

saccharides – as glucose – (6.4%). Galactose, mal-

tose, and lactose are present only in the ripe fruit,

but glucose and fructose are present at all stages of

fruit development. At the overripe stage, the sucrose

content decreases owing to inversion to glucose and

fructose. In general, lactose does not occur in fruits; it

is mainly of animal origin. However, it occurs in ripe

sapota in very small quantities, and differs from that

in the mammary gland of animals. The total sugars

not only impart sweetness to the fruit, but also mask

the astringency caused by the tannins. (Refer to indi-

vidual nutrients.)

0006The mature sapota contains polyphenol-like

tannins (1.01 g), phenols (4.82 g), flavans (3.11 g),

and leucoanthocyanidins (4.81 g per fruit). The fruit

is highly astringent when unripe, and this astringency

is predominantly caused by the flavans. The polyphe-

nol-like leucodelphinidin and leucocyanidin are

the major components, and leucopelargonidin is a

minor component. The great resistance of sapota to

fungal diseases may be attributed to the presence of

large quantities of polyphenols in the ripe fruits. (See

Phenolic Compounds; Tannins and Polyphenols.)

0007Sapota fruits are very low in vitamins (0.1–

12 mg%) – as compared to guava (300 mg%) and

aonla (700 mg%) – and in minerals. The fruits also

contain negligible amounts of fat and protein. Starch

is either absent or found in small quantities in the ripe

fruit. The seed kernels (50% of the total seed weight)

contain liquid fat (20%), saponin (1%), and sapotin

(bitter principle; 0.08%). Fruit quality is adversely

affected by latex, tannin, aldehyde, and sapotin con-

tent, which are present at higher levels in immature

and unripe fruits.

FRUITS OF TROPICAL CLIMATES/Fruits of the Sapotaceae 2791

tbl0001 Table 1 Nutrient composition of ripe sapota fruits

from India and Mexico

Edible

portion

(%)

Moisture

(g%)

Fiber

(g%)

Carbohydrates

(g%)

Fat

(g%)

Proteins

(g%)

Energy

(kJper100 g)

Minerals

(g%)

Carotene

(mg)

VitaminCThiaminRiboflavinNicotlnic

acid

Calcium Phosphorus Iron

India 83 73.7 2.6 24.4 1.1 0.7 412 0.5 97 6 0.02 0.03 0.2 28 27 2.0

Mexico 86 18.0 1.1 0.7 160 12 0.02 0.00 0.3 31 9 1.5

Units are mg% unless otherwise stated.

Data from Gopalan C, Sastri BVR and Balasubramanian SC (1977) NutritiveValue of Foods. Hydrabad: Nutro.: Indian Council of Medical Research; and Hernandez M, Chavez A, Bourges H and Mendoza E (1974) Nutritive

Value of Foods (in Spanish). Mexico City: National Institute of Nutrition.

Handling and Storage

0008 Sapota fruits are climacteric in nature, and can be

ripened artificially after harvest. The mature fruit,

after proper ripening, acquires eating and processing

qualities, whereas immature fruits develop poorly

and are astringent in taste and very sticky in texture.

The fruit should therefore be harvested at full matur-

ity for proper ripening. (See Ripening of Fruit.)

0009 In general, fruits take 8 months to reach harvest

maturity from fruit set, and there are two principal

seasons of production: February to April and October

to December. However, because of the continuous

flowering habit, the fruits do not come to maturity

at the same time in a season. Fruits at different stages

of development are therefore present on the tree all

year round. Maturity can be judged by the appear-

ance of a yellowish streak when the fruit is scratched

with the fingernails, or by the oozing of watery latex

on slight injury. However, indices of this type are

destructive and can only be used for crops for which

the total harvest time is of short duration. In the

sapota crop, the fruiting is continuous and harvesting

is carried out almost throughout the year or for a long

duration, and hence such destructive indices are not

useful. However, they can help the farmer to acquire

expertise in making judgments about physical param-

eters. Shininess of the fruit surface, development of

the fruit, and the extent of ‘scruffiness’ are good

indicators of maturity. A fruit with a smooth surface,

shining potato color, and rounded stylar end can be

considered mature. The fruit contains latex, which

decreases towards maturity (1.80–1.05%), and

remains constant during the final stages of fruit

growth. Latex almost stops oozing out when fruits

are mature, and this change is also used as an indica-

tor of maturity. On maturation, the mellowing in

astringency is caused by polymeric changes in the

polyphenols, and masking by the sugar. The fruits

are harvested with their stalks intact; they are col-

lected in gunny bags to avoid bruising and lowered

down to the ground carefully. The fruits are cleaned

by rubbing with the hand, vigorous rolling in gunny

bags made into a ‘cradle,’ or washing in a water tub;

they are shade-dried. The fruits are then graded on

the basis of size (big, medium, and small) manually or

with a sapota grader. They are packed in corrugated

cardboard, wooden or plastic boxes, or in bamboo

baskets, for marketing. Fruits are packed by number,

e.g., dozens, or weight, having a final weight of nearly

16 kg per container, and priced accordingly.

0010Sapota fruits attain eating quality only after proper

ripening. The ripe fruit has a pleasant, mellow aroma,

and is sweet without any astringency and stickiness.

During ripening, starch is hydrolyzed with a concur-

rent increase in sugar, and there are reductions in

levels of starch, tannin, latex, sapotin, aldehydes,

and acidity during ripening. The major changes in

chemical composition of sapota fruit are presented

in Table 2. Carbohydrate metabolism during the vari-

ous stages of ripening produces oligosaccharides

(three types), which finally yield glucose, fructose,

tbl0002 Table 2 Chemical composition of mature and ripe fruits (and latex) of two sapota cultivars: Cricket Ball (A) and Oblong (B)

Composition Mature (at harvest) Ripe (eatingripe)

ABAB

Average fruit weight (g) 107.16 20.04 107.07 20.54

Starch (%) 0.90 0.37 0.71 0.35

Sucrose (%) 4.28 5.13 2.12 3.10

Glucose (%) 2.81 4.53 5.65 7.71

Fructose (%) 5.53 3.92 6.30 4.25

Crude protein (%) 0.68 1.02 0.52 0.76

True protein (%) 0.51 0.81 0.50 0.63

Soluble amino acid (mg%) 25 114 43 80

Total acidity (%) 0.15 0.61 0.11 0.41

Nonvolatile acidity (%) 0.07 0.46 0.03 0.31

Malic acid (mg%) 18.95 128.50 17.75 123.91

Vitamin A (IU %) 16 013 1219 410 680

Vitamin C (mg%) 10 5 8 4

Dry matter (%) 21.9 26.5 23.4 25.6

Potassium (%) 0.21 0.17 0.25 0.14

Phosphorus (mg%) 8.0 10.9 11.6 6.8

Calcium (mg%) 10.8 20.9 8.2 16.4

Iron (mg%) 0.42 0.61 0.40 0.52

Tannins (%) 0.27 0.81 0.10 0.20

Reproduced from Selvaraj Y and Pal DK (1984) Changes in the chemical composition and enzyme activity of two sapadilla (Malinkara zapota) cultivars

during development and ripening. Journal of Horticultural Science 59(2): 275–281, with permission.

FRUITS OF TROPICAL CLIMATES/Fruits of the Sapotaceae 2793

lactose, and galactose on hydrolysis. The hemicellu-

lose content decreases as the fruit matures, and is

further depleted during chemical ripening. Part of

the hemicellulose is converted to oligosaccharides

during ripening, with a simultaneous increase in

sucrose content, followed by an increase in glucose

and fructose. However, at the overripe stage, the

sucrose content decreases by inversion to glucose

and fructose.

0011 In general, the fruits are spread on mats or on the

floor in a single layer, or sandwiched in paddy straw,

or packed in baskets or plastic crates, or kept in

gunny bags for ripening. It takes 5–7 days for

ripening, but some varieties, such as the Calcutta

Round cultivar, require 9–13 days at room tempera-

ture. Fruits can be ripened more uniformly and faster

with various ripening media, chemicals, and growth

hormones. Amongst the various simple ripening

media are sawdust and paddy straw; the latter is

better, as it accelerates ripening with maximum or-

ganoleptic scores. Ethrel at 1000–2500 p.p.m. con-

centration is most commonly used as a ripening

agent for early and uniform ripening. However, at

higher concentrations the organoleptic rating for

taste declines.

0012 Since fully ripe fruits become soft and have a very

short shelf-life (3–4 days), they need quick disposal.

Such fruits are very difficult to handle and transport

to distant markets. At the peak of the season, or when

the market demand is less, the fruits need an exten-

sion of storage life. This can be achieved by retarding

the ripening process through the use of various chem-

icals, growth regulators, wax coatings, irradiation, or

low temperature in a modified-atmosphere store.

Growth regulators, such as 2,4-dichlorophenoxyace-

tic acid at 3 p.p.m., prolong storage for 8 days. How-

ever, at higher concentrations the organoleptic rating

for taste is very poor. Gibberellic acid (300 p.p.m.),

kinetin (100 p.p.m.), and silver nitrate (AgNO

;

40 p.p.m.) extend shelf-life by 8, 7, and 6 days re-

spectively. Food-grade wax-waxol (3–6%) increases

the shelf-life for 16 days, reduces weight loss, main-

tains freshness, and improves the appearance of the

fruit. A fungicide dip like thiobendazole (1%) or

Benomyl (0.2%) prevents storage decay. The fungi-

cide and wax emulsion could be used either in mixed

form or separately. Exposure of fruit to irradiation at

10 K rad extends the storage life by 3–5 days at

26.7



C and by 15 days at 10



C without any decline

in ascorbic acid. Low temperature can extend the

shelf-life by reducing the oxidative metabolism and

release of ethylene. However, the sapota fruit is highly

susceptible to chilling injury. Refrigerated storage

at less than 1.6



C causes irreversible chilling injury

to the ripening mechanism of the fruit; it is also

adversely affected at 6–10



C. Even ripe fruits lose

their taste and flavor when stored at refrigerated

temperatures. (See Irradiation of Foods: Applications.)

0013Short-term holding of the fruit at 4



C, before stor-

age at 20



C, extends its storage life, yet normal

ripening only occurs if the duration of exposure to



C is less than 10 days. This combination can

extend shelf-life for up to 24 days, and with satisfac-

tory quality. However, exposure to 4



C for too long

(28 days) results in chilling injuries, and the fruits fail

to ripen normally even upon transfer to 20



C. Sapota

fruit stored at 20



C and 25



C attain the eating-ripe

stage after 10 and 9 days, respectively, and, if

retained, total shelf-lives of 15 and 13 days, respect-

ively, have been recorded. At 15



C, fruit can be

stored for 22 days, but normal ripening fails and the

taste is not good; hence the recommended optimum

for storage and ripening is 20



C. When an extended

storage life is desired, fruit can be stored at 20



Cin

an atmosphere containing 5–10% (v/v) carbon diox-

ide (CO

) – with exclusion of ethylene (C

) – and a

relative humidity (RH) of 85–90%. Levels of 5% and

10% (v/v) CO

in the storage atmosphere extend

shelf-life by 18 and 21 days, respectively, and the

taste is satisfactory, whereas 20% (v/v) CO

adversely

affects the taste, and the fruits fail to ripen normally.

Ripening is delayed when oxygen is removed from the

storage atmosphere, but levels of oxygen higher than

those in air have no apparent effect. Removal of C

produced by the fruit delays the ripening by 23 days,

and RH of 85–90% is optimal for sapota storage.

0014Fruits are packed in corrugated fiber board (CFB)

boxes with honeycomb partitions or in telescopic

moisture-proof CFB cartons. Unripe sapota fruits

are packed in polyethylene bags (500 gage); placing

therein a perforated plastic vial containing calcium

chloride (10 g per kg of fruits) has increased the

storage life for more than 12 days. When kept in a

polyethylene bag with permanganate silica gel at 10–



C, the fruit keeps well for 18 days rather than 12

days at room temperature. The storage life of ripe

fruit could be extended by 6 weeks at 2–3



C and

85–90% RH. Fruits ripened under RH that is too

high or too low are of poor quality. However, a

standard method has been developed for better stor-

age and transportation for the distance and export

market. The fruits are harvested (6–9 a.m.) with 80%

maturity, weighing 65–70 g (nos 145–150) and with a

round to oval shape. Fruits are washed and precooled

(hydrocooled) in chilled water (12



C) containing

Benomyl (500 p.p.m.) for 20 min and then dried

under a fan. Healthy and firm fruits are packed in

CFB boxes (20.5 20.5 5.5 cm for 16 fruits and

20.5 30.0 5.5 cm for 24 fruits) containing honey-

comb partitions and air holes. Boxes are closed and

2794 FRUITS OF TROPICAL CLIMATES/Fruits of the Sapotaceae

fixed with sellotape. They are stored and transported

at 13–14



C and 90% RH. Generally, the shelf-life of

fruit is about 25 days with acceptable quality. Fruit

can be ripened at 25



C to a desired eating quality.

(See Controlled-atmosphere Storage: Applications for

Bulk Storage of Foodstuffs.)

Industrial Uses

0015 Studies conducted in India and elsewhere do not

promise a bright future for the industrial processing

of sapota fruit. The principal products tested were

poor in characteristic flavor and storage stability.

However, drying seems to give some promise.

Among various drying techniques, sun-drying is the

cheapest and easiest. In this method, slices are pre-

pared by steeping in a sugar solution (40%) contain-

ing potassium metabisulfite (KMS) (1%) for 20 min

(or dipping in 2% KMS for 2 min), and then sun-dried

at a maximum tray temperature of 50



C for 33 h.

The dried (16% moisture) slices, packed in 300-gage

polyethylene bags, maintain an acceptable organolep-

tic quality for 9–11 months at ambient temperature

(20–35



C). An analysis of the sun-dried product

is given in Table 3. Sun-dried sapota (9.82% mois-

ture) contained carbohydrate (73.83%), protein

(2.61%), crude fat (2.30%), crude fiber (9.70%),

minerals (1.74%), calcium (94.55 mg%), phosphorus

(36.00 mg%), iron (2.16 mg%), vitamin C

(3.50 mg%), and vitamin A (466 in per 100 g). The

studies conducted to standardize the technique of

sun-drying of sapota fruit slices of cv. Kalipatti dem-

onstrated that the prepared ripe sapota fruit slices

seeped in sugar syrup (70%) containing KMS (1%)

for 3 h and then dried in the sun for 37 h at a max-

imum temperature range of 45–53



C gave a superior

dry product. The product had 1.5% moisture and

better recovery: drying ratio. These dried sapota slices

maintained high organoleptic quality in terms of

taste, texture, color, appearance, and physico-

chemical quality. The product retained its acceptabil-

ity –throughout the period of storage – 11 months.

Therefore, this drying technique is promising for

commercialization (Table 4).

0016Dehydrated sapota can also be prepared by drying

the fruit halves, initially at 70



C and finally at 55



for 4 days (8 h operation each day); the yield is ap-

proximately 30% dried product on the basis of fresh

slices. The dried product, cut and packed in 400-gage

polyethylene bags, can remain in good condition for

1 year at 5



C, or for 6 months under ambient

conditions (25–35



C). Dried sapota slices prepared

by predrying of sapota slices through osmotic process

by steeping the fresh sapota slices in an osmotic

medium containing 80% sugar syrup (70



Brix),

20% glycerol, 0.5% KMS for 6 h, followed by

draining and further drying in an electric tray drier

tbl0003 Table 3 Properties of dried sapota fruits

Treatment Recovery of driedfruit (%) Moisture (%) Totalsugars (%) Tasterating (1^10)

Storage period (months)

A s h ( % ) 3 7 11 3 7 11

Potassium metabisulfite (KMS) (2%) 30.21 16.26 0.123 49.19 51.18 54.05 7.34 6.93 5.00

Sugar syrup (40%) plus KMS (1%) 33.88 16.07 0.103 52.91 54.81 47.85 7.38 7.39 4.75

Untreated 33.54 17.01 0.088 50.47 51.42 49.57 7.42 6.57 3.00

Reproduced from Vaghani SN and Chundawat BS (1986) Sun drying of sapota (Achras sapota L.) fruits. Indian Food Packer 40(2): 23–28, with permission.

tbl0004 Table 4 Effect of various predrying treatments on physicochemical and organoleptic quality of dried sapota slices

Parameters Treatments

Untreated SS (70%) SS (70%) þKMS (1%)

Drying ratio 3.54 3.07 3.02

Dried recovery 28.20 32.53 33.13

Reducing sugars (%) 39.54 31.70 30.60

Total sugars (%) 50.63 56.00 56.39

Color rating (9) 4.60 6.30 6.90

Appearance (9) 5.40 6.30 6.90

Texture rating (9) 6.50 6.80 6.80

Taste rating (9) 6.44 6.98 7.14

SS, sugar syrup; KMS, potassium metabisulfite.

Reproduced from Vaghani SN and Chundawat BS (1997) Processing of sapota: sun drying technique. Journal of Applied Horticulture 3(1 & 2): 1–7, with

permission.

FRUITS OF TROPICAL CLIMATES/Fruits of the Sapotaceae 2795

at 60



C for 8 h, are better in eating quality and

have longer keeping quality. The recovery of the

product by this drying process is 360 g kg

1

fresh

sapota slices (Table 5). However, the technique of

drying is in need of standardization; investment in

the costly machinery for dehydration could prove

risky and development could result in failure. There-

fore, practically no such sapota dehydration units

exist on a commercial scale. However, home-scale

and cottage-scale sun-drying can be attempted, as it

involves no risky investment. In steeping preserva-

tion, the product prepared by steeping the ripe sapota

fruit slices in a sugar syrup (50



Brix) containing

sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate at 1 g kg

1

KMS (0.5 g kg

1

), ascorbic acid (1 g kg

1

) and citric

acid (1.5 g kg

1

), are most stable and organoleptically

acceptable with an increased level of drained weight,

which kept well for more then 1 year. The quality of

product under controlled temperature (4–5



C) was

superior compared to ambient conditions (22–35



C).

This technology can be exploited with advantage

both at cottage as well as industrial scale (Table 6).

0017 Freeze-drying has shown commercial promise; one

such unit has been installed and is running on a

commercial scale in Gujarat State, India. Freeze-

drying at 20



C and 0.30–0.05 mmHg pressure gives

a stable and good-quality product. The product

retains its natural size and shape, but is lighter in

weight owing to its low moisture status (< 2%). Stud-

ies have shown that the acceptable quality of wine can

be prepared from clarified sapota juice. The juice is

extracted from pulp using pectinase enzyme (pectoly-

tic enzyme – Trizyme – 0.3%), incubating for 4 h and

cold pressing. The total suspended solid (TSS) of juice

is adjusted to 25% and pasteurized. The must is

inoculated with old culture of wine yeast (Saccharo-

myces cerevisiae var. ellipsoideus) at 2% for 24 h and

siphoned, then incubated at room temperature for 10

days. The fermented juice is siphoned out and further

kept for stabilization for 10 days using potassium

tartrate and again siphoned out. Finally, clarified

wine is preserved and bottled using a suitable method.

Ripe fruits, especially overripe or ‘reject’ fruit, can be

used in liqueur production, or as raw material for the

manufacture of industrial glucose and pectin. Other

sapota products are canned pulp or slices, jam, jelly,

fruit bars, or ready-to-serve beverages. However,

these products are often very poor in terms of charac-

teristic flavors, taste, color, and storage stability. The

potential of milk-blended products needs to be exam-

ined. Sapota fruits, being rich in sugar, are also suit-

able for making fermented products. Its sap, known

as chicle, after much refining and flavoring, becomes

chewing gum. A single tree can yield up to 70 l of

chicle in just a few hours. The tree is tapped for this,

once in 3 years. The bark of the sapota tree also

contains about 12% of tannin, which has excellent

industrial value. (See Drying: Drying Using Natural

Radiation; Freeze-drying: Structural and Flavor (Fla-

vour) Changes; Preservation of Food.)

Chrysophyllum cainito

0018Vernacular names are West Indian star apple, cainito,

and tulsiphal. It is a native of the West Indies and

Central America and is cultivated in warmer parts of

India for its delicious edible fruit. The fruits are shin-

ing apple-sized berries. The immature fruits are

tbl0005 Table 5 Effect of various methods of drying on physicochemical and organoleptic quality of dried sapota slices

Parameters Drying methods

Sun-drying Solar-drying Tray-drying Vacuum-drying

Total suspended solids 62.52 64.32 61.28 60.39

Reconstitution ratio 1.83 1.89 1.93 1.75

Acidity (%) 0.12 0.14 0.14 0.15

Reducing sugars (%) 27.58 28.63 28.51 27.54

Total sugars (%) 40.24 38.34 39.83 37.17

Nonenzymatic browning 71.51 74.56 80.21 67.66

Moisture (%) 12.38 13.95 11.81 13.52

Total solids (%) 87.62 85.96 88.19 86.36

Total SO

(p.p.m.) 780 794 728 668

Color (10) 5.40 6.40 6.65 5.98

Texture (10) 6.16 6.26 6.28 6.93

Flavor (10) 5.56 6.03 5.91 6.13

Taste (10) 6.34 6.62 7.12 6.19

Appearance (10) 5.26 6.90 6.86 6.00

Total acceptability (50) 30.54 33.12 35.04 31.44

Reproduced from Vaghani SN and Chundawat BS (1997) Processing of sapota: sun drying technique. Journal of Applied Horticulture 3(1 & 2): 1–7, with

permission.

2796 FRUITS OF TROPICAL CLIMATES/Fruits of the Sapotaceae

tbl0006 Table 6 Effect of different treatments on overall physicochemical and sensory quality of steeped sapota slices during storage (average score values of 1 year)

Treatments Storage Drained weight

(%)

pH Acidity

(%)

Ascorbic acid

(mg100 g

1

)

TSS

(%)

Reducing

sugars (%)

To t a l

sugar (%)

Color

(10)

Appearance

(10)

Texture

(10)

Ta s t e

(10)

Flavor

(10)

Acceptability

(10)

To t a l

(60)

Overall

organoleptic

score (%)

SB (0.85)

þ CA (2.3) þ AA (0.2)

AT 56.21 3.94 0.29 3.15 35.28 22.90 26.63 6.21 6.54 8.14 6.91 6.61 9.06 43.47 72.45

SB (1.0) þ KMS (0.5)

þ CA (1.5) þ AA (1.0)

AT 57.62 4.26 0.25 16.82 34.95 22.88 26.35 7.05 7.34 8.54 6.49 6.18 9.50 45.10 75.17

PS (1.0) þ

CA (2.3) þ AA (0.2)

AT 56.43 4.00 0.28 3.36 35.25 22.92 26.66 6.03 6.33 8.24 7.13 6.79 9.21 43.73 72.88

PS (1.0) þ KMS (0.5) þ

CA (1.5) þ AA (1.0)

AT 56.77 4.30 0.24 16.99 35.20 22.54 26.57 7.21 7.53 8.86 6.69 6.40 9.50 46.19 76.98

SB (0.85)

þ CA (2.3) þ AA (0.2)

LT 57.07 4.16 0.26 4.87 33.60 22.45 25.63 7.78 8.06 8.03 8.44 8.21 8.21 48.73 81.22

SB (1.0)

þ KMS (0.5) þ

CA (1.5) þ AA (1.0)

LT 57.78 4.41 0.22 31.96 33.59 21.61 25.58 9.21 9.50 8.76 8.19 7.96 9.89 53.51 89.18

PS (1.0)

þ CA (2.3) þ AA (0.2)

LT 56.43 4.19 0.25 5.17 33.50 21.91 25.42 8.33 8.61 8.10 8.38 8.15 8.42 49.99 83.32

PS (1.0)

þ KMS (0.5) þ

CA (1.5) þ AA (1.0)

LT 58.17 4.45 0.22 32.65 33.45 21.25 25.31 9.40 9.63 8.81 8.29 8.04 9.94 54.11 90.18

TSS, total suspended solids; SB, sodium benzoate (g kg

1

); PS, potassium sorbate (g kg

1

); KMS, potassium metabisulphite (g kg

1

); CA, citric acid (g kg

1

); AA, ascorbic acid (g kg

1

); AT, ambient temperature

(22–35



C); LT, low temperature (4–5



C).

Reproduced from Vaghani SN and Chundawat BS (1999) Standardization of steeping preservation technology of sapota fruit slives of cv Kalipatti. A PG thesis. India: Gujarat Agricultural University.