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Canistel

Pouteria campechiana

A tough, easy sapote relative with glossy yellow-orange fruit and dense, sweet flesh, often called eggfruit for its egg-yolk look and texture. It thrives in poor, alkaline soils and ripens in winter.

Tree facts

Scientific name
Pouteria campechiana
Origin
Southern Mexico and Central America
Tree size
15–25 ft
Growth rate
Medium
Sun
Full sun
Soil
Very adaptable: sand, limestone or clay, if it drains. Tolerates poor soil.
Soil pH
5.5–8.0
Pollination
Self-fertile; one tree is enough
Cold hardiness
Young trees are damaged near 32°F; mature trees take brief dips to about 28°F
USDA zones
10–11
Years to first fruit
3–4 for a grafted tree
Season
Nov–Mar
Water
About every 14 days once established, without rain; more in heat, in pots and while young
Feeding
About every 90 days, Mar–Sep
Pruning
Mar–Apr
Taste
Rich and sweet, like baked sweet potato or pumpkin custard; dense, dry texture
Nutrition
Very high in beta-carotene (vitamin A), with niacin and vitamin C

Is canistel safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts

What you can eat

  • Ripe flesh, raw or baked

Toxic parts and cautions

  • Good to know: Unripe fruit is full of sticky latex and tastes unpleasant. Wait until it's soft.
  • Good to know: The large seeds aren't eaten.

Pets: A little ripe, seeded flesh is fine for dogs. Keep seeds away from pets.

How to eat and enjoy canistel

  • Blended into milkshakes (eggnog-like)
  • Baked into pies, custards and breads like pumpkin
  • Fresh with a squeeze of lime and pinch of salt
  • Ice cream

When it's ripe

Pick when the skin turns fully yellow-orange and glossy. Ripen on the counter for 3–10 days until soft; underripe fruit is rubbery.

Storing it

Refrigerate ripe fruit for a few days. Pulp freezes well for baking.

Canistel varieties (5)

  • Bruce

    A Florida canistel with round fruit and good flavor.

    Taste: Sweet, rich

  • Fairchild

    A canistel named for the Fairchild garden, with long, sweet fruit.

    Taste: Sweet

  • Oro

    A canistel with sweet, golden-orange flesh.

    Taste: Sweet

  • Ross

    A canistel with smooth, moist flesh, among the best for eating fresh.

    Taste: Sweet, moist

  • Trompo

    A top-shaped canistel with sweet, moist flesh.

    Taste: Sweet

Pests and diseases to watch for

  • Caribbean fruit fly

    Ripe fruit with tiny puncture marks; maggots inside and soft, rotting spots.

    What to do: Pick fruit slightly early and ripen indoors.

  • Scale insects

    Small bumps, waxy or shell-like, on stems and leaf veins; sticky honeydew and black sooty mold below.

    What to do: Scrub small colonies off with a soft brush.

  • Mealybugs

    White cottony clusters in leaf joints, under leaves and on fruit stems; honeydew and sooty mold.

    What to do: Blast off with a strong spray of water.

  • Aphids

    Clusters of tiny soft insects on new shoots; leaves curl and get sticky.

    What to do: Spray off with water.

  • Sooty mold

    Black, papery film on leaves and fruit that wipes off; it grows on honeydew.

    What to do: Control the insects making honeydew; the mold then weathers away.

  • Spider mites

    Fine pale speckling on leaves, dusty undersides and fine webbing; leaves bronze and drop.

    What to do: Hose the undersides of leaves.

Growing canistels? Let Gardyn keep track.

Gardyn tells you when your canistel needs water based on your local weather, reminds you to feed and prune in season, and keeps every harvest and photo.

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General guidance, not medical or veterinary advice. Poison Control (US): 1-800-222-1222. ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435.