Lucuma is a delicately flavored tropical fruit native to the cool highlands of coastal valleys in Peru. With its high nutritional value, it has been an important crop since ancestral times, proven by the many ceramic remains from the Moche and later Inca cultures alluding to this great fruit. In fact, it was once referred to as the Gold of the Incas. It’s tasty flavor and aroma are hard to describe or compare to any other. Some may say it …

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Lucuma is a delicately flavored tropical fruit native to the cool highlands of coastal valleys in Peru. With its high nutritional value, it has been an important crop since ancestral times, proven by the many ceramic remains from the Moche and later Inca cultures alluding to this great fruit. In fact, it was once referred to as the Gold of the Incas. It’s tasty flavor and aroma are hard to describe or compare to any other. Some may say it tastes like caramel custard and others a bit like pumpkin. Its texture, unlike most fruits, is dry, quite starchy and with a paste-like consistency that melts in your mouth. You have to try it!

The scientific name for this fruit is Pouteria Lucuma and it grows best at altitudes above 1,000 up to 2400 meters. It has an ovoid shape of about 5 to 8 cm long, green yellowish color when ripe. Pealing its thin skin reveals a dry and starchy orange-yellow flesh. Peru is the main producer, although it is also now grown in parts of Chile. The bulk of the production is used in dehydrated form with only a small percentage reaching the local markets to be consumed fresh. Once dehydrated, the lucuma powder (or flour) is mainly sold as flavoring to be used in ice creams and other dairy products.

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