Health Benefits of Chickoo or Sapodilla

Sapodilla Fruit And Chickoo Nutrition

• Chickoo tree and chickoo fruit: This ever green tree grows to about 30 or 40 m in height. The chickoo tree bears fruit twice a year.
  
  
  
  Chickoo, which looks quite like a rounded potato, has a brown skin with a sweet and grainy flesh. It has a high latex content and is about 4 to 8 cm in diameter. In India, chickoo is grown in several states including Chennai, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
• Origin: Research shows that the chickoo fruit was first found in Yucatan and in south of Mexico and in north eastern Guatemala. Chickoo trees were also believed to be cultivated all through Central America in earlier days.
• Cultivation: The chickoo tree grows well in a sunny and warm climate sans frost. While, chickoo trees can grow in any type of soil, good drainage is essential.
  
  
  
  These trees can go without water for a long time too, but regular watering will yield more fruit.
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• Chickoo health benefits: The chickoo fruit as well as the tree have medicinal benefits and various parts of the plant are used in home remedies to cure health problems.
• Chickoo is high in tanning. So, it is believed that when chickoo is boiled with water, the decoction is good for curing diarrhea.
• A mixture made of chickoo flowers and fruits can bring relief and can prevent pulmonary problems.
• A concoction made with the old chickoo leaves can prevent cough and cold as well as diarrhea.
• Some people prepare a tea with the bark of the sapodilla or the chickoo tree to cure dysentery and diarrhea.
• The latex from the chickoo tree is used to fill up cavities in some places in the tropics.
• Culinary uses: The sweet, grainy texture and flavor of the chickoo fruit makes it a favored ingredient in salads and desserts. Chilled and sliced chickoo is a dessert in itself. It can also be used in custard batter or in baking. Chickoo can also be made into pies or whipped up with salads.