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# What is a Sapote Fruit?
- URL: https://www.primalfruits.net.au/what-is-a-sapote-fruit/
- Published: 2026-07-09T12:21:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-09T12:21:46.000Z
- Author: Cyrus Roussilhes

The word sapote comes from an old Aztec word, tzapotl, which simply means soft, sweet fruit. It is a bit of a trick because these fruits do not all belong to the same plant family. They are completely different plants that just happen to grow sweet, mushy fruit that people love to eat.

Chocolate sapote is also called black sapote or the chocolate pudding fruit. It looks like a green tomato on the tree, but when it gets super soft and ripe, the inside turns into a dark brown goo that looks and tastes like chocolate pudding. It is actually related to persimmons and grows really well in warm backyard patches. In Perth some shade is beneficial. 

Mamey sapote is a big oval fruit with rough brown skin like sandpaper. Inside it has bright orange or red flesh that tastes like sweet pumpkin pie mix or sweet potato with a bit of almond. Slightly more tropical than all the others mentioned. 

Green sapote is like its close cousin, but the skin stays green even when it is totally ripe, and it tastes like sweet caramel and squash. Very cold tolerant but needs even more shade than average Sapote.

Yellow sapote is often called canistel or eggfruit. It looks like a bright yellow lightbulb and has an inside that feels like a cooked egg yolk, but it tastes sweet like maple syrup and pumpkin pie. Probably the easiest one to grow in Perth. Lucuma is very closely related. 

Ross sapote is very similar to the yellow one too, but growers say it tastes even better, like a rich caramel flan without being dry. 

Butter sapote is another name people use for these rich, smooth fruits because eating them feels like spreading soft butter. I had two in my collection but I lost them both to the plant gods.

White sapote is a completely different character because it is actually part of the citrus family, even though it tastes nothing like a lemon. It looks like a green apple on the outside, but when you scoop out the white flesh, it tastes like vanilla pudding mixed with banana and peach. This is the easiest one in both Perth Metro and cooler climates. 

There are others too, like the sapodilla which tastes like brown sugar and pear, proving that the sapote group is more of a delicious dessert club than a real family tree.

Here are the botanical names for all the sapotes mentioned in the article: Black Sapote (Chocolate Sapote): Diospyros nigra Mamey Sapote: Pouteria sapota Green Sapote: Pouteria viridis Yellow Sapote (Canistel): Pouteria campechiana Ross Sapote: Pouteria sp. 'Ross' Butter Sapote: Pouteria campechiana (often considered a superior selection of canistel) White Sapote: Casimiroa edulis 

Most are available to buy in Perth from rare fruit tree nurseries.