Meet Your Favorite New Superfood: Lucuma

Another day, another superfood. Every time you think you’ve got a handle on society’s trendiest, most nutrient-rich ingredients, another seems to materialize. Such is the case with the latest superfood to enter the zeitgeist: lucuma, a nutrient-rich Peruvian fruit we’ve literally never heard of before today.

Lucumas look a little like avocados—if avocados were round like oranges, stemmed like apples and shelled like that OPI Crackle nail polish that was oh-so popular in the early 2010s. And that’s just from the outside. Cut a lucuma open, and you’ll be greeted by soft yellow flesh that kind of resembles a dry egg yolk, at least as far as texture goes.

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The whole thing might sound a bit strange—a crackled, round avocado that has the mouth feel of a dry egg yolk?—but experts assure the fruit is as healthy as it is delicious. And apparently, it’s pretty damn delicious. “Lucuma has a uniquely sweet, fragrant and subtly maple-like taste,” Elissa Goodman, holistic nutritionist and lifestyle cleanse expert, explains, adding that the fruit tastes a bit like a sweet potato.

Of course, we’d be remiss not to mention the elements that qualify lucumas for superfood status. The fruit is packed with iron (B2 and B1), zinc, vitamin B3, calcium and protein. According to Goodman, it’s also an excellent source of carbohydrates, fiber and minerals.

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Sold, but not sure how to cook it? We feel you. Goodman recommends using lucuma as a sugar substitute in smoothies, baked goods and coffee; its sweet nature lends itself well to dishes like this, and you can buy it already ground into a powder for easy access. (Goodman has a lucuma-filled chocolate mousse recipe you can give a try if you’re in the market for a little cooking inspo.)

And a quick note for those of you who’ve already added lucuma to your weekly grocery lists: You can find lucuma at most health food stores and sites, including Amazon and Whole Foods. The fruit is most widely available in powder form, and Goodman recommends reading the ingredients to be sure you’re getting straight-up lucuma powder—not lucuma powder mixed with other stuff.

So what are you waiting for? Go forth and whip up that assuredly delicious lucuma mousse. Your tastebuds (and general well-being) will surely thank you later.

 

Originally posted on SheKnows.