Shea fruit

Vitellaria paradoxa

fruit

The sweet green pulp around the nut, eaten raw at the end of the dry season, when few other fruits are ripe.

Origin

Savannas of West Africa

Season (United States)

May to August

Preparation

When fully ripe, the fruit is peeled with a fingernail and its pulp eaten raw; the nut is not eaten: it is what gives shea butter.

Molecules

In small amounts, not counted Pectins · Insoluble fibers

Did you know?

It ripens just before the rains, when the granaries are empty: a lean-season fruit.