9 Fruits You Should Try In Belize & How Locals To Eat Them

Jump to section
A few fruits that grow in Belize include: craboo, cacao, cashew, golden plum, kenep, mangosteen, noni, starfruit, and soursop.
Find out when they are in season and how the locals eat them.
1. Craboo
Craboo, known as nance in Spanish, is a small round and yellow fruit with a pungent smell. It has a thin shiny skin with white oily flesh and small black pit.
The texture is that of an old apple and the taste is distinct with an umami and mildly sweet experience.


June to Aug
Craboo Season
How is craboo eaten locally?
Craboo is commonly eaten fresh and ripe. Other ways include:
- Stewed in a jar with sugar and water
- Fermented in vinegar
- Crushed in evaporated milk
- As craboo wine
- As craboo ice cream.
Craboo Quick Facts | |
---|---|
Taste | Combination of pear, lychee, banana |
Other Names | changunga, muruci, murici, nanche, nance, nancite, chacunga, kraabu, savanna serrette |
Species Name | Byrsonima crassifolia |
Nutrition | High in Vitamin C, Fiber, Potassium |
2. Cacao
The cacao tree produces a fruit called a cacao pod which has seeds called the cacao beans. After the cacao bean is roasted, peeled, and made into a paste, it becomes what is called 100% chocolate. The cacao bean is precious and is considered the food of the gods by the Mayans. Besides the edible cacao bean, the sweet white flesh that surrounds it can be eaten upon opening the cacao pod.

All Year Round
Cacao Season
Remember, what we know as every-day chocolate is, in fact, a processed form of cacao with additional compounds added such as milk and sugar.
How is cacao eaten locally?
Sadly, many locals haven't discovered the magic of cacao. Most of the cacao is only enjoyed by the traditional Maya families and the rest is exported.
Cacao Quick Facts | |
---|---|
Taste | Dark, bitter, like unsweetened chocolate |
Other Names | kakaw |
Species Name | Theobroma cacao |
Nutrition | High in Antioxidants, Iron, Magnesium |
3. Cashew
The cashew tree bears a cashew seed + cashew fruit which can both be eaten and used in various recipes. We are familiar with the cashew nut, but that has to undergo a long process before it's edible. Traditionally, the cashew seed is ripped apart from the fruit, sun dried and roasted to remove an external acidic white layer. It's then peeled, roasted once more and then cracked open to reveal the cashew nut.

July to Sept
Cashew Season
How is cashew eaten locally?
Locals eat the cashew nuts after it's been toasted. The cashew fruit is then used to make cashew wine, cashew jam, and cashew stew. Outside Belize, it's normally used as a cheese replacement due to its creamy texture and flavor.
Cashew Quick Facts | |
---|---|
Taste | Nutty, cheesy, buttery |
Other Names | caju |
Species Name | Anacardium occidentale |
Nutrition | High in Healthy unsaturated fats, Copper, Antioxidants |
4. Golden Plum
Golden plum or Amabarella is green fruit with a thick leathery skin and fibrous seeds. It's super fibrous. In fact, you'll need dental floss after eating this. When eaten unripe, the flesh is crisp and firm and has a sour taste. After ripening, it becomes yellow, soft and has a sweeter taste. It's a fruit worth the flossing effort.


July to Sept
Golden Plum Season
How is golden plum eaten locally?
This strange little fruit is normally eaten with salt and chili pepper. It can be eaten ripe or unripened. Sometimes, locals put them in a brine of salt water and pepper to preserve for later.
Golden Plum Quick Facts | |
---|---|
Taste | Sour, acidic, mildly sweet |
Other Names | ambarella, june plum, caja manga, casharana, jocote de mico, jobo indio, mangotin |
Species Name | Spondias dulcis |
Nutrition | High in Vitamin C, Phosphorous, Calcium |
5. Kenep
Kenep, Kinep or huaya in Belize is one of my favorite fruits. I always enjoyed cracking open the soft green shell and sucking the juicy, gelatinous orange pulp that's inside. It has a seed that surrounds the flesh which you have to spit out, but the flesh to seed ratio is perfect! When ripe, it's bittersweet and juicy in taste.

May to June
Kenep Season
How is kenep eaten locally?
Locals love eating kenep just as much as we enjoy eating craboo. It's a pastime for us to grab a bag of these natural treats and eat the entire bag. Finding the ripest and juiciest fruit by observing the quality of the green shell is a fun game to play.
Kenep Quick Facts | |
---|---|
Taste | Sweet, acidic |
Other Names | talpa jocote, mamón, limoncillo, skinip, huaya, or mamoncillo |
Species Name | Melicoccus bijugatus |
Nutrition | High in Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Fiber |
6. Mangosteen
Mangosteen, not to be confused with a mango, is a tropical fruit originating from South East Asia. It's the size of a Jamaican lime, has thick skin, normally dark red purplish in color and brown when ripe. The fruit pulp is white and soft inside with unevenly divided segments. To open the fruit, use a sharp knife to cut around the middle and twist the two halves apart.

July
Mangosteen Season
How is mangosteen eaten locally?
Since it's rare, the common way to eat it is raw after it has ripened. The flavors are exquisite.
Mangosteen Quick Facts | |
---|---|
Taste | Sweet and sour |
Other Names | purple mangosteen |
Species Name | Garcinia mangostana |
Nutrition | High in Antioxidants, Vitamin C, Folate |
7. Noni
Noni is a stinky smelling fruit that claims to have a plethora of health benefits including being used as cancer treatment. It's likely called noni because it resembles an "anona" which is Spanish custard apple.

All year round
Noni Season
How is noni eaten locally?
Locally, noni is used as plant medicine. It is normally mashed up and taken in spoonfuls as medicine in the morning and evening. Locals combine it with other flavors to make it more pleasant. Alternatively, it is used as wine.
What is it believed to treat?
Noni and its juice is claimed to be used to treat cancer, diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol problems, high blood pressure, HIV, zheumatism, psoriasis, allergies, infection, and inflammation. It's believed that the fruit can relieve sinus infections, menstrual cramps, arthritis, ulcers, sprains, injuries, depression, senility, poor digestion, atherosclerosis, addiction, colds, flu, and headaches. It is further claimed that the juice can heal scratches on the cornea of the eye. This mouthful of information comes from an old local blog post.
Noni Quick Facts | |
---|---|
Taste | Stinky cheese, bitter |
Other Names | morinda, Indian mulberry, beach mulberry, cheese fruit |
Species Name | Morinda citrifolia |
Nutrition | Rich in Antioxidants, Vitamin C, Biotin, Folate |
8. Starfruit
Starfruit is a unique fruit that resembles a star when cut in cross-section. The entire fruit is edible. The outside has a somewhat waxy skin and the flesh is crunchy, firm, but super juicy. When ripe, they turn yellow and brown from the unripened green color.

Nov to Jan & May to Aug
Starfruit Season
How is starfruit eaten locally?
When in season, starfruit is normally eaten raw since the whole fruit is edible. We don't do it much, but juicing starfruit would be a good idea along with using it as garnish for drinks and salads.
Starfruit Quick Facts | |
---|---|
Taste | Combination of apple, pear, grape and citrus |
Other Names | carambolo, balimbing, ma fen, kamaranga |
Species Name | Averrhoa carambola |
Nutrition | High in Vitamin C |
9. Soursop
Soursop is a fruit that resembles a green egg with spikes from the outside. The inside has a white pulp or flesh that is both sweet and sour with a core of indigestible black seeds. The leaves, when boiled as tea, are also claimed to help treat certain type of cancers.

March to April
Soursop Season
How is soursop eaten locally?
Soursop is delicious when eaten raw but locals prefer preparing it as a juice and even better, as ice cream. It's common to find homemade soursop ice cream at small stores or sometimes sold by vendors on small pickup trucks selling on the streets.
Soursop Quick Facts | |
---|---|
Taste | Sweet, sour, like natural ice cream |
Other Names | guyabano, guanábana, anona, graviola, and corossol |
Species Name | Annona muricata |
Nutrition | High in Vitamin C, Antioxidants |
This site is proudly ad-free which means bias-free opinions & suggestions. Your kind support helps keep it running.