Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

mombin a name applied to some fruits of the genus Spondias.

The red mombin, or Spanish plum, Spondias purpurea, a native of tropical America, is a fruit of major importance in parts of Mesoamerica, and was long ago introduced to the Philippines by Spanish colonists. The fruits vary greatly in size, form, and palatibility. They are commonly oval or roundish, from 2.5 to 5 cm (1–2") long and ranging from deep red to yellow in colour. Good ones have juicy flesh with a subacid, spicy flavour, not unlike that of the cashew fruit (another member of the family Anacardiaciae) but less pronounced. They may be eaten fresh, or boiled and dried.