Another Fabulous Fruit: Nispero

Known in other countries by the names sapodilla and naseberry, these little orange fruits come from a tree that is a distant member of the rosebush family. In China, Japan and India, níspero trees were used ornamentally as well as for the fruit. For millennia only Asia knew of the níspero, but in the 1800s the tree was introduced to Spain and then transplanted to the New World, where its sap became a prime source of chicle (gum). The níspero is usually eaten fresh but is also cooked and eaten as preserves.