lucuma - any experience/information?

[Guest guest]

has anyone heard of lucuma? here are 2 links that explain some aspects of it.

I haven't been able to find any information regarding its saccharide content,

but so far it sounds legal. its supposed to have a maple syrup-like taste and

be excellent in ice cream!

http://www.detoxyourworld.com/acatalog/lucuma.html

http://herbalguides.com/guides/lucuma

Licia

colitis/SCD Feb 2006

no meds

[Guest guest]

<snip>  Lúcuma's posh title is lúcuma obovata or

pouteria obovata. The tree is long lived, evergreen, and belongs to the

Sapotaceae family -- so it's similar to the canistel and sapote. irst certified

organic importers of lúcuma. Lúcuma's posh title is lúcuma obovata or pouteria

obovata. The tree is long lived, evergreen, and belongs to the Sapotaceae

family -- so it's similar to the canistel and sapote.

Carol’s notes: Pouteria (Lucuma) is a member of the

Sapotaceae family and hence has milky sap. The sap is described as ‘latex’

in Hortus Third. I could not find any info on the particular species (obovata)

nor any info on the fruit, other than what is described on the Lucuma website.

I would not recommend this product. You do not know if any

processing aids (not required on label or disclosed) were used. Plus, the

product lists sucrose which is illegal.

<snip> In addition Lucuma has various types of sugar:

in 100g of dry pulp you find

8.4g of glucose, fructose 4.7g, sucrose 1.7g and inostol 0.06g.

So, intriguing as it sounds it does not appear to be legal.

Carol

CD 22 yrs  SCD 5 yrs

From: BTVC-SCD

[mailto:BTVC-SCD ] On Behalf Of Licia

has anyone heard of lucuma? here are 2 links

that explain some aspects of it. I haven't been able to find any information

regarding its saccharide content, but so far it sounds legal. its supposed to

have a maple syrup-like taste and be excellent in ice cream!

http://www.detoxyourworld.com/acatalog/lucuma.html

http://herbalguides.com/guides/lucuma

[Guest guest]

Hi Marilyn

Well! I can think of a few uses off the top of my head, but I admit I haven't

yet given it exhaustive thought. I'd love to use it for the maple syrup flavour

(I'm a Canadian living in the UK, pining for dark maple syrup), and that it

seems to be quite widely used as an addition to ice cream (I can't tolerate

dairy now so I'm going to start experimenting with nut milk ice cream this

summer). And because I have always been epicurious! So far, I've come up with

the following ideas:

nut milk or coconut milk ice cream

fruit sorbet / popsicles

to add to hot nut milk, maybe with cocoa butter, vanilla, etc

with honey, as a maple syrup-flavoured topping for pancakes, etc

to add to baked goods - cookies, cakes, pies, truffle dust!

spread for bread

sauces - both sweet (e.g., baked apples with lucuma/honey sauce + walnuts) and

savoury (e.g., lucuma/whisky sauce for pork, or a lucuma/nut butter sauce for a

twist on north african meat dishes)

Phew! You're putting me through my paces, Marilyn! But it would be really

great to have come across another food that we can add legally, and I'm trying

to be very thorough, so that if we really do our homework properly, and it does

turn out to be acceptable, we can add an interesting new ingredient/flavour for

all of us who'd like to give it a try.

thanks!

Licia

colitis/SCD feb 2006

no meds since july 2006

> >SO, given the above, what are your thoughts? I

> >do not see a really clear-cut answer. Sorry to

> >persist with this, but its really great to be

> >able to discuss this with others so knowledgable in the ways of SCD.

>

> My question -- and I admit I have not had a

> chance to go through all the links provided --

> is, why do you want to use this? And what for?

>

>

> — Marilyn

> New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

> Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

> Darn Good SCD Cook

> No Human Children

> Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

>

[Guest guest]

All of your points are valid. I would still not use this

product! You could write the company and ask about processing aids, anti-caking

agents or anything else used to manufacture the fruit powder. Request a

physical letter.

As I’ve said before, I am not a chemist! If you use this

product (I still think it’s illegal) and don’t see the results

(healing) that you are looking for then I would suspect this powder. Just my 2

cents… I personally would not chance it, even 5 years into SCD.

Carol

CD 22 yrs SCD 5 yrs

From:

BTVC-SCD [mailto:BTVC-SCD ] On Behalf Of Licia

Thank you so much for taking the time to look

into this and replying. Having re-read all of the links that I attached, I

found the following (to address the points you made):

1. you pointed out that lucuma has milky sap, also referred to as latex.

Firstly, the place where we found this reference is:

http://herbalguides.com/guides/lucuma

and it states:

" The pulp (mesocarpium) has a particular flavor and aroma, very pleasant,

bright-yellow colored, firm, dry, mealy, very sweet but permeated with latex

until almost overripe. "

and

" The immature fruit contains a bitter white latex. When the fruits fall

from the tree, they are still unripe. It has to be stored in hay or other dry

material until soft.

An unusual advantage is that the fruit, when ripe, can be dried and milled into

a mealy flour. "

So, while it does contain a milky sap/latex, it does not seem to persist when

the fruit is ripe, and it is only when ripe that it seems to yield a suitable

material to be ground into powder.

Also on this point, other fruits also contain latex, for example, mango and

papaya:

http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_papaya.htm

2. you stated that lucuma contains sucrose, which, as a stand-alone ingredient,

is illegal. However, the sucrose mentioned is listed as a naturally occurring

ingredient in the fruit, along with glucose, fructose and inositol. Here's the

link and the quote:

http://herbalguides.com/guides/lucuma

" The sugars present in the pulp of Pouteria lucuma (Ruiz & Pav.)

Kuntze are glucose, fructose, sucrose, and inositol. In the green fruit only

sucrose can be detected but as maturation takes place, the amount of glucose

and fructose raises, and inositol can then be detected. The amount present in

100 g pulp of dry, mature fruit is as follows: glucose 8.4 g, fructose 4.7 g,

sucrose 1.7 g, and inositol 0.06 g. "

Sucrose occurs naturally in many foods, including honey, fruits, vegetables,

and even nuts and seeds - I'm using Wikipedia and eHow as my sources - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5511133_food-sucrose-found.html

3. you wrote: You do not know if any processing aids

(not required on label or disclosed) were used.

So true! Unfortunately, this also applies to anything I buy that I don't make

from scratch myself - cheese (ah, the heady days when I could still eat it),

honey, ground almonds, baking soda, wine, frozen vegetables, coconut products,

preservative and vitamin derivatives, etc, etc! It is very crazy-making!

4. you also wrote that you found an entry in Hortus Third, but that the main

point seemed to be with regard to the latex. There is also a tiny bit more

information on the internet if you google Pouteria lucuma.

SO, given the above, what are your thoughts? I do not see a really clear-cut

answer. Sorry to persist with this, but its really great to be able to discuss

this with others so knowledgable in the ways of SCD.

Licia

colitis/SCD Feb 2006

no meds since July 2006

[Guest guest]

SO I'm reading your messages about Lucuma and I'm Peruvian where the fruit

Lucuma is plentiful.

It's delicious! Specially for juices and icecreams. I have seen Lucuma powder in

Whole foods and was tempted to buy it but I'd prefer to get the fruit itself. My

son loved and try Lucuma when where in Peru two years ago and I'd but the fruit

and make posicles and ice cream for him. He did well with it.

Seasonally some stores might carry it. The same goes for Maracuya (passion

fruit) which is also delicious for preparing fresh juices and Popsicles and

puddings.

I might have seen frozen Lucuma in some Latin grocery stores (the fruit not just

the flour).

Well, good luck I know the research can be exhausting and it is controversial if

it legal or not but I'll say try it and if you tolerate it enjoy iT!!

Patty

>

> has anyone heard of lucuma? here are 2 links that explain some aspects of it.

I haven't been able to find any information regarding its saccharide content,

but so far it sounds legal. its supposed to have a maple syrup-like taste and

be excellent in ice cream!

>

> http://www.detoxyourworld.com/acatalog/lucuma.html

> http://herbalguides.com/guides/lucuma

>

> Licia

> colitis/SCD Feb 2006

> no meds

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Marilyn,

>

> <grin> I'm not Canadian, but a Canadian friend

> said I probably knew more about Canada (and the

> Canadian Rockies) than 90% of Canadians,

> including some who live in the Rockies.

You probably do!!

> My suspicion is that lacuna may fall in the same

> category as date sugar, which is basically dried,

> ground dates. It's dried, ground lacuna.

Very possibly. However, this is the same definition of coconut flour, if I am

not mistaken, which is permitted (if advanced). Wherever I look, I can find

legal and illegal parallels to assume a link to, and I think we can refine this

better!

> So I think this might be something you could,

> potentially, look forward to when you have

> healed, but it's definitely not something to have

> in the early days on the diet.

Absolutely - purely because of its form (dessicated/powdered), I think it must

be placed in the quite advanced category.

> Plus, you have to look at your

> sources and whether or not there are free-flowing

> agents (like sugar alcohols, which are illegal)

> and or processing aids which don't have to be

> listed under the ingredients, but can still (like

> corn starch dusted on otherwise-legal sliced

> meats) make the entire product illegal.

Sigh. (Holding head in hands.) Food is so good, and a little inconvenience is

such a side-issue. We live in a world where we are treated like helpless and

incapable little children. Get me started at your own peril!

> I did find

> http://www.lucumafruit.com/lucuma_nutrition.html

> which tells us that, like other fruits, lucuma

> has significant carbs -- but it does not tell us what those carbs ARE.

Here's the carb breakdown:

The sugars present in the pulp of Pouteria lucuma (Ruiz & Pav.) Kuntze are

glucose, fructose, sucrose, and inositol. In the green fruit only sucrose can be

detected but as maturation takes place, the amount of glucose and fructose

raises, and inositol can then be detected. The amount present in 100 g pulp of

dry, mature fruit is as follows: glucose 8.4 g, fructose 4.7 g, sucrose 1.7 g,

and inositol 0.06 g.

Source:

http://herbalguides.com/guides/lucuma

>

> We know that many fruits contain carbs which, as

> stand-alones, are not legal, but as part of a

> whole fruit are just fine. On the other hand, we

> have the example of the illegal plantain and the

> legal banana which resemble each other. And even

> the legal banana is not legal if it is not ripe.

This point about ripeness (and starch content) came to mind when reading about

the processing of lucuma, and the latex issue. Lucuma needs to be ripe to yield

the flour:

From http://herbalguides.com/guides/lucuma

" The immature fruit contains a bitter white latex. When the fruits fall from the

tree, they are still unripe. It has to be stored in hay or other dry material

until soft.

An unusual advantage is that the fruit, when ripe, can be dried and milled into

a mealy flour. "

I'm finding conflicting information with regard to lucuma's fibre content - from

1.3% to nearly 36%

http://herbalguides.com/guides/lucuma

Nutritional Value of 100 g fresh pulp and flour.

(after a Peruvian study)

Fibre: fresh fruit: 1.3g flour: 2.3g

VS

http://www.scielo.org.pe/scielo.php?pid=S1810-634X2008000100006 & script=sci_artte\

xt

specifically

http://www.scielo.org.pe/img/revistas/rsqp/v74n1/a06tab01a.jpg

A small variety of fibre in other fruits:

http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories/calorie_counter/fruit.htm

(I just picked up the first source of " fibre in 100g of fruit " I could find on

the net - sorry, its really late here, and I'm tired of getting to bed at 2am,

then having to chase a toddler all day!)

Perhaps I'm just not familiar with the fine points of differentiation between

fibre, total dietary fibre, soluble fibre, insoluble fibre, etc, but also starch

- I can find virtually nothing on the net with regard to its starch content,

just a margin of speculation.

> Definitely more research needed! >

I have exhausted my search capabilities for today, and I, too, am exhausted!

I'm looking forward to reading what anyone else comes up with after reading more

about this. I've really been enjoying this research exercise, but I wish I

didn't have to do it quite so late!

Carol: Thank you for your comments too. It really is an unknown, and hence

better for us to err on the safe side. But the lure of a possible new

food/flavour to add to our menu, coupled with the detective work now possible on

the internet make this a very enjoyable challenge!

Licia

colitis/SCD Feb 2006

no meds since July 2006

[Guest guest]

Great! First hand experience! Is it your son that is on SCD, or are you both

following it? I have had a look on the internet, but I can't see anything but

the powder available here (I live in the UK). I may give it a try sometime in

the future, particularly when I have caught up on my sleep.

Licia

colitis/SCD feb 2006

no meds since july 2006

> >

> > has anyone heard of lucuma? here are 2 links that explain some aspects of

it. I haven't been able to find any information regarding its saccharide

content, but so far it sounds legal. its supposed to have a maple syrup-like

taste and be excellent in ice cream!

> >

> > http://www.detoxyourworld.com/acatalog/lucuma.html

> > http://herbalguides.com/guides/lucuma

> >

> > Licia

> > colitis/SCD Feb 2006

> > no meds

> >

>