Malpighia punicifolia, is the most important member of a group of small fruiting trees and shrubs of which most are native to tropical and subtropical America. It is also known as acerola, and as the W. Indian/Puerto Rican/native/garden cherry. It is much cultivated in the W. Indies, where the fruit is eaten fresh or made into pies and preserves; and has been introduced to other areas with suitable climates, such as Brazil and Hawaii.
The fruit is bright red and the size of a cherry (up to 3 cm/1″ in diameter). The shallow furrows running down the outside betray the position of the three stones which are to be found inside. The flesh is juicy and subacid, more like a raspberry than a cherry in flavour. When cooked it tastes like a tart apple. It is remarkably rich in vitamin C, outdoing even rose hips in this respect and having a twentyfold advantage over oranges, weight for weight.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
