Cacao pod, also known as caocao or cocoa fruit, is a tropical fruit native to the Central and South Americas that is best known as the primary ingredient of chocolate. The fresh fruit is commonly enjoyed raw where it is available. The ripe flesh is sweet and soft with a flavor that is reminiscent of mango, lemon, and green apple. Cacao fruit can be checked for ripeness by scraping the husk with your fingernail: an underlying flesh that is green is unripe while white or yellow is ready to eat.
Uses: Carefully make an incision along the hard outer husk. Repeat until you feel the knife striking the soft insides. Split open gently and scoop out the tender flesh is relatively tender flesh with a spoon. Both the white pulp and the seeds (cacao beans) are edible raw and make great additions to smoothies or fruit mixes.
Each pod weighs about 3 pounds. Check for ripeness before opening for best flavor.