So I kept stumbling upon recipes that called for this mysterious lucuma powder.  I had no idea what it was, or how to find some, so I was left wondering, “Can I substitute for it?  Can I just leave it out? I don’t know what to do!”  I put it on my shopping list, where it remained, for about 6 months until I finally tracked it down while grocery shopping for my mom 300 miles away!  By which point I had forgotten of course what recipes I needed it for, but I snatched it up just in case.  Anyways… to make a long story… well, long, :) … I’m here to save you all that trouble and teach you what lucuma powder is, where to get it, why you might use it, and all that jazz.

Lucuma, courtesy of Creative Commons.
Original located here.

Lucuma is a fruit grown natively in Peru – lucuma ice cream is as common there as vanilla is here.  Lucuma is a natural sweetener, with a distinctive, maple-like taste. Therefore, when you see a recipe call for lucuma, it is to add sweetness to the recipe naturally.  You can occasionally find Lucuma in health food stores, but your best bet is probably to order it online, like many of the more obscure ingredients.  As a natural sweetener, it is filled with all sorts of nutritional benefits, just like all of our other plant-based ingredients.  :)  That beautiful orange color is indicative of one of them, that it is full of carotenes, and it is also particularly known for vitamin B3.

Have you experimented with lucuma yet?  I would love to know what you’ve made with it and what I should try!

Recipes

These are new to me – I only just tracked down a package, so I haven’t gotten to try it yet, but they all look wonderful.

1. My first goal is to try to make lucuma ice cream – have to go with the traditional use first!

2. Given the season, pumpkin squares with lucuma frosting sound like a must try.

3. I can never turn down cookies – shortbread holiday cookies sound like a wonderful healthy alternative to the usual holiday cookies.

Enjoy!! Let me know what you try and how they turn out!