By Tanisha Salwan
When Mexico was under Spanish rule, European imperialists used to take some fruits along. It was one of them.
Sapota word is derived from an Aztec word ‘tzapotl’. ‘Tzapotl’ turned into ‘zapote’ in Spanish and ‘sapota’ in English.
Chikoo word derived from the Aztec word ‘chicle’ used for making chewing gum. This natural gum was extracted from the sapota plant.
Parsi textile businessman Sir Dinshaw Maneckji Petit imported chikoo saplings and planted them in his garden in Mumbai.
In 1901, Sir Dinshaw’s estate manager Ardeshir Irani took some seedlings and planted them on his land in Dahanu.
In no time, chikoo gained popularity. The Gholvad Dahanu chikoo even bagged a GI tag in December 2016.
Not only this fruit is widely consumed but India is also one of the largest exporters of it in the country.