If you don’t know what an ice cream bean is, don’t worry . . . you’re not alone.

While immensely popular in its native habitat in South America (villages even hold competitions to see who can find the biggest ice cream bean pods), it doesn’t enjoy the same celebrity status here in Australia, where it grows wild in the tropical north.

It’s a shame because the white, spongy flesh inside the seed pods is delicious!

So named because the flavour has been described as similar to vanilla ice cream, I think it’s closer to that of a custard apple.

It’s soft and spongy in texture and the juice that comes out when you chew it is quite sweet.

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