Island Delight

“Island Delight” - Painting by Alton R. Lowe

This painting of pink cocoplums was one of four paintings of Bahamian berries reproduced later as Bahamian commemorative postage stamps. Friends, when they saw the painting, told me they could taste the cocoplum just by looking at the painting! Like most Bahamians, I have a special fondness for cocoplums. Nothing is sweeter than a fully ripe cocoplum.

When I was a boy, as summer approached, we would keep a sharp eye on the ripening cocoplums in the Gillam Bay area. When they were at their peak, we would take our sacks and sometimes get not just dozens, but several hundred cocoplums to take home. My mother made a dessert from the cocoplums called “stewed" cocoplums. The dessert was very sweet and had a distinctive flavor unlike any other fruit.

Interestingly, as an adult, I visited San Salvador when the black cocoplums, which grow all over the island, were at their ripest. What a treat that was! On Green Turtle Cay, we had no black cocoplums. Ours were pink and purplish pink and a light green, almost white. For those of you who have never tasted a cocoplum, you are in for a real treat. - Alton