Purple Star Apple (Mekong Delta)

Some fruits tell you the season has arrived the moment you cut them open. The purple star apple — vú sữa, “milk of the breast”, in Vietnamese — is one of them: a glossy, deep-purple skin around ivory flesh blushed with violet near the rind, soft and juicy, releasing a cool, milky-sweet juice as soon as the spoon goes in.

A Mekong Delta specialty

Purple star apple is a signature orchard fruit of the Mekong Delta, grown along the Tien and Hau rivers. Its best-known area is Ke Sach (formerly Soc Trang province, now part of Can Tho City), often called the “purple star apple capital” of southern Vietnam. Alluvial soil and riverside sun give round, even fruit with taut skin and a clean, gentle sweetness.

Fruit profile

• Shape: round, about 160–300 g per fruit
• Skin: deep purple and glossy, evenly coloured
• Flesh: ivory with a violet tint near the skin, soft and very juicy
• Taste: mildly sweet and lightly creamy, with the fruit’s signature milky aroma
• Seeds: few, around 4–5 per fruit

Tree-ripened, packed with care

Star apples are only truly good when they ripen on the tree — fruit picked too early stays latex-bitter and never sweetens. Ripe skin is delicate and bruises easily, so each fruit is hand-selected, wrapped in a foam net and packed in insulated foam boxes to arrive as glossy as it left the orchard.

Season

Main season runs from late November to March — right through Lunar New Year, when purple star apples are a favourite gift and offering fruit. Staggered harvesting by growers can extend supply into April. Outside these months, please contact us to check availability.

How to enjoy it

• Pick ripe fruit: glossy skin, evenly soft to a gentle press, little white latex at the stem.
• Chill: 30 minutes in the fridge before serving makes it cooler and sweeter on the palate.
• With a spoon: cut across the middle and scoop the flesh; avoid the layer next to the skin, whose latex is bitter.
• Orchard style: roll and gently squeeze the fruit until soft inside, make a small hole at the stem and sip — the classic Mekong childhood way.
• Smoothie: blend the flesh with fresh milk and ice — no sugar needed.

Storage

• Soft fruit: eat within 2–3 days, or refrigerate to keep a few days longer.
• Firm fruit: leave in a cool, airy place at room temperature for 1–2 days to soften evenly.
• Handle gently and never stack heavy items on top — ripe star apples bruise easily.

Wholesale supply

Fusana Food supplies purple star apples in season to supermarket chains, fruit retailers and distributors. Contact us for wholesale pricing and availability: [email protected] · +84 984 600 411.

QR code on the packaging

The QR code printed on our packaging leads straight to this page. The permanent address is fusanafood.com/vst — you can type it in if the code will not scan.