The fruit is a smooth, glossy small round berry about the size of a marble with numerous small yellow seeds. It has a bright orange-yellow skin and sweet but pleasing grape-like tang when ripe, making it ideal for snacks, pies or jams. It is popular in fruit salads, sometimes combined with avocado.

Its most notable feature is the single papery pod that covers each berry. Because of the fruit’s decorative appearance, it is sometimes used in restaurants as an exotic garnish for desserts. If the fruit is left inside the husks, its shelf life at room temperature is over 30–45 days.