As you wander through the markets of the Yucatan, you will soon come across some strange looking fruits and vegetables. We are home to a number of unique varieties of products. During your visit, give them a try!
Looking like something drawn by Dr. Seuss, the pitahaya is a bright pink cactus fruit. Eaten raw, it is slightly sweet and low in calories. Like a kiwi, it is full of tiny, indigestible seeds. It is a great addition to a fruit salad and can be made into juice.
The nance is a small, sour, yellow fruit, similar to a cherry, with a strong flavor and a penetrating aroma. The fruits are eaten raw or cooked as a dessert, and in colonial times they were included in soups or meat fillings. They also become a sweet, Dulce de Nance, prepared with the fruit cooked in sugar and water.
Guaya, a relative of the lychee, has a thin but stiff layer of skin, traditionally cracked by teeth. Inside the skin is the sour, acidic and creamy pulp of the fruit, which is sucked by putting the whole fruit into the mouth.
Saramuyo is another alien looking fruit from the Yucatan! In other places it is known as sugar or sweet apple. This member of the anona family is found in local markets, especially in the Valladolid area of the Yucatan. It has the green, scaly skin typical of anonas, with soft, sweet white flesh that is used in ice creams, sundaes, and waters.
The fruit of the mamey sapote is oval in shape, similar to a soccer ball, and is 3 to 8 inches long. It has a relatively thick woody brown skin and its flesh has an orange/reddish tinge. Although you can eat the mamey sapote raw, you must first remove the skin and the holes inside. Raw mamey sapote is usually eaten with sugar, it is also added to fruit salads, mixed fruit drinks, and as an ice cream flavor. The flavor is similar to sweet potato pie with a hint of almonds.
Sable is an herb, somewhat of a cross between chives and chive leaves.
Sweet potato, white sweet potatoes, is used much like potatoes. They are usually boiled and then pureed with butter, salt, and pepper.
Chili Maxs (Puree) – Tiny red or green chilies that pack a punch!
Elote pibil -or pibilina- The corn, much harder and less sweet than North American sweet corn, is soaked in salty water and then cooked underground in a pit lined with hot rocks, a Mayan style of cooking known as pibil. The end result tastes like smoked corn.
Chaya, or mayan spinach, is an important source of vitamins and protein. It must be cooked, since the raw leaves are toxic.
Naranja agria – sour orange – is used in many recipes, especially those that use achiote paste. If that’s not available, you can use a 50-50 mix of white vinegar and orange juice. They look like green and bumpy oranges.
A member of the gourd family, chayote is pale green in color and shaped like an avocado. It can be used in any recipe that calls for summer squash. The fruit does not need to be peeled and can be eaten raw in salads. It can also be boiled, stuffed, pureed, baked, fried, or pickled.
Soursop: This fruit has a leathery green skin covered in soft spines. It’s a favorite ice cream flavor, and the juice is available everywhere.
Tuna – sweet prickly pear – this is the fruit of the nopal. It is eaten raw, made into fruit drinks, or cooked into a jam. Beware, the intense purple-red juice colors everything!
Be adventurous! Visit the local markets and try some local products!
