Fruit Adventures
Just returned from a trip abroad, where, thanks to most of you reading this blog, I had the opportunity to escape for a couple of weeks for a vacation in Latin America. During the stay, I tried a variety of foods which comprise the Latin American diet. Since I tend to gravitate towards a quasi-vegetarian diet, I enjoy the fruits and veggies the best. Here, I would like to share some exotic fruits with which I've become acquainted during my most recent vacation:
Borojo:
At first sight, the fruit struck me as not yet ripened. Maybe it's because I associate green in a fruit with the green of a banana before it turns yellow. As it turns out, the fruit in all it's greenery is as ripe as it's supposed to be. The green is merely the covering shell of the fruit inside. It feels very much like the skin of an orange.
I do not know how the locals eat it, but the way I ate it is by breaking the skin with a knife and picking out what was inside. Once you pierce the skin, you can slide the ball-shaped fruit out of the skin whole. The color of the edible part is dull and texture is slimy, and there is a large seed in the middle holding the whole thing together.
Borojos are purported to be highly nutritious. Not that that matters, because (at least in my opinion) the fruit is delicious regardless. The wonderful taste is enough of a motivator to try it and try it some more!
Supposedly, the little fruit has aphrodisiac properties to boot. So if you'd like a little extra warmth and wetness in your life, the little green ball that is this fruit might be worthwhile to incorporate into your time with someone special.
Pitaya:
Exotic is the first thing that comes to mind when you see it. It's a cactus plant, which is why it's covered in what looks and feels like soft pricks emanating from it's soft surface. The surface can be either purple or yellow colors. It's the first fruit that I picked out of the pile that the street vendors where selling. Regardless of how it turned out once I tried it, I wanted to try it just because it looked like the most adventurous thing in the fruit basket!
Google says that there are various species of the pitaya plant. The species type determines the differences in the outward color of the fruit, it's skin and what's inside. How the fruit looks is determined by the climate in the region where it grows.
I had the pleasure of trying a yellow papaya w/green 'leaflets', or 'cacti'(?). In order to eat it, you cut it in half. You can cut it however you want, though it seems more practical to make a horizontal cut across the longer part of the fruit. That way, you can get more of it's inside out. The inside is very sweet, soft, with tiny seeds that are almost indiscernible.
These are some vague terms to describe something so wonderful. Maybe you'd have to try it!
Guanabana:
You may be vaguely familiar with guanabana if you've tried the nectar by Jumex. In it's solid form, the fruit is very soft and pulpy, so it's easy to make juice or pulp out of it. It's size is variable. I'm not sure why, but I'd guess it depends when it's picked off the tree. I've seen these fruits as small as an orange, and one as big as a cantaloupe.
The fruit is found in different parts of Central and South America, and also the Caribbean. Brazil, Peru and Colombia are some of the examples of countries where you may find this fruit.
Supposedly, the fruit has some medicinal qualities. Rumor has it that it's most useful for it's anticarcinogenic properties. Not sure if that's due to it's other, more general health benefits, including it's anti-bacterial properties and high nutrient content or whether it contains a more specific compound that is strictly anticarcinogenic.
Tree Tomato:
Along with the papaya, this is one of my favorites. I love the less-exotic tomatoes, which are a staple in my diet. So I'm very well-familiar with grape tomatoes, vine-tomatoes and roma tomatoes that are everywhere in grocery stores throughout the US. This type of tree tomato was a nice deviation from my regular tomato routine.
This tomato tastes like both a fruit and a vegetable. When you first taste it, you taste fruit but then the taste morphs into something a bit more vegetable-y. Does that make sense? If not, you'd need to try it for yourself and come up with a more articulate description.
Until Next Time:
There are many more fruits and veggies to include but I feel as though I must stop here before my exposition becomes something much more than a blog post. The few that I described are just a few of my favorites, which I wanted to share with you!