Fruit - Maracuya

On a recent trip to a small village just North of Chichen Itza I noticed several young boys sitting at their house scraping the innerds out of several bright yellow fruit

The pulp they were excising was also a greenish yellow color, quite glossy, and with pronounced black round seeds. 

I so wish I had taken a photo of the boys.

I asked the boys about they fruit they were working with and was told it was Maracuya.  They also explained it was quite agria  (sour). 

They offered me one, which I gladly accepted.

After I got home with my new find I started researching.  Apparently the Maracuya is the fruit of the Passion Flower vine!   I love the passion flower, what a gorgeous flower!

Not knowing exactly what to do I scraped the pulp into my blender, added about a litre of water, several tablespoons of sugar, and processed until the seeds were quite fine.  I tasted, adjusted sugar to my taste and then offered a glass for myself, my housekeeper, and husband. 

The skin of the fruit is quite tough and very rigid, but the scraping of the innerds was quite easy. 

We all pronounced it DEE-LISH!.  Now if I could just find more!

Cashew Apple, aka jocote de marañón aka cashew mombin

May 13, 2010

We have a young neighbor, Pepe;  he is 21 and from Campeche.  He is here in Merida studying 3 languages; English, French, and Portugese.  Pepe comes over most Wednesday afternoons to practice his English, and to help Tom practice his Spanish.

A few weeks ago Pepe brought his father over to meet us.  His father is a pilot and speaks English, although haltingly.  Dad and I visited and toured the garden while Pepe reviewed a test he had just received back from school.  Dad and I discussed many 'plant' things,  he was telling me about a fruit currently producing in his garden in Campeche.  I was unfamiliar with this fruit.

Pepe returns to Campeche nearly every weekend. When he returned the following weekend he brought us a bag of the unfamiliar fruit with the promise to show us how to prepare a beverage from it the upcoming Wednesday.  Well he didn't show up the  last 2 Wednesdays so it was just yesterday that we finally got our lesson.  Pepe indicates that the fruit will keep for months in the fridge.

The cashew tree, Anacardium occidentale L., is called marañón in most Spanish-speaking countries. The true fruit of the tree is the cashew nut.  The cashew nut itself is encased in a double shell containing a caustic phenolic resin (similar to Poison ivy or oak?). An interesting feature of the cashew is that the nut develops first and when it is full-grown but not yet ripe, the cashew 'apple', aka jocote de marañón aka cashew mombin develops as a plump, fleshy, pearish-shaped, waxy, yellow, red, or red-and-yellow skin fruit with a spongy, fibrous, very juicy, yellow pulp.
The production and processing of the cashew nuts themselves is complex and has many difficult problems due to the caustic/toxic shell casing. Because of this most Latin Americans and West Indians over the years have been more enthusiastic about the juicy cashew apple and have generally thrown the nut away;  except in Brazil, where there is a highly developed cashew nut processing industry.

Here are the beautiful fruits when we initially got them.

We received instruction for a drink.  Here are all the ingredients 

Freshly washed cashew fruit / jocote de marañón, lime juice, sugar, fresh cold water, blender, and a sieve.

You fill the blender with 2 fruit and fresh cold water, liquefy this.  Let it settle a bit and slowly pour the juice through the sieve into a clean pitcher or jar.  As the liquid skims of the top you will get to the pulpy part, allow the juice to seep through, discard the pulp.  Return the liquid to the blender, add the juice of one large lime, and 1/2 c of sugar, top off with a bit more water and process and taste.  Pepe's taste for the juice is a bit different from ours, he wanted quite a bit more water, AND sugar.

You can of course adjust for your personal taste.  Here is a glass of juice - it's quite lovely, light and refreshing; friends' comments on the flavor were a mix of cucumber and pear.  That seems quite accurate.

Here's a table with some nutritional info:

Food Value Per 100 g (3.5 oz) of Fresh Cashew Apple*

Moisture	84.4-88.7 g
Protein	0.101-0.162 g
Fat	0.05-0.50 g
Carbohydrates	9.08-9.75 g
Fiber	0.4-1.0 g
Ash	0.19-0.34 g
Calcium	0.9-5.4 mg
Phosphorus	6.1-21.4 mg
Iron	0.19-0.71 mg
Carotene	0.03-0.742 mg
Thiamine	0.023-0.03 mg
Riboflavin	0.13-0.4 mg
Niacin	0.13-0.539 mg
Ascorbic Acid	146.6-372.0 mg

*Analyses made in Central America and Cuba.


Medicinal Uses: Fresh cashew apple juice is prescribed as a remedy for sore throat and chronic dysentery in Cuba and Brazil. Fresh or distilled, it is a potent diuretic and is said to possess sudorific properties (causing or increasing sweat).

I found this instruction online for getting to the cashew nut - you need to burn or toast the protective cover first to get it to crack open and give you the already roasted nut.  Things to keep in mind before you go burning the cashew armored seed: 1. The shield carapace produces a very strong smell as the oils and fats in it begin to burn. 2. The oils and fats inside the armored shield also produce a lot of smoke as they burn. 3. It’s best to roast the armored seeds in the left overs of slowly burning charcoal or wood logs.
I have not tried this, nor do I promote it, it is here for information only.

Tropical Fruit - Guaya Fruit

Guayas are a relative to the lychee and are also sometimes called Guaya Cubano,and/or Spanish Lime.

The Guaya fruit ripen during the summer and are found locally in small markets. Branches or bags of guayas are also sold by street vendors although rarely do you find guayas in the supermarkets.

The fruits are lime green and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter containing a single large cream colored roundish seed, which is sometimes roasted like a chestnut. The seed is surrounded by a yellowish/apricot translucent sweet juicy pulp. Juice from the pulp is also used for flavoring drinks.



To eat the guayas you tear the tough skin with a tooth or fingernail; the fleshy seed pops right out and into your mouth where you suck off the thin layer off pulp that surrounds it. The taste, to me, is sweet and fresh. The only drawback is that the juice will permanently stain clothing.

For more info on the growth and cultivation of guayas, or Melicoccus Bijugatus visit this site.

Tropical Fruit - Mamey

I'm one of the few people I know that enjoys a mamey - to the point that I will just spoon mamey from the skin and eat it straight. I think they are wonderful. I think they taste a bit like a cooked pumpkin or sweet potato with a bit of sugar and spice mixed in.

Because mamey are so lovely and soft I would use them as a substutute for any recipe that calls for cooked pumpkin or sweet potato. Quite a time saver.

My darling esposo enjoys mamey as custard/ flan, and in baked goods; so here is a SUPER SIMPLE Dairy Free Flan/Custard recipe.

Mamey Custard / Flan
½ Cup Sugar (for the caramel liquid) **
1 Cup Mamey flesh
1 ½ Cup soy milk
½ Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract (optional)
3 Large Whole Eggs
2 Large Egg whites
1 Tablespoon Honey or Pure Maple Syrup


** To prepare the Flan mold: In a small pot add enough water to the sugar to make a wet sandy consistency. Place on stove top on high heat until caramelized to a light golden color. Carefully drop a few drops of water into the pot to stop the cooking. Immediately pour the caramel into the ramekins to cover the bottom. ** this part is really optional, you don't need the caramel liquid as the custard/flan is really sweet enough.**

To prepare the custard: Combine the mamey, soy milk, vanilla and bring to a boil. Separately whisk together the eggs (3 whole and 2 whites only) and honey/syrup. Spoon a few tablespoons of the hot mamey mixture mixing into the eggs to temper them. Whisk the remaining mamey into the tempered eggs.

To bake the flan: Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the mamey custard into the ramekins. Place the ramekins into an ovenproof casserole dish. Add hot water to the dish until the water level is half way up the ramekins. Place in a very low temp oven, about 150ºc for about 1 hour, or until flan sets. Remove from pan and let cool. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours until well chilled.

To serve: Run the tip of a paring knife blade around the inside edge of the ramekin. Invert the ramekin over the serving dish. The flan will slip out of the mold and caramel liquid will flow on the plate.

After I took this photo I cut the mamey open to show the beautiful orangey color. Unfortunately It was rotten on the inside! So sorry, but no beautiful cut fruit photo, however if I get a good one I'll come in and add it

The mamey sapote (Pouteria sapota) grows well and is widely appreciated in the Central American, Latin American, Caribbean areas. The shape is a bit like a US style football, with a soft brown coloring, and a fuzziness reminiscient of a kiwi, but just a bit tougher. To check for ripeness the fruit should give gently under a gentle squeeze, or nick the skin with a fingernail and you should see a deep rich orangey color. The large central seed is toxic, so dispose of it properly.

Tropical Fruit - Mangos, and Mango Chutney

Mangos, Beautiful Mangos, Succulent Mangos

There more than 1,000 different varieties of Mangos grown in tropical and subtropical lowlands throughout the world, Mangoes are grown as yard trees in warm locations along the southern coastal areas in the UsofA, as well as every neighborhood here in Merida.

But really - Who knew there were so many types of Mangos, or that they could be so darn good! Being from the UsofA, and being a good cook, but not an overly adventurous, or inspired cook I was accustomed to the imported Mango from my favorite big box grocery store. And being typically uninspired I never bothered to find out how to select a mango and therefore always selected under-ripe, because they looked better. I have never really appreciated Mangos until setting up housekeeping here in Merida. Sure, while vacationing I frequently ordered the fruit plate in restaurants, and thoroughly enjoyed, without knowing the details, most all the fruit put in front of me.

Now I live in the land of amazing tropical fruit; and sooooo many varieties of each, and am developing a taste for and am experimenting with them with great joy.

Right now Ataulfo Mangos are in season. Wednesday’s are fruit and veggie discount days at the ‘Supers’ (grocery stores). Last week I paid 6 pesos per kilo for beautiful yellow Ataulfos.

Today, I am making mango chutney.

I have cooked often with store bought chutneys, but have not made my own before. It’s really so simple, well except for the peeling and cutting of the mango.

There are special techniques that you learn, check this video on how to cut a mango.

The recipe I am using is a bastardization of several I found on the internet

6 medium size Ripe Ataulfos, chopped

1 ½ c sugar

1 c vinegar

¼ cup minced ginger, use fresh or crystallized

½ c raisins

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

3 med-lg cloves garlic, finely chopped

¼ tsp chili flakes, or ground

¼ tsp salt

So here you see my lovely Ataulfos starting to be peeled and chopped

And here are the peeled mangos, and my gathered ingredients

Everything all ready to cook


Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.


YUM, mango chutney.



This batch was a bit too sweet for Tom and me, so I reduced the amount of sugar when writing my recipe above, plus we would like it with a bit more spicy heat so will likely add more chile.

Tropical Fruit - Caimito

My mercancia, Rita, who stops by several times a week with buckets of fresh goodies recently had a number of caimitos (pronounced “kai-mee-toe,” with an emphasis on the “mee”). I bought several so that I could tell you about them.





















Caimitos are relatives of Sapotes. The skins are tough and the colors range from green to purple. The pulp is white to purple, soft, and milky surrounding several glossy dark seeds. When the fruit is cut in half between the stem and end the seeds are seen to radiate outwardly from the center, producing a star-shaped pattern (which I unfortunately don't show, and que lastima, we've already eaten the caimitos).

Do not bite directly into a caimito as the skin contains an unpleasant latex; The white sappy latex is will make your lips sticky or gummy, like tacky glue. The tacky coating will go away after a few lip smacks. Select a fruit that is a bit soft for best flavor. When still a bit on the firm or under-ripe side there is a drying alum property that I personally don’t appreciate. I typically slice them in half, between stem and end and scoop out the soft pulp with a spoon, discarding the seeds.

Another way to serve the fruit is to cut around the middle, or score the skin completely, then holding the fruit stem-end down, twisting or squeezing the top gently, the flesh will be felt to free itself, and should pull away.

In trying to describe the flavor I am unsuccessful to come up with a common taste comparison, except perhaps slightly like a grape, but not as sweet. A caimito tastes like a caimito. Generally the fruit is eaten fresh, although it may be an ingredient in fruit salads and sorbets. Mixing the cut up fruit with sour orange juice is quite refreshing. Caimito’s are nutritious, containing moderate amounts of calcium, phosphorus, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and are a good source of anti-oxidants..

From Wikipedia
Chrysophyllum cainito is a tropical tree of the family Sapotaceae, native to the lowlands of Central America and the West Indies. It grows rapidly and reaches 20 m in height.
It has numerous common names including cainito, caimito, star apple, golden leaf tree, abiaba, pomme du lait, estrella, milk fruit and aguay. It is also known by the synonym Achras cainito.
The leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple oval, entire, 5-15 cm long; the underside shines with a golden color when seen from a distance. The tiny flowers are purplish white and have a sweet fragrant smell. The tree is also hermaphroditic (self-fertile).

Tropical Fruit - Sapote

These are a pair of Sapote.

The outer skin has a feel similar to a Kiwi, but without the fuzz. These fruit are best eaten when they are quite soft to the touch.

Open them up and inside is a single shiny black seed about the size of an almond or just a tad bigger.

I think this is one of the sweeter fruits so prefer just 1/2 a larger, or a small size fruit as a snack.

I serve them just cut, and with a spoon; the flavor is like a cooked spiced pear; you know, poach a pear with simple sugar, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and voila, Zapote.

I'm not an ice cream eater, but I can see how they'd be a great addition to a bowl of plain vanilla ice cream. Or so I've been told.

Go, Enjoy!

Tropical Fruit - Pittaya, Pitaya

This is the Pitaya vine growing over the wall in my garden from my neighbors house. The flowers will bloom at the ends of the vine, and then that is where the fruit will form. Therefore, I have planted several pieces of vine on my side so that the neighbor will benefit as well

This is how beautiful is the fruit, and in all honesty this isn't a particularly lovely example.

OH - But look at this!

Here's what Wikipedia says about Pitaya

The fruit has a lovely light custardy texture, with tiny soft seeds similar to those in a kiwi. The flavor is very subtle, mostly they are just a light custardy refreshing sensation. Quite popular here is an Agua de Pitaya, which is just simply the fruit, some water, and some sugar all run through the blender.

OK, gotta go, my snack awaits!

Tropical Fruit - Cherimoya o Biriba

On July 18 Jonna posted about tropical fruit http://www.baddog.com/blog/blog.html

I am following up on that theme with a recent discovery for me. We have several people that frequent our neighborhood selling fruit and veggies. Yesterday one woman came by, wish I had thought to grab the camera, she has a big bucket she carries on her head, as well as two smaller buckets she carries. She is in huipile, and is sometimes accompanied by a young girl. Would have made for a nice photo.

Anyway, I bought several fruits (the box of juice is for scale)

the green on the far left is an avacado, the pink is a huge pittaya, the lovely manzana bananas, and the other green, lower right, is a ... and here I thought she said zaramoya, however, after excrutiating internet research, ok it took me just a few minutes - I believe it is either cherimoya or biriba.

By looking at the internet sources, it appears more like biriba, http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/biriba.htm however the lady said cherimoya so who knows. http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/cherimoya.htm

OK, so you break open the fruit, it is very squishy and soft - use a spoon to scoop out 3-4 of the fruit coated seeds, be sure to get some of the frut along the outer skin as well. You then roll the fruits around in your mouth sucking off the fruit - then remove the seeds. This is a wonderfully refreshing fruit, and not really filling, I think I'll put the next one in the fridge for a while before eating. The texture is smooth and custardy, and the flavor is unique but maybe a bit baked soft apple/pear, but better.

Next fruit will be the pittaya - We have a pittaya vine in the backyard, but no flowers or fruit just yet!