Mas Fruta

Yes, that means "more fruit" for those who aren't 100% confident of their Spanish.  Even for those who do know Spanish from some other parts of the world, some of the names for the following fruits might still leave you stumped.  But that's what's unique about Andean fruit--though they might be found elsewhere, many of these fruits, like uvillas, are native to Ecuador, Colombia, and sometimes Peru.

Naranjilla (Solanum quitoense) - the Latin name for this fruit actually means "from Quito," prooving that this is definitely an Ecuadorian fruit.  I actually couldn't find an English name for it (little orange??), but naranjilla, commonly used for juice here, has gone from a "what is this" fruit to one of my favorites!  I'll take it as juice, icecream, a shake, whatever!

Tomate de Arbol (tamarillo) - another native of the region, this fruit is now cultivated as far away as Australia and New Zealand.  Although tamarillo is often used for juice, it's great as a snack - just cut it in half and scoop out the center.  Or you can cut a hole at the top and squeeze out the insides :).  I've also heard that heating the fruit and eating it with honey has medicinal effects on a sore throat.  I'm definitely trying that next time I'm sick!

Pitahaya (yellow dragonfruit) -think "sweet to the 10th power."  I can't say this is my favorite fruit, even though I have a huge sweet tooth.  However, every once in a while I like to cut a pitahaya open and scoop out the juicy flesh and seeds for an afternoon snack.

 
Uvilla (cape gooseberry or Inca berry) - the only time I've eaten fresh uvillas was when hiking with friend.  We came across some growing wild and ate them along the way.  However, my favorite Ecuadorian granola uses dried uvillas as a tangy addition to the mix.  Native to the Andean mountain region, this fruit grows wild and isn't as common to find in a fruit market as the rest. In reality, it looks a lot like a small cherry tomato growing in a pod that refuses to take on any color other than orange.

Guanabana (soursop) - I've never had this fruit prepared in any other way than as a juice, so I'd call that standard fare for guanabana.  However, when I was out on the coast a couple months ago, several people had soursop growing in their backyard, so here's the evidence:

Fruta!

One of the most common questions I get from people back home is--what's the food like over there?  Someday I promise to post pictures of some of the most common main dishes and give an explanation of the general diet, but I'll start off with fruit...

One fruit I really miss from the US is blueberries, which I have yet to find in Ecuador, but besides that, we have all the common fruits you would find in the US--apples, oranges, blackberries, bananas (some of your bananas might actually be from Ecuador), mangos, mandarin oranges (in season now!), plums, and strawberries (there is no season--they are produced all year round!).

On top of those fruits, there are many others that are different, strange, and downright weird-looking.  But hey, as long as they taste good, right?  So here's a few of those random fruits, and I'll tell you about the rest next week.

Achotillo (Rambutan) - I was first introduced to this fruit in Nicaragua, where it's called mamon chino.  The bright red prickly skin is cut or bit open to reveal a sweet, white flesh surrounding a large pit.  When I first tried this fruit, it would take me a full 15 minutes to pry the flesh off of the pit by rolling it around in my mouth.  I'm sure my Latino friends got a kick out of watching me as a gringa try to master the art of eating achotillo.

Taxo (Banana passionfruit) - it wasn't until some Cuban friends recognized this fruit from eating it in their homeland that I dared to try it.  From the outside, taxo could easily be mistaken for a small, rounded banana, but once you cut it open, there are hundreds of juicy pods surrounding bitter seeds.  The best way to eat it is in a batido (milkshake), but if you aren't careful and accidentally blend the seeds, it becomes a bitter drink.

Noni - I'd heard about the medicinal properties of this fruit before, but I didn't know it grew in Ecuador until a businessperson offered me some fruit from her backyard.  When we picked it off the tree (pictured below), the fruit was still yellow-green, but within a day it turned completely white.  I still don't know how to prepare or eat it (it's pretty bitter), but hey, maybe eating a few of these fruits lengthened my life :)

Maracuya (passion fruit) - after living in Central America, I absolutely love maracuya.  It's one of those fruits that's intensely acidic and is best as a juice with lots of sugar, but I would even eat it straight out of the shell.  Even when I'm back in the US, I can often find the juice in Salvadorean pupusa restaurants.  If I had to guess, this is probably the fruit that I'll mot likely be able to eat for the rest of my life.

Granadilla (also called passion fruit) - of the unusual fruits of Ecuador, this is the one that I tend to buy the most.  Although it looks a little like maracuya, granadilla is anything but acidic or sour.  To eat it, you crack open the outer yellow-orange shell, then peel away the skin, and inside there are hundreds of black seed surrounded by grey capsules of sweet juice.  It's a "crunchy" fruit due to the seeds which are eaten with the juice, and since the best way to eat it is by slurping out of the shell, it's also a noisy fruit to eat.  But the noise and possible mess are all worth it.

So there are a few fruits for your culinary enjoyment, with more to come in a future post.