Unusual Fruit of the Tropics
By “Awake!” correspondent in Ecuador
WHEN we new arrivals first set foot on the soil of this South American tropical country of Ecuador, it was a hot winter day in December. The sudden change from the deep-freeze weather we had just left in the north felt great, but it gave us a tremendous thirst. How we appreciated it when Carlos, our host, served us a refreshing pitcher of fruit juice.
U-m-m! How delicious! But what is it? We had never tasted anything just like it. Our host explained that it was naranjilla juice. Naranjilla, a Spanish name, means “little orange.” It had a delicate flavor that reminded us of a mixture of pineapple, orange and apple, with maybe a hint of tomato juice thrown in. To make this fine thirst quencher, Carlos explained how he had peeled the fruit, put it in a blender, added water and then sweetened it a bit with sugar.
A few days later we saw some naranjillas in a market stall. They had been brought in from their jungle home beneath the towering Andes mountains. At a distance they did indeed look like little oranges, just about the size of tangerines. But when we came closer, the appearance changed from that of oranges to smooth and shiny-skinned tomatoes. However, when we picked one up we were surprised to discover that it had minute fuzz, something like a peach, but fuzz. that was hard and brittle. What a strange fruit, this fuzzy tomato-like orange!
Higher up in the Andes the sierra people have what they call tomate de árbol, the “tree tomato,” growing in their patios along with varieties of tropical flowers. The plants are about nine feet tall and bear fruit that is multicolored, ranging from bright orange to a deep purple. The fruit is not round like a tomato, but oblong and shaped at the ends like a miniature football. The taste? Well, it is a bit like tomato juice, only much sweeter. It makes not only a tasty drink, but also delicious preserves.
Introduced to Other Strange Fruits
Sometime later we had another pleasant experience when we were first served a drink made from badea. The badea grows on a vine and resembles a small yellow watermelon with a skin so shiny that it looks as if it has just been waxed. It too makes a delicious drink that tastes something like pineapple juice, but without the acid tang of the pineapple. Our big surprise, however, came when we found this drink full of seeds and we were told to eat them, the assurance being that this was the best part. Chewing these seeds (about the size of those of watermelons) gave the drink an entirely different taste, reminding us of certain grapes grown in the northern hemisphere.
In contrast with the naranjilla and badea, the outside appearance of the chirimoya is certainly unattractive. About the size and shape of a softball, it is dull green in color and has a scaly skin much like that of a reptile. So you can imagine the surprise we got the first time we sank our teeth into a chirimoya and found that it had a flavor something like ripe pears mixed with cream and sugar, only much smoother! Many persons like to eat this fruit fresh, but others prefer it made into ice cream. Either way, one must admit that you cannot judge the homely chirimoya by its peeling any more than you can judge a book by its cover.
One day when we were passing a vendor’s cart, a friend of ours stopped and bought what are called guabas. They are long, green and flat, and are curved much like the scabbard for a saber sword. Taking the guaba in his hand, our friend struck it against the side of the building to crack open its tough outer covering. And lo and behold! inside were some twelve or twenty blobs of snowy-white cotton, each blob containing a big black shiny seed. The pleasantly sweet taste of the guaba is quite convincing: this must be the original cotton candy of the tropics!
Probably the most popular treatment for minor liver ailments here in Ecuador is a drink made from the fruit called tamarindo. And should you be looking for tamarindo in the market, look for what appear to be big beans in brown pods about six to eight inches long. Then, inside, instead of beans as you would expect, the pod is filled with a sticky substance that looks very much like the flesh of prunes, and, of course, seeds are included. A drink made from this fruit is quite pleasant, a bit like apple cider. But, remember, it is a mild laxative. However, if that is what you want, you will agree, it certainly is a nice-tasting medicine!
Most Popular of Them All
The papaya, also found in the subtropics, is probably the most common fruit on the Ecuadorian table. Though some persons might mistakenly think it is a melon, it does not grow on vines. Instead, it grows in clusters at the top of palmlike trees. Papayas vary in size, large ones weighing fifteen pounds or more.
On the outside the color of this fruit is a deep green that gradually turns yellow in spots as it ripens. Inside, the meat is deep yellow or sometimes a bright pink or red. Unlike most other fruits, papaya has a hollow inside, in which a lot of little black seeds are attached to the meat, but which are easily scraped out. The meat is sweet and juicy and very delicious, unless you happen to get a bad one with a strong rather disagreeable flavor. Usually the smaller ones tend to have the strong flavor; the larger ones are the best tasting.
People in this country eat lots of papayas, not just for the sheer enjoyment of the fruit, but also for health reasons. In the tropics one’s body needs lots of liquid to stay healthy and strong, and the papaya will supply this needed liquid in a very pure and delightful form. Then too it is an excellent aid for the digestive system. One can easily prove this to be true simply by topping off a big meal with a slice or two of papaya, and thus avoid the usual discomforts experienced after eating a lot of rich food. There is a sound medical explanation for this too. Nutritional authorities have found that the papaya is rich in an enzyme called “papain,” which helps in the digestion of proteins.
In this regard, a friend of ours described how she puts this property of the papaya to good use in another way. She soaks her meat in papaya juice for a few hours, preferably overnight, and finds it to be an excellent tenderizer. This too is due to the enzyme present in this tropical fruit.
Well, we are no longer newcomers here in this beautiful tropical country with its many varieties of birds, flowers and fruits. What seemed in the beginning to be rather odd and unusual fruits are now our common acquaintances—old friends whose company we enjoy in a very special way. If you too would like to become better acquainted with them, why not visit us?