Wednesday, September 5, 2007

All the Fruit that's Fit to Eat

Bananas and pineapple, papaya and mangoes, watermelon, but that’s not all.

Mamon is one of my new favorites.

It looks kind of like a huge green grape, but the outside is actually a rind. You bite into it which splits the rind and pop the middle into your mouth. The work doesn’t actually stop there, though.

There is a large pit, and you work your way around it trying to get all the flesh and juice from what feels like a large marble in your mouth. Generally I just end up squeezing all the juice out and end up with what looks like a hairy peach colored almond.

It’s sweet and tart (when it’s a good one) and perfect for hot days (that would be just about all of them).

Elvis at the the University Students house in Managua where we all shared bunches and bunches of mamon.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing about mamon. I love learning about exotic produce from around the world. I like your description of how to eat it too, so if I ever come across it, I can look like an old pro ;)
figswithbri.com

Anonymous said...

in trinidad, we call those chenette

Nicole said...

Thanks Bri, thanks Keifel,

I'd never seen these before I came to Nicaragua. It reminds me how incredibly diverse the world is, especially in the little things, and to really appreciate the local things I've always taken for granted.

Anonymous said...

In Santo Domingo we call them Limoncillo. They're in high season now, so they're everywhere and they're delicious!

Anonymous said...

cool. in mexico we call them huaya...i've been looking for them in nyc but haven't found them yet...jealous!

Baby Girl said...

The first time I ever had these was in Jamaica and they have a different name for them too. Then about two years later a trainer at a gym I belonged to had them. He's Puerto Rican and we were in Philadelphia. He got them in Camden, NJ at a bodega/grocery. I thought they weren't available in the US. I'm going to search for them this weekend.

Nicole said...

Thanks for all the different names Giselle, Julianna and baby girl. I wonder if the names are so local still because they are imported/exported much.

And good luck searching up north!

Anonymous said...

Amazing! I was introduced to them as canepas, by some Guyanese and Jamaican coworkers. (But that was my phonetic interpretation of the spelling.) You can buy them in the summer from certain street fruit carts in NYC. I've seen them labeled "canepas," "ganeps," "kenepas," etc. It's a pretty cool testament to the way language travels.

The wikipedia entry is neat reading.

PS Julianna, I've found 'em in the Astor Place area--there are three fruit guys and one of them generally has them. I think they might be out of season by now, though. :(

wildfire said...

I've been eating mamon since I was young!!! they're my favorite fruit to eat when we go to panama to visit my family!! they are the best and i have never seen them anywhere besides Panama!

Anonymous said...

In Dominican Republic y call it LIMONCILLO :)~

Unknown said...

in new york we call them canepas

Anonymous said...

I love mamon. It's hard to come by here in GA. I am from Panama and It is one of the things I miss the most

Chara said...

I love Mamon! i used to live in Panama and other than the sounds of howler monkeys, i miss eating mamon the most... is there any idea if they can be packaged and shipped stateside??

thanks
Chara

Jen said...

its one of the best thing you'll ever eat......at least for me. I love them. I eat bags of them!!!!!

Anonymous said...

its one of the best thing you will ever eat......at least for me. I love them, i cud eat it everyday