Popular Peruvian Fruits, Part One
Posted on | March 10, 2011 | 7 Comments
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I have never been a big fruit eater. I’ve generally stuck to the basics – apples, bananas, oranges – the occasional pear. Part of the deal is I don’t like dealing with seeds or pits. This is why I rarely eat grapes – can’t stand the seeds. And watermelon – I love it, but HATE the seeds.
(As a side note, I’m the same with fish – love it, but will only eat boneless filets)
But moving to Peru exposed me to a lot of fruit that I had not really taken a chance on before – mango, papaya, passionfruit. And there are a lot of other fruit here that I had never even heard of before – tuna, tumbo and aguaymanto.
I’m still not a huge fruit eater, but we do try to incorporate fruit into our breakfast every day, either raw or in frozen smoothies. That said, here’s a list of some of the more popular fruits found in Peru.
Aguaje - This is a variety of palm native to Peru and can be found growing wild in the Amazon region. It’s called moriche in English. The fruit is mostly used to make jams and jellies, and is also used for a refreshing drink called aguajina.
Aguaymanto
Aguaymanto - In the US, this fruit has a variety of names like Inca berry or Peruvian cherry. It’s also popular in S. Africa, where it’s known as the Cape gooseberry. It’s a small round fruit that comes covered in a papery pod. The fruit itself is quite sweet and good to eat on its own or in salads.
Camu camu - This native fruit grows on a small bush in the Amazon wetlands. It’s a small round fruit, with thin, smooth skin and a slightly acidic taste. It’s best known for being rich in vitamin C – said to have 30 times as much as the orange. It’s mostly used for jams and drinks – it’s acidic flavor makes it popular in cocktails.
Maracuya - Best known as passion fruit in English, we’ve already had a long discussion about it right here.
Cocona
Cocona - Another Amazon fruit, the cocona is often called the “Amazon tomato” because it’s flavor is a bit of a cross between tomato and lemon. I haven’t tried this fruit yet, but have been told it makes a delicious juice. It’s also used in cocktails and salsas.
Granadilla - in the passion fruit family, we talked about this in the post with the maracuya.
Platano bizcocho – This is a type of plantain or banana. It’s very short – about three inches, with yellow peel and a nice sweet flavor. It’s very similar in taste to the regular bananas that we have in the US. It’s usually eaten right out of hand, although it’s great in a frozen smoothie, too. Not for frying.
Lucuma - Another native fruit, I devoted an entire post to this one.
Click Here for part two of this series!
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7 Responses to “Popular Peruvian Fruits, Part One”
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I got tired of life happening while I made other plans, so I quit my job and came to Peru. I live here with my Peruvian husband, two sons, three dogs and various other family members, depending on the weather.
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March 10th, 2011 @ 11:37
Great post! The variety of fruits is what my son loves about Peru… his favorites are: Granadillas, mangoes, and passion fruit… I make this drink out of Platano Palillo that is more of a comfort food for me, but is also a great winter drink, very popular in the amazon area!
March 10th, 2011 @ 13:27
I love fruit! And I love discovering new ones. When I lived in Indonesia I learned about a whole slew of new ones. Then late last year I spent some time in Ecuador and there were more new ones. They make great juice drinks with them, like they apparently do in Peru.
Do you have something called a tree tomato?
And now looking at your post, I see other fruits I’ve never seen before. I think it’s wonderful to have such a variety of fruit all over the world. Really, who needs candy?
Miss Footloose | Life in the Expat Lane´s last [type] ..Expat Surprise- Skirt Power in Bolivia
March 10th, 2011 @ 14:48
@Astrid My kid won’t eat any platano except platano de la isla, so that’s what I buy most of the time. I haven’t tried platano palillo – I’ll have to look it up in the market.
@Maria – I can just imagine! It took me a while to get used to eating them, now it’s my favorite – the one time I can deal with seeds.
@Miss F – it is nice to have such a wide variety – I keep a mixture frozen to make smoothies in the morning for quick breakfasts. I’ve never heard of a tree tomato – do you know what it’s called in Spanish?
February 17th, 2012 @ 16:40
Hey Kelly!
I know it has been almost a year since you posted this, but I was hoping you would know of a fruit I came across when I was in Peru in 2007. The skin was the same color as a melon, except smooth and had purple, vertical stripes. It tasted almost like a sweet cucumber and was SO juicy. I was also instructed to eat the whole thing, no need for peeling or pitting. I lived in Salamanca, and would always see them in the markets around my house. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Taylor
February 17th, 2012 @ 16:42
A quick clarification: the skin was the same color as the outside of a melon. That peachy, creamy color.
February 18th, 2012 @ 19:18
I’m pretty sure you’re talking about the pepino, or pepino melon. It’s on wikipedia > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_muricatum
February 18th, 2012 @ 19:38
Yes! That is it. Thank you so much for the info