Quenepas

Quenepas are a very popular fruit here in the island. They grow in grape like clusters in trees as tall as 80 feet during hurricane season. Next to the mango they are my favorite. While visiting Ponce I bought a cluster since that is the way most street vendors sell it. Ponce is the best place to find the sweetest and biggest quenepas, and you see them in every corner thus the reason for traveling to the south a couple of hours is more than worth it

The best ones have a shiny and smooth skin. Usually, after a few hours the skin gets dull and rough, although they still taste ok. That is the way I know how long they have been plucked from the tree. They tend to ripe too much after a couple of days and some vendors try to trick you into buying rotten ones. So I always look for the shiny ones and fridge to keep them fresh

The tough outer shell of the quenepa bursts easily between your teeth with just the slightest pressure revealing a slick, fleshy pulp clinging to a pit. The texture of the pulp feels kind of weird in your mouth, but the fruit is tangy, sweet and slimy. You just suck the gelatinous pulp. You have to be careful, since the smooth ball can easily slip down your throat and choke you and the pit will stain your clothes with a nasty brown color. The good thing is: you can roast the seed (pit) and eat it like sunflower seed, so nothing goes to waste

Without exaggerating, I would say that I eat at least more than a thousand every season. I buy them every chance I get. When my nutritionist told me that I could only eat 5 a day, I just laughed out loud. That is something I won’t do!

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• » Tue-09/7/10 | cat: Favorite Things