There is so much Mexican fruit that I had never tried before I visited. There are a million different kinds of mangoes here and everything is served with at least one lime.
Oaxaca should mean land of tropical fruit because you can’t walk a block without chili-topped sweetness.
Food in Mexico
But I’ve been in Mexico a month and learned there are also many fruit I have never seen so I gathered the courage to go to Le Merced market to buy a bunch.
I wanted to try to talk to the vendors to learn how to eat them.
Mexican Fruit
Guayabas
More commonly known as guava fruit and while I’ve had the martini and fruit juices I’ve never had one whole.
Guavas have a firm texture like a pear but taste similar to a tart mango. They are perfect for road trips as they don’t seem to bruise easily.
Ciruelas
Known as jocote in English although I’ve never heard of either.
The size of a kiwi, they taste similar to a nectarine with hints of sweet apple but like every fruit, can be eaten unripe with salt.
Chico zapote
Also known as sapodilla and it doesn’t look like much. If it hadn’t been for the woman at the market I would have thought it was a potato.
21 DELICIOUS : Exotic Fruits Around the World
When I ate it I knew I had tasted the spicy, gingery fruit before and after a quick wikipedia search I realized it was a berry.
This is also a common Filipino food native to the Philippines as well as a popular Vietnam fruit so it’s likely that I ate it 10 years ago. It’s also one of the most common fruits in Nicaragua.
Zapote has also made its way to Asia where the black sapote is one of the most interesting fruits in Cambodia.
The trees only bloom twice a year and the berries are amazing.
Granada Moco/Granada Chinas
Native to the mountains and was very peculiar. While it looks like an orange pear, when you pick it up it feels hollow.
It’s similar to the sweet tasting passion fruit; the pulp is full of hard seeds blackish, surrounded by a gelatinous coating.
I’ve since learned the translation into English is pomegranate snot/mucus – not really the most appetizing fruit after all.
The gratifying thing about learning about all of the different fruit in Mexico was that I did it in Spanish.
I couldn’t understand everything but I think I’ve graduated from responding with the equivalent of a toddler’s Spanish to that of a pre-schooler.
i thought guava was the yellow one below it. the last one reminds me of passion fruit, mucousy inside and all.
(i’m catching up on your posts now that i’m back in the land of wifi. helps with my blog procrastination thing too)
Hi there! I’m a new reader, just stumbled onto your blog while research an upcoming trip to Mexico. I like the food posts the most!
I actually love the granadas! Love to stirk it into yogurt to give it a bit of crunch. I first tried them in Colombia but didn’t know they were available in Mexico! Guess I’ll be looking for some on our next trip there!
Great photos! Mexico does have great and unusual fruits too, I found Tamarindo to be quite popular and unknown to me 🙂
I’ve been on a fruit escapade. It is everywhere and everything is so fresh!
It’s only the beginning, the fruit in Latin America is amazing.
I want to try all this stuff. We need to talk because I am serious 😉
The translation of the last one is gross! It looks like passion fruit. Yum! As for the others, I haven’t heard or seen any of them. I’ve tasted so many new fruits due to traveling, including jack fruit and red bananas. (I’ve avoided durian)
mangos!!!! I’ve been eating at least 2 or 3 a day, now I need to figure out which kind they are!
This is such a beautiful post. I have been to Mexico severl times never had a chance to explore the local fruit market. You got it all.
The amount of fruit in the markets in Mexico can definitely be intimidating. Nice job taking the bull by the horns and trying out new stuff!
Just got back from Puebla, and I unfortunately did not try any of these types of fruit. Wish I would have had guava. I did have papya, watermelon, and of course lime. Next time I will check out the fruit market.
You have your pictures and captions mixed up! Plus this does not exist: Ciruelas: this translates as “plum”, not as follows: Known as jocote in English although I’ve never heard of either. The size of a kiwi, they taste similar to a nectarine with hints of sweet apple but like every fruit, can be eaten unripe with salt.
And the Granada China is not a pomegranate (granada)! it is a Passion Fruit.
Tejocotes small yellow they are used in ponche and piñatas
Granada china its not passion fruit
Ciruelas are plum if you are talking about the red ones but we have yellow ciruelas, white ciruelas etc
and the right name is guayabas
Next time you need to try mamey and Chico zapote
I haven’t had any of the fruit mention in so long. As a kid I loved eating the granada china and the chico zapote,also the zapote negro and the fresh igos (figs). Reading make me remember. thank you
To me they all taste amazing. I will add to the list:
Tuna
Capulines
Mamey
Guanabana
Tecocote
Nispero
Thank you so much for the additions!