▲ A landscape in Guatemala, quite similar to Jiuzhaigou
Guatemala, a familiar and unfamiliar name.
Familiarity is because the name of the country is very recognizable, and it can be remembered when you hear it; Strangers, on the other hand, may not even know which continent they are on, let alone anything else.
Located in the south of North America, Guatemala has a land area of about 108,900 square kilometers, equivalent to half the area of the mainland's Hunan Province (about 210,000 square kilometers), almost the same as the mainland Jiangsu Province (107,200 square kilometers), and is in the middle and lower reaches of the entire Latin American region.
▲ Guatemala is known as the "cradle of Mayan culture"
Although it is small and economically underdeveloped, it is known as the "cradle of Mayan culture" and the "country of coffee forests". Among them, coffee is exported to 56 countries around the world, and the coffee you drink in the café may be produced here.
▲ Guatemalan fruit farmers picking coffee beans
The country, which is half covered by forests, has only two seasons a year, dry and rainy. The unique geographical environment of Latin America and the wonderful climatic characteristics create a dominant growth environment for the creatures here. It is rich in not only sugar and coffee, but also a variety of fruits. It should be known that its fruits are also exported to various parts of the world, and it has the reputation of "banana country".
Here you can find tropical fruits such as papaya, coconut, cocoa, mango, etc., as well as Latin American chocots, soursop, etc., and you can also collect mainstream fruits such as strawberries, apples, peaches, passion fruit, pineapples, oranges and so on.
▲Locals sell fruits and vegetables on their heads
Of course, there are also a few lesser-known fruits here, such as: in Australia, you can only eat one season, but here you can eat "caviar lemon" all year round; A melon multi-purpose "musk cucumber"; A "stinky toe fruit" that stinks more than durian... Let's take a look at these 8 kinds of strange fruits.
■ In Guatemala you can eat "finger lemon / caviar lemon" all year round
▲Finger lemon is also called caviar lemon
If you are familiar with fruits, you might say, finger lemons are not native to Australia, how did they appear in Guatemala?
That's right. Australia has taken finger lemons all over the world, but the origin of finger lemons has been controversial. Regardless of its origin, you can eat it all year round in Guatemala anyway, which is advantageous over the seasonal nature of Australian finger lemons.
▲ Caviar lemon hanging from a tree
Finger limes are small, slender fruits with an average length of 7 cm, narrow oblong in shape, with slightly thinned ends. The peel is thin, tight and smooth, with a leather-like texture, with colours ranging from purple, reddish-orange, dark green, light green to black.
▲ Colorful caviar lemon
The pulp is made up of many small vesicles, the texture is hard, slightly sticky and brittle, and the color varies from pink to light green to white. When eaten, the pearls have a bursting, crunchy sensation with a sweet and sour taste. Finger limes also have hints of mint and citrus, and the flavor is intense.
■ Stinking toe fruit that stinks more than durian
▲ The inside of the fruit resembles a lump of flour
Stinky toe fruit, in addition to its distribution in Guatemala, has also been mentioned in the Tenida and Tobago chapter of the Global Fruit Series.
Stinking toe is so smelly that it has a big toe-like appearance and a dark brown peel. The hard peel needs to be broken with a hammer or knife, and when the peel cracks, the smell of the foot will immediately penetrate the nostrils. Underneath the peel is a yellowish flesh like dry dough.
▲The fruit resembles a human toe
▲ Drinks made from it
If you put aside its smell, Stinking toe tastes like a milk slice, mixed with the taste of melon and cheese, and some Chinese herbal notes.
To avoid its strong smell, locals generally bake it or make it into pastries and drinks.
■ Will open the same cotton "Pseudobombax ellipticum"
▲The "cotton" blooming inside the fruit
It is a large deciduous tree found mainly in El Salvador, southern Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.
The flowers produced by pseudobombax ellipticum are very beautiful and are often planted around courtyards, or churches, as green plants.
▲ Its flowers are very beautiful
It produces a pod-like fruit wrapped in cotton-like fibers, while the seeds in the middle can be processed and eaten as a snack. Cotton-like fibers can also be used as a pillow and pillow filler.
■"Piñuela" that looks like a mini banana
Piñuela in clusters
This "Piñuela", which is distributed in Guatemala and other regions, was also mentioned in the "Trinidad and Tobago Chapter".
Its Latin name is "Manicou Fig", but the characteristics of the fruit tree are not related to figs, but are close relatives to pineapples and pineapples, and the fruits are also clustered fruit collections.
▲ It is eaten like a banana
Although the fruit tree is similar to the pineapple, after the single fruit is broken, it looks like a mini banana, and the eating method is the same as that of a banana, and it needs to be torn off its skin.
▲The inside of the fruit after tearing
Locals describe its taste as very intense. In addition to being eaten fresh, it can also be used to make cider.
▲Cider made with it
■Nanche, which can make carbonated drinks
▲Nanqi fruit hanging from a tree
This fruit called "Nanqi" has a different name in the Americas, Colombians call it "Yaca", Jamaicans call it "Hogberry", in addition to Guatemala, it is also distributed in Mexico, Honduras and other places.
▲ The ripe Nanqi fruit is orange
The ripe "Nanqi" fruit resembles a small yellow cherry with a very thin peel that can be easily removed. The flesh is white and surrounded by 1 or 2 white seeds. It tastes like a mixture of lychees, bananas, pears, and some sour flavor.
Ripe fruit can be eaten raw or cooked and eaten. It can also be used as a dessert accent and paired with popsicles and sorbets.
■The fruit "yew" from the pine tree
▲The fruit of the yew is very beautiful
Yew trees are mostly used in China for ornamental plant cultivation, but in many countries around the world, they can be eaten as fruits, including Guatemala.
In addition to Being found in Guatemala, yew trees are also found in El Salvador, Mexico, and Honduras in the Americas.
As the name suggests, the ripe fruit is red and glowing with a faint luster that looks so attractive that even local birds love the fruit. The flesh is gelatinous, tastes like jelly, and tastes very sweet.
▲The shape and color are very attractive
However, if you eat bitterness, you must be careful, because yew trees have poisons in addition to false seed skins. If you don't have a local company, don't try this fruit easily.
■"Papaya" that grows larger than a watermelon
▲ Big Mac version of the papaya
Papaya is not a rarity for us. It is cultivated in Guangxi, Yunnan, Fujian and other places in the mainland, of which Leizhou papaya in Guangxi is the most famous.
The reason why the papaya is brought out is that its origin is the Americas, and it is almost all over the Americas, including Guatemala.
We eat papaya every day, about half a kilogram, up to two or three pounds, but have you ever seen a papaya that grows bigger than a watermelon?
▲ Can you eat one?
The papayas produced in Latin America are large, and the daily sales in the market are about 30 or 40 centimeters long and about 20 centimeters in diameter. The longest can reach about 60, 70 centimeters, and the weight can weigh more than a dozen pounds, which can be described as a fruit that grows freely in the homeland.
Here you can choose yellow meat, red meat, one can not eat, the market can also be sold in pieces.
Taste well, don't worry about it at all, one word: sweet!
■ Sicana odorifera (multi-purpose musk cucumber)
▲ Have you ever eaten this cucumber?
"Musk cucumber" is also known as Casabanana, casbanan and other names. Native to tropical South America, it is also found in Guatemala.
It has a number of distinctive features of cucumbers – the unripe fruit is green, with thick flesh and full of seeds. But its color will change over time to orange-red, maroon, deep purple, or completely black. The appearance is larger and more uniform than ordinary cucumbers. When it ripens, the peel becomes tough, smooth, shiny, and waxy like a watermelon peel, so its peel is best not to eat.
▲ Peel oil shiny musk cucumber
Its seeds are also as large and hard as watermelon seeds, and it is best to eat only the fleshy part of it. The taste is very sweet, and it is also like eating melon, with the aroma of melon fruits.
In addition to eating it raw, you can also make it into preserves, make jam, or dessert.
Which of these fruits would you most like to try?
Postscript:
▲ Vegetables and fruits cut into pieces and bags in Guatemalan markets
Guatemala's name comes from the Mayan "Terre where there are many trees", half of the entire country is covered by forests, such a good ecological environment, for many fruits to create natural ecological conditions.
National costumes at Festivals in Guatemala
If you put aside its relationship with "bends" and the bad reputation of "Sin City", it is a beautiful thing to go to Guatemala to experience the local customs and customs, and take a fruit tour to eat.
Global Fruit Parade Series Text Recommendation [Like]
Venezuela, which once owed China 50 billion yuan and offered to repay it with small islands, has a fragrant melon and fruit throughout the year
South America is the second to last in terms of area, with a per capita GDP exceeding That of China's small South American country of Uruguay, 8 kinds of exotic fruits
The toll is 60 million per day, which can be called a money harvester, and the small Latin American country of Panama melon is sweet and fruity
Eat chili peppers to throw Sichuan a street, China's second largest trading partner in Latin America, throughout the year melon fruit continuously
The area is not as large as a town in China, and every Latin American country is a small country with 10,000 yuan households, and delicious fruits are eaten for a year