While we were overall a bit disappointed with the lack of variety and creativity in the Costa Rican restaurants that we went to, we were delighted to discover quite a few fruits and vegetables which we hadn’t yet tried! Even Mama, aka Ms Vegetable, was excited to try out so many new varieties!
Pejivalle
Pronounced pey-hee-ba-yee, this Costa Rican fruit is picked from the Bactris Gasipaes palm tree. This tree is also the same species that provides heart of palm. Also known as the peach palm or palm fruit, pejibaye are small with vividly coloured skins that range from yellow to dark red.
Flavor: A bit like a soft chestnut. In bright orange.
Season: Sept-Apr in Costa Rica
Nutritional value: Big energy boosters because it is high in carbohydrates. Also good for the eyes, it is packed with beta carotene.
How to taste it: The fruit is generally boiled in salted water for 3-4 hours, then it is eaten with a dollop of mayonnaise, or, as we did, with a good squeeze of fresh lime. Ticos really looove their Pejivalle!
Verdict of the p’tits gastronomes: Peanut: 😋 Nitou: 🙁 Ratatouille: 😐
Rangpur Lime
Mama fell in love with this one. It looks like a crumply lime from the outside, and when you cut it open, it is bright orange like a mandarin. So pretty!
Flavor: Tangy and fresh like a lime but with a little less “zing”
Season: winter & spring
How to taste it: use it just like you would use a lime (Mama and Papa made lots of guacamole with it and squeezed lots on the papaya), and the slices with the bright green and bright orange look very pretty as decoration.
Verdict of the p’tits gastronomes: Peanut: 😖 too sour! Nitou: 🙁 Ratatouille: 😋
Mamón Chino (and Mamónchillo)
In Asia (and at Coop), they call this Rambutan for its hairy “fur”. We saw people selling big bunches of this soft spiky red fruit all along the roads. It is closely related to the lychee, but it’s a little different. The flesh is firm and the pit is harder to get out. There is also another variety which looks like a small lime but peels like a lychee and is squishier than the Mamón Chino, called the Mamónchillo. You kind of have to suck on it, the pit doesn’t really peel out.
Flavor: sweet (but less than a lychee), fresh, a bit flowery
Season: Summer
How to taste it: peel off the skin and nibble off the flesh
Verdict of the p’tits gastronomes: Peanut: 😋, Nitou: 😋, Ratatouille: 🙁
Mamón chino 
Mamónchillo
Chayote
Chayote (also known as Mirliton squash), is a fruit with which you can eat the whole thing (the root, stem, seeds, and the leaf). We first discovered this fruit in the supermarket, where we discovered lots of the new fruits presented here.
Flavor: A bit bland. A little sweet, like an apple. Mama preferred it raw, when it tasted a bit like kohlrabi. Steamed it was a bit flavorless. We wanted to taste all these new veggies in their purest form, so with only a bit of salt. Next time, we’ll rather follow one of the suggestions below…
Season: all year long
How to taste it: The chayote can be tasted raw or fried, and when young, in salads (sliced or shredded) and is nicely blended with citrus, cabbage, arugula, and fresh herbs.
Verdict of the p’tits gastronomes: Peanut:😋 Nitou: 🙁 Ratatouille: 🙁
Yuca
Also known as cassava in English, this tuber is a Costa Rican favourite. The fruit has a very specialised pollination system, for they are pollinated by the yuca moths. The insect (purposefully) transfers the pollen from the male part of the plant (called the stamen – did you know that? I didn’t…) to the female part of another plant called stigma. It looks like a big brown stick or a giant brown carrot with thick skin and a bit of “hair”.
Flavor: roasted, it tastes a bit like roasted potatoes, but more floury.
Season: all year round
How to taste it: you can use it the same way you would prepare a potato, in all its varieties.
Verdict of the p’tits gastronomes: Peanut: 😋😋, Nitou: 😋, Ratatouille: 😋
Ñampi & Tiquiesque
