Frutas comio en Costa Rica

The best things about food here so far...the fruit. Its true you know. In the US we have embraced GMO (genetically modified organisms) crops while many of the countries of Central American, including Costa Rica, have denounced the idea and have kept them out of the country. Here all the fruit is grown organically by the farmers and tastes amazing. On Sunday we went to the fairia (the farmer's market) and bought food for this week a typical tradition in this household. While there I tried so many fruits, many of which I'd never heard of.

Mamon Chino 

This crazy fruit has become a favorite of mine. At first it looks crazy but its actually very sweet if you eat it at the right time. It needs to be dark and hard before eating it. You peel off the outside and carefully eat the sweet white tissue inside. At the center of the tissue is a seed that is like a cross between a peanut and an almond. It is kind of sour but good. We eat mamon chino at breakfast sometimes or for a snack. 

 Jocote (ho-co-te)

This little fruit is probably my favorite overall. Its no bigger than a ping pong ball and has a bit of a sour/sweet taste to it like a sweet tart candy. You put the whole jocote into your mouth and eat it but the center is hard and you can't eat that so you need to be careful not to swallow it. Jocote are ready to eat when they are yellow or red. Green is okay but there are some toxins that may upset your stomach so its best to eat it mature. Jocote fruit have lost their ability to germinate and scientists don't know why. The only way to plant new Jocote trees is to take a shoot or branch from an established tree, plant it into the ground, and hope it takes. It is the beginning of Jocote season in Costa Rica.

 Papaya

 My first night here we went out to eat at a restaurant. The food was good but my favorite part was the drink I had. Here in Costa Rica all natural fruit juices are everyone and I mean ALL NATURAL. They literally put the fruit through a juicer right in front of you for most cases. The first night I had a papaya con  leche drink, papaya with milk and it had a little cinnamon in it...one of the first and best things I've tried so far!
 

Other food that is really good here: Bananas (banao), Pineapple (pina), salad (ensalada) with lemons (limones), and much much more. I tried a drink at the fairia that was made out of tree bark. They say it is good for two things: Helping your digestive system and for hangovers. Not sure how the last one works but that's what I've been told. 

Guanabana 

This strange fruit that was sitting in the kitchen is a little bigger than a football and weights 5 kilos. This morning for breakfast we had Guanabana con leche. Its like a milk shake. Much like the papaya drink I had, Guanabana is very sweet. It is a little thicker and tastes more like the sugar cane juice I had at the fairia than the papaya juice. 

The food here really had a different taste and I believe its affecting my body in a positive way. I'm feeling a lot better (despite the moist climate and feeling congested a lot) and I think my body is dispelling a lot of toxins. When I first got here I was sick to my stomach after eating but each day I feel much better. I believe the way we eat in the US, with preservatives and chemicals really affects our health in a negative way so our body cannot function naturally. My favorite drink here is the fresh lemonade. Mario, my host mom's son, grows his own lemon and mango trees in the country by the beach. We always have salad with lemon as a dressing. Literally half a lemon is your dressing as you squeeze it onto the salad, mmmmm. The other major difference is that food like this is very very very cheap here. Well, now I am off to school. Ciao!