Today I went to the market in Campeche and found an assortment of tropical fruits. Chicozapotes and Zapotes Negros (Small zapotes and Black Sapotes). The Small Sapotes, almost the same size as the black zapote, taste like aliens. Pear, apple, wood, sweet potato are the identifiable flavors, but they don't really taste like any of those. Black sapotes are even more alien, tasting like burnt plastic or chocolate pudding but really like neither. Zapote and sapote are used interchangeably and come from the Mayan word for "small, squishy fruit". These magnificent fruits are the epitome of eating locally, having originated in this exact region (almost all fruits you are familiar with come from Asia: apples, peaches, mangos, bananas, and oranges all come from there.
In the pictures there are coconuts too. The really weird-looking fruit is a noni fruit I picked and the other things are white cucumbers.
In the pictures there are coconuts too. The really weird-looking fruit is a noni fruit I picked and the other things are white cucumbers.
