In Season: Guamúchil, exotic fruit from Riviera Nayarit
The warmer Spring weather brings unique and exciting new produce to our local Mexican markets. Right now, you can find green beans, strawberries, peaches and nectarines, as well as a variety of melons including watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew.
A few days ago while I was walking through downtown Guayabitos, I noticed vendors pushing wheelbarrows filled to the brim with Guamúchil (gwa-moo-cheel). These green and pink twisted-looking pods contain a pulpy white fruit and grow on trees with the same name. Guamúchil Trees grow throughout Mexico and are only harvested during a few short weeks in May. When ripe, the pods begin to burst open. To eat them, you remove the sweet tasting fruit from the pod, chew it, and spit out the large black seed inside.
Many of the locals I spoke with explained that the fruit is very fibrous so it serves as a natural digestion aid, but if consumed in large quantities it can cause bloating and diarrhea. I was also told that the bark can be made into a tea to relieve pain and stomach inflammation.
Try it while you can, as it will only be in season for another week or so.
By Allyson Williams
JaltembaBayLife.com, a community website for Rincon de Guayabitos, La Penita, and Los Ayala in beautiful Riviera Nayarit, Mexico
Los guamuchiles se puden encontrar en pulpas color rojo, rosado y blanco y van en diferentes tamaños, cuando las vainas se abren se puede decir que estan en su mejor punto y por supuesto existen en diferentes rangos de dulsura, siendo los mas dulces y mas grandes los mas buscados, tambien algunas personas ponen la pulpa a secar al sol con esto acentuan su dulce sabor y ya secos pueden durar buen tiempo, los he encontrado desde michoacan hasta san felipe en baja california y los mejores los he encontrado en nayarit, hasta hoy.