2 Exotic Mexican Super Fruits
Tara A. Spears
When most people think of tropical fruit, pineapple and mango come to mind. While they are delicious, the Guamúchil and yaka fruits (lead photos) are among the lesser-known fruits of the world, despite having a delicious taste, fantastic nutritional value, and impressive health benefits. These unique tropical fruit have become so important that there are even competitions in Nayarit. Most highway fruit stands and street venders sell these exotic fruits.
The Guamúchil tree originated in Mexico and Central America. Guamuchil tree is a semi-evergreen tree that replaces a leaf as soon as one drops around once a year. It’s a flowering plant that belongs to the Fabaceae family, and it can grow from 16 feet to 49 feet high (4.87m to 14.92m). Guamúchil is part of the pea family with the guamuchil pods containing the fruit. This fruit is ripe when the skin is pink and pops open on its own.
The tree is adaptable and can develop in various soil types and habitats in the tropics and subtropics. You will see this tree flower between December and May and expect it to develop its fruits later in the year, between February and August. This tree is very resilient in drought and can survive even in drier landscapes, making it suitable for planting in many environments.
Most importantly, Guamúchil is a nutritional powerhouse and used in folk medicine. As one of nature’s best antioxidant fruits, the Guamúchil fruit is packed with vitamin C, the single most crucial vitamin in supporting a healthy immune system. The Guamúchil fruit contains a decent dose of phosphorus, an essential mineral to the human body since it helps make energy. Another of the fantastic Guamúchil fruit health benefit stems from this fruit’s great potassium content. This mineral is vital in protecting the heart due to its capacity to maintain the normality of blood pressure in the human body. Potassium is also great in stabilizing sugar levels in your blood. Niacin, recognized as vitamin B3,that is essential to the human body since Niacin helps lower cholesterol, boost brain function and ease arthritis, is another component of the distinctive Guamúchil.
The other super fruit is yaca. (Pictured above.) I called it the ugly fruit until I learned its name. Yaca has a wart-y skin and is balloon shaped-it doesn’t look especially appealing. Yaca fruit grows on a tree and its fruit is the largest tree-borne fruit on earth. A yaca can get as heavy as 120 lbs and over 35 inches long.
Yaca has a sweet and fruity aroma. Once a yaca is cracked open, what you will find inside are pods or “bulbs.” Often referred to as the seeds, these bulbs are actually a kind of fleshy covering for the true seeds or pits, which are round and dark like chestnuts. The fleshy part (the “bulb”) can be eaten as is or cut up and cooked. When unripe (green), it is remarkably similar in texture to chicken, making yaca an excellent vegetarian substitute for meat. In fact, canned yaca (in brine) is sometimes referred to as ‘vegetable meat’.
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Yaca contains many vitamins and minerals and offers numerous health benefits. The fruit’s isoflavones, antioxidants, and phytonutrients mean that yaca has cancer-fighting properties. It is also known to help cure ulcers and indigestion. If you’re ready to try yaca, prepare it in a vegetarian recipe.
Both the Guamúchil and ubiquitous yaca fruits are a miraculous discovery in terms of health benefits. Many individuals swear that including these fruits in their diet prevented pre-cancer conditions from advancing and returning them to a healthy state.
