Best Central American Fruit Vegetable Types
Chile guaque is a type of hot pepper originating from Guatemala, and it's primarily cultivated in the central highlands and some areas of Sololá. These chili peppers are eaten before they're completely ripened, when their color is dark green to black, or in their dried versions.
Guaque chile is prized for its aroma, flavor, and moderate levels of spiciness. It's also an emblematic chili pepper of San Andres Itzapa, where locals use it for the preparation of a traditional dish called cherepe. In order to dry chiles guaques, they are laid out on the corrugated iron roofs under the sun.
Cuchinito or exploding cucumber is a tropical fruit that’s often enjoyed as a vegetable. The plant is native to warm and humid regions from Mexico to Ecuador. The fruits are light green and covered with long and soft spines. When ripe, the fruit bursts open and expels small seeds.
Once fully grown, but still unripe, the fruits are often enjoyed raw in salads or pickled. They can also be steamed, boiled, or fried as a vegetable, along with the young shoots and leaves. The cuchinito plant is often cultivated in gardens throughout Central America and in the Andean region of South America.
The cobanero chili is a rare Mayan variety of Capsicum annuum indigenous to the Cobán region in central Guatemala. These small, conical peppers measure about an inch in length and mature to a vibrant red hue. They are traditionally dried and smoked, imparting a distinctive smoky flavor and aroma.
With a heat level ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units, comparable to cayenne peppers, Cobanero chilies offer an intense yet short-lived spiciness. They are integral to Guatemalan cuisine, especially in dishes like kak'ik, a traditional turkey stew.
Silver-seed gourd or cushaw pumpkin (lat. Cucurbita argyrosperma), is a species of winter squash native to Mexico and Central America. It is part of the Cucurbita genus, which includes various types of squashes and pumpkins. The plant is particularly known for its edible fruit and seeds, which are consumed in various forms.
The flesh of the fruit is typically cooked and used in a variety of dishes, while the seeds can be roasted as a snack or used for oil extraction. Cucurbita argyrosperma is an important crop in its native range, grown not only for food but also for its cultural significance in many indigenous communities.
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