2015-10-11

Aguaymanto: my new favorite fruit

Irene's work with the World Bank brought her to Peru, where they put on a fiesta in the Parque de Reserva -- famous for its fountains.



They put on a huge spread of Peruvian food at multiple tents throughout the park


including a bunch of fruits I'd never seen.   I was really impressed by a small orange fruit about the size of a grape but with a papery husk like a tomatillo -- it was firm and tart with an intense citrus taste.  I wasn't able to get its name.

Yesterday, on a long walk along the coast we came across a municipal market and some of the vendors were selling them -- success!   I asked the name, and had to have him repeat it a couple times: "Aguaymanto".  As I tried to pronounce it, the vendor said "gooseberry", which Irene had said earlier, "cape gooseberry". At 8 sols (under $3) for a quart, they are a bargain.



Wikipedia tells us the fruit's native to Peru, and has a variety of names including Inca berry and Aztek berry, but doesn't tell us the name that local Peruanos use, and we find on the Cooking in Peru site.

At last night's dinner, we started with a Pisco Sour made with pisco that had been macerated with Aguaymanto -- the bright citrus edge was a welcome addition to the drink.

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