Chayote

Sechium edule · Fruit vegetable

40 pairings

Chayote (chy-OH-tay), also called mirliton, choko, vegetable pear or chocho, is the pale-green, pear-shaped fruit of Sechium edule, a sprawling perennial vine of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae). Lightly wrinkled and often deeply furrowed at the blossom end, it hides a single soft, flat, edible seed in crisp, watery, very mild flesh that tastes faintly of cucumber and green apple — prized less for any flavour of its own than for a clean, neutral crunch that soaks up whatever it is cooked with.

Picking a good onedrag

Rock-firm, pale green, no shootSprouted, spongy, going soft

Shop firmThe all-rounder: stuffed, stewed in caldo, stir-fried, or raw in salad. Skin and the one soft seed are edible; peel only the tougher, ridged ones — gloves again, the sap may irritate the skin.Everyday best

SkinGreen to ivory, matte, the odd shallow scuff

In the handFirm, the creased end gives only a fraction

Furrowed endCrease still tight, the folds dry and pale

Smell at a cutAlmost nothing at all — neutral and watery

What to look for, from rock-firm, pale green, no shoot to sprouted, spongy, going soft.

Preparing