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Don’t let the speckled green skin fool you. Call it what you will (limoncillos, guenepas, etc.), the small green buds hold a world of sweet, sour and slightly acidic flavor.
Story and photos by Gloria Pazmiño
Melicoccus bijugatus -- Mamoncillo, Limoncillo, Guenepa, Quenepa:
1. Cuba. Tree from the Sapindáceas family, its fruit small and round, with hard rough skin and juicy, edible pulp.
2. Summer treat found in the streets of Northern Manhattan and the Bronx, and for purposes of this story, the peculiar fruit with the many names.
Amid the hustle and bustle in our neighborhoods, we find edible urban oases via the summer time fruit stands that offer tropical flavors to quench the heat.
And there, among the offerings sits a small, round, lime-like fruit that pokes out of the carton boxes.
“Two dollars per bag,” says Paula Rodriguez, the smiling vendor on the corner of Bergen and Westchester Avenues in the Bronx. Rodriguez’s cart, a simple but effective setup, had little left to offer. “I bought a whole box this morning, it’s almost all gone,” she said, pointing at the remaining three bags.
“I never knew of this fruit. We don’t have it where I come from in Mexico. The first time I tried it was when I started selling it, [but] people here love it,” said Rodriguez.
So what is the mysterious fruit? The answer depends on who you ask, but almost each response arrives at the same conclusion: It’s delicious, with a unique taste.
The tender pulp of the limoncillo is revealed with a quick crack of the skin. The fruit is slightly pulpy and gelatinous, and offers a refreshing treat at the height of summer.
Puerto Rico calls the fruit guenepas, Dominican Republic names it limoncillo, Colombia refers to it as mamoncillo; others say genip, honeyberry, or Spanish lime. Regardless of its name, the fruit is a summertime treat that makes its appearance at the height of the season, and is to be enjoyed while there’s still time.
Native to the tropics, growing in places like South and Central America, the Caribbean and parts of Africa and the Pacific, the limoncillo makes a visit to Northern Manhattan and the Bronx at the beginning of June, when Rodriguez purchases the fruit at wholesale prices at the Hunt’s Point market in the Bronx.
“I make a stop every day, ‘bien tempranito’ [very early] and buy two or three boxes,” she says. “Then I split the branches and package them into the bags for sale.”
The fruit resembles the shape, texture and color of a lime, if a bit smaller. To eat, bite into the center of the fruit just softly enough to make a rip on the peel and reveal the pulp within. The pit of the fruit is surrounded by a tender pulp where the flavor hides. The texture is similar to that of a lychee- soft and a bit gelatinous, with a taste that’s a mixture of sweet and sour. Because of the small amount of edible fruit, limoncillos are eaten as a snack. Go ahead and pop one pulpy pit after the other, and consider it the tropical version of a sunflower seed: chew, suck, discard pit, and repeat.
The fruit can also be boiled, steeped and used to make cold summer time drinks. Don’t be afraid to add the resulting syrup to your favorite vodka.
“You can tell summer is almost over because the fruit is less and less green,” said Rodriguez.
The last of the limoncillo shipments, a bit smaller in size, and of a less robust green shade, announce the end of the season. September nears, so get to your vendor soon, and don’t be afraid to give the green buds a crisp bite.
Whatever the name, the fruit within will satisfy.
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