Did Anybody Say Jocotes?
There are some Guatemalan fruits that are impossible to translate into English; jocotes is one of them. Jocotes is the little round fruit that looks like cherry tomatoes in the image above.
Can anybody help translating what jocotes are and what could be a close equivalent?
The Jocote Translation Side Note Update: Thanks to Cindee for providing the following information about the fruit Guatemalans called jocotes.
Jocote or Ciruela Roja
Known in English as Red Mombin and Hog Plum, jocotes are tree fruits, produced by Spondias purpurea of the Cashew Family, which is native to tropical America. Often jocotes are eaten raw but Mexicans also like to mash them in water, add sugar, and drink the water like Kool-Aid. They are 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm) long. Jocotes are usually reddish, but can come close to being yellow.
Ciruela, or Spanish Plum
Ciruela or Yellow Mombin, Spondias mombin. Sometimes known in English as Yellow Mombin, the Spanish name ciruela means “plum,” and these tree fruits look and taste a lot like northern plums. They are very closely related to the above jocotes, being in the same plant family and genus. They are Spondias mombin. Note the large, white, very hard, boxy seed. After growing on leafless tree limbs for months, the fruits ripen at the end of the dry season, in June or so. They are good raw and also make tasty preserves
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